WSU bowl rewind: 2003 Rose Bowl
Video courtesy of huff99 on YouTube.
The talent on the field in Pasadena in 2003 was truly exceptional. No. 7 WSU boasted future NFL players such as Devard Darling, Hamza Abdullah, Marcus Trufant and others, while No. 8 Oklahoma would have four players picked in the upcoming NFL draft. The Cougars, coached by Mike Price, were 10-2, while Bob Stoops' Sooners boasted an 11-2 record.
The game, played after the 2002 season, was the first time that a Big-12 school could match up with a Pac-12 school due to the nature of the BCS. Because Ohio State was sent to the Fiesta Bowl to play Miami for the national championship, the Sooners were sent to the Rose Bowl.
A game summary, after the jump.
The Cougars, led by Jason Gesser, didn't put any points on the board until the fourth quarter. By that point, OU was already up 20-0. While the Cougars put a pair of touchdowns on the board in the final quarter, so did the Sooners as they defeated WSU 34-14.
WSU's defense kept them in the game for most of the first half, but OU scored a pair of touchdowns inside the last two minutes of the second quarter. The first came on a 12-yard touchdown pass from game MVP Nate Hybl, and the second came on a 51-yard punt return.
Sammy Moore scored a touchdown for the Cougars on an 89-yard kickoff return, and Gesser hooked up with Jerome Riley for a 37-yard touchdown.
