No. 21 Washington State will meet Utah in the Copper Bowl at Tucson, Ariz., thanks to the Cougars' snowy victory over Washington.
Washington State (8-3, 5-3 Pacific-10 Conference) accepted the bid for the Dec. 29 bowl after routing then-No. 5 Washington 42-23 on Saturday. Washington fell to No. 11, but will still represent the Pac-10 against No. 7 Michigan (8-0-3, 6-0-2 Big Ten) in the Rose Bowl.Washington State athletic officials said they were ecstatic about their Copper Bowl invitation.
"I'm not kidding you, I watched video on them this year. They're a very worthy opponent," Washington State coach Mike Price said. "Their offense is really, really good. It's going to be a super game."
Price said he hasn't studied the Utes well enough to know their offensive and defensive schemes, but he does know the program's strengths.
"I know a lot about them and where they're coming from and what kind of athletes they recruit there," he said. "I have a lot more respect for the Utah football program and Ron McBride than most of the average fans would have. It's a good program and it's a solid program and it's on its way up."
Utah, of the Western Athletic Conference, went 6-5 overall and 4-4 in the WAC.
Copper Bowl officials say each team has committed to 10,000 tickets being purchased by their fans.
Washington State athletic director Jim Livengood said he was confident Washington State could keep its end of the deal, even though the school is at the bottom of the Pacific-10 Conference in average home attendance.
There was speculation that bowl committees were leery of extending a bid because Washington State might not be able to fill seats.
"That I don't know. I never really considered that would happen," Livengood said. "It's almost like a tragic accident, you don't really want to know how close you came."
But Livengood, who said he talked with at least three other bowl committees, said he is not worried about filling Wildcat Stadium with Cougars fans.
"I think we'll bring more. This is a great time to step up," he said. "We have some of the most enthusiastic, loyal supporters in the world. We also many who give lip service."
Burt Kinerk, the bowl's selection committee negotiator, said Utah's selection was made partly because it has not been to a bowl in 28 years, and its fans are enthusiastic about making the trip south.
The win Saturday also made things more comfortable for Price, who is finishing the fourth year of a five-year contract.
"I think I answered some of my critics with this victory," he said. "But I think tomorrow I'll have a different group of critics. There's always going to be somebody that doesn't like something I do."
Livengood said he and Price have discussed a contract extension.
"We'll do the right thing and the right thing is that Mike is happy and he knows his tenure here is good and long," Livengood said. "Rest assured, Mike Price is going to be a Cougar for a long time."
The Cougars ensured their bowl bid by beating cross-state rival Washington and winning the Apple Cup trophy, signifying football supremacy in the state of Washington.
Washington State took advantage of an icy 18 mph wind at quarterback Drew Bledsoe's back to explode for 29 third-quarter points.
Shaumbe Wright-Fair rushed for three touchdowns and a career-high 194 yards, including scoring runs of 51 and 41 yards.
Washington State had 475 yards to Washington's 267, well below the Huskies' league-leading 400-yard-a-game average.
After Washington took a 7-6 halftime lead, Washington State picked apart the Huskies with Wright-Fair's running and long bombs from Bledsoe to C.J. Davis and Phillip Bobo.
Davis caught seven passes for 94 yards as Bledsoe hit 18 of 30 attempts for 260 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown strike to Bobo and a 15-yard pass to Calvin Schexnayder in the pivotal third period.
Tackle Konrad Pimiskern recovered a Bledsoe fumble in the end zone to put the Cougars up 35-7 at the end of the third quarter.
Washington quarterback Mark Brunell scored on a pair of 1-yard runs and Darius Turner added a 2-yard touchdown run late in the game. Brunell completed 11 of 25 passes for 122 yards and ran for 60 more.
Washington tailback Napoleon Kaufman carried 15 times for 51 yards, giving him 1,048 yards. He became the first Washington sophomore to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
Washington State's last appearance in a bowl was in 1988, when they defeated Houston 24-22 in the Aloha Bowl after beating Washington 32-31 and posting a 9-3 record.