Arnold’s Long Run Finishes Off Cougars

Rick Neuheisel wanted to talk about the future, not the present.

“We’ll look back and think what might have been, but we ought to be excited about the future of Husky football,” Washington’s first-year coach said.

Freshman Paul Arnold scored on an 80-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter as Washington completed its regular season by defeating Washington State, 24-14, Saturday in the Apple Cup.

The Huskies, 7-4 overall and 6-2 in the Pacific 10, finished second in the conference behind Stanford, which clinched the conference title and Rose Bowl bid by beating California, 31-13.

Washington, upset at UCLA last week, received an invitation Saturday night to play in the Holiday Bowl at San Diego on Dec. 29 against the No. 3 Big 12 team.

“We plan to take Washington back to where our fans want us to be,” said Neuheisel, who was lured away from Colorado by a $1-million-a-year contract offer from Athletic Director Barbara Hedges in January.

Marques Tuiasosopo, Washington’s junior quarterback, said the Huskies are well aware of what they let get away.

“There’s some disappointment because we had our chances,” he said. “But Stanford did what they needed to do, so you have to congratulate them.”

On a rainy and windy day, the Cougars (2-9, 1-7) lost their fifth in a row. Washington State has won one conference game since 1997, when it clinched its first trip to the Rose Bowl in 67 years with a victory in the Apple Cup.

Arnold showed the fans at Husky Stadium what they had to look forward to in the future when he took a handoff from the tailback position and ran untouched into the end zone, giving Washington a 24-6 lead with 10:16 left.

The prize catch in Neuheisel’s first recruiting class gained 126 yards in 14 carries for his first 100-yard rushing game for the Huskies.