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EL PASO, Texas (Ticker) -- Washington State, the Pac-10 Conference's most surprising team in 2001, gave the league something to smile about -- but not without a few anxious moments in the final minutes. The 13th-ranked Cougars became the first Pac-10 team to win a bowl game this season, holding on for a 33-27 victory over Purdue in the Sun Bowl that gave them 10 wins for just the third time in school history. Washington State appeared in control, taking a 33-17 lead with 7:37 remaining on Drew Dunning's 37-yard field goal, his fourth of the game. But Kyle Orton, who attempted 74 passes, tossed a 50-yard touchdown to Taylor Stubblefield with 1:53 left and Purdue recovered the ensuing onside kick when the ball glanced off the helmet of Washington State safety Billy Newman into the hands of receiver John Standeford. Orton drove the Boilermakers to the Washington State 22 with completions of 21 and eight yards to Standeford. But he threw three straight incompletions and the Cougars ran out the clock to seal the win. Orton completed 38 passes for a career-high 419 yards. Washington State (10-2), which trailed, 20-17, at halftime, also recorded 10 wins in 1929 and 1997, when Ryan Leaf led the Cougars to the Rose Bowl. This was their first bowl win since 1993. The Pac-10 had been 0-3 in the postseason, with Southern California, Stanford and Washington suffering bowl losses. The conference will get another chance for a win Tuesday, when Oregon -- hoping for a share of the national championship -- faces Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl. Washington State tied for second in the Pac-10 this year, losing to Stanford and Washington. The loss continued Purdue's late-season slide as the Boilermakers (6-6) lost five of their last six games following a 5-1 start. Washington State's Jason Gesser completed only six of his first 27 passes but responded with a number of big completions in the second half. He finished 15-of-40 for 281 yards. Gesser's 50-yard pass to Jerome Riley set up his one-yard sneak that snapped a 20-20 tie with 3:04 left in the third quarter. Dunning converted three field goals in the second half. Leading 30-20, Washington State missed a chance to put away the contest when cornerback Antwaun Rogers intercepted Gesser in the end zone. Orton drove Purdue to the Cougars' 20, but the Boilermakers came up empty when Lamont Thompson picked off a pass in the end zone. Thompson, the Pac-10's all-time leader in interceptions, finished his career with 24, including two in this game. Dunning kicked a 37-yard field goal to extend Washington State's lead with 7:37 left. Purdue turned over the ball on downs when Orton's pass was incomplete on 4th-and-1 at the Washington State 25 with just over three minutes left. But the Boilermakers forced the Cougras to punt and Orton went to work with his belated comeback attempt. Washington State jumped to a 14-0 lead just over eight minutes into the first quarter on cornerback Jason David's 45-yard interception return and Gesser's 46-yard TD strike to Mike Rush. But the Boilermakers erupted for 20 points in the second period. They tied it, 17-17, on Orton's three-yard toss to Taylor Stubblefield with 1:56 left in the quarter and took a 20-17 halftime lead on Travis Dorsch's 51-yard field goal with 37 seconds left. Purdue had two receivers top 100 yards. Standeford caught 12 passes for 103 yards and Stubblefield nine for 196 yards. Tim Stratton also had 12 receptions for 86 yards for the Boilermakers. Purdue, which went to the Rose Bowl last season for the first time since 1967, suffered its third straight bowl loss. |
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