Bruins to Help, Even if It Hurts

So it comes down to this: UCLA has a say in who will play in the Rose Bowl.

The catch, of course, is it won’t be the Bruins.

If they beat Washington State on Dec. 7, they send rival USC -- a team that just humiliated them, 52-21 -- to the Trojans’ first Rose Bowl since the 1995 season.

Lose, and Washington State goes despite its 29-26, triple-overtime loss to Washington on Saturday.

UCLA cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. paused to ponder what some would consider a devil’s dilemma.

“To keep Washington State out of the Rose Bowl and put USC in the Rose Bowl?” he asked.

“You know what, we just try to win, no matter who’s going to go where. We just want to win, no matter what happens.”

The Bruins’ chances of winning -- and the Trojans’ chances of reaching the Rose Bowl -- will be considerably higher if Washington State quarterback Jason Gesser can’t play because of the high ankle sprain he suffered in Saturday’s loss.

Gesser has a well-earned reputation for playing hurt -- he endured cracked ribs last season and a separated rib this season -- but high ankle sprains are notoriously slow-healing injuries that often cost athletes a month or more.

“If I don’t get hurt and leave the game, we would have won that game,” Gesser told reporters after the Washington loss. “Hopefully I can finish this season out and play against UCLA.”

Coach Mike Price called it 50-50 Gesser will play against UCLA after Gesser’s first two sessions with the training staff Sunday.

“There’s a chance he’ll be back,” Price said. “If you ask Jason, it’s 100% he’ll be back. I don’t know, but there is a chance. It isn’t hopeless at all.”

Gesser has managed improbable comebacks before, returning from a dislocated rib against Montana State in September to pass for 431 yards the next week in a come-from-behind victory over California.

“I don’t know about this one,” Price said. “This one’s a funny injury, real weird. Obviously, he’d probably be in shotgun quite a bit. If anyone could do it, he can.”

With Washington State students on fall break, the team is off until Thursday evening, when the Cougars will begin preparing as if backup Matt Kegel will start against UCLA.

The Bruins still can finish as high as third in the Pacific 10 standings -- it would require a UCLA victory over Washington State and a somewhat unlikely Arizona State loss to Arizona. They also could finish tied for third or as low as a multi-team tie for fourth. (Oregon State and Washington are in the clubhouse at 4-4, and UCLA and Arizona State are 4-3 with a game to play. Cal, also 4-4, is ineligible for a bowl after its NCAA probation appeal.)

In the case of ties, the Pac-10’s bowls pick in order from among the tied teams.

After the Rose and the Dec. 27 Holiday Bowl, the Pac-10 affiliations, in order, are the Dec. 31 Sun Bowl in El Paso-- where UCLA lost to Wisconsin in 2000 -- the Dec. 26 Insight.com Bowl in Phoenix, the Dec. 25 Las Vegas Bowl and the Dec. 31 Silicon Valley game in San Jose, which is facing serious financial difficulty.

It’s hard to overestimate all that rests on Gesser’s ankle.

The Cougars led, 20-10, with less than five minutes remaining Saturday. But with Gesser already out, Washington rallied.

The game ended on a controversial call on a play that was ruled a lateral and a fumble recovered by Washington instead of a deflected incomplete pass.

Price said Sunday after reviewing the tape he is “positive” the call was wrong and that in addition to his usual report on the officials to the Pac-10, he will consider calling Commissioner Tom Hansen, who was at the game.

“I might give him a call, but it’s over. It’s done with. You can’t get it back.”

Against UCLA, Washington State has a chance to take back the Rose Bowl. Kegel, a junior, has completed 26 of 39 passes, but only for 203 yards and without a completion longer than 19 yards. But Price said he is capable of winning the game.

“We still have a chance to go to the Rose Bowl and not too many people in life get second chances,” Price said.