Survival Of The Fittest

Washington may be atop the Pac-10, but the underpinnings of the Huskies' half-game lead over Washington State and UCLA are as shaky as two pairs of crutches—the ones used by quarterback Brock Huard and tailback Rashaan Shehee, who watched the end of last Saturday's 27-0 victory over Southern Cal from the sideline. Huard's left ankle hasn't healed since he sprained it in the Huskies' 27-14 loss to Nebraska on Sept. 20, primarily because he has reaggravated it in the last three games. "It hurts worse than it did after Nebraska," Huard said. He hobbled off the field four plays into the third quarter against the Trojans and is listed as probable for this weekend's game against Oregon. Huard is better off than Shehee, who will most likely miss the rest of the regular season after suffering a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament of his left knee in the first quarter against USC. Without Shehee, who came into the game leading the Pac-10 in rushing with 121 yards per game, Washington finished with 31 yards on the ground.

Washington (7-1, 5-0), however, still controls its destiny because the conference's first tiebreaker is how teams fared in head-to-head competition. The Huskies, even with a loss to Oregon, can reach the Rose Bowl by winning at UCLA and at home against Washington State. Likewise, Washington State (7-1, 5-1) can reach the Rose Bowl for the first time in 67 years if it defeats Stanford and Washington. But the Cougars, who lost 44-31 to Arizona State last Saturday, haven't won at Washington since 1985. UCLA (7-2, 5-1) can advance if it beats Washington at home and USC in the L.A. Coliseum, and if the Cougars lose one more league game.

Arizona State has virtually no chance to return to the Rose Bowl, which is too bad. The Sun Devils may have the best defense in the Pac-10, despite allowing Washington State überpasser Ryan Leaf to throw for 447 yards and three touchdowns. Arizona State also forced four turnovers, returning two fumbles for fourth-quarter touchdowns to break open what had been a close game.

For all of Leaf's heroics, a prophecy by Sun Devils defensive coordinator Phil Snow proved true. "We have to stop the running back," he said last week, referring to Cougars senior Michael Black, who came in averaging 104.7 yards. "If they get the running game going, you may as well go home." On the Cougars' second possession, Arizona State free safety Mitchell Freedman hit Black so hard that he fumbled at the Sun Devils' 21. "I think I got into his head," Freedman said after the game. "I saw the effect in his running." Black finished with 28 yards on 14 carries.

Then, in the fourth quarter, with Arizona State leading 30-25, Freedman closed quickly on Black in the left flat and knocked him down at the Sun Devils' 23, three yards short of a first down. On the next snap Freedman timed his blitz up the middle so perfectly that he leaped onto Leaf before he could take the third step of his three-step drop. Freedman slapped the ball into the hands of defensive end Hamilton Mee, who returned it 69 yards for the game-breaking touchdown.

Afterward Leaf approached Arizona State coach Bruce Snyder and said, "You've got a great defense and, man, can that 13 play." Freedman not only wears number 13, but his nickname is Fright Night, so when better for him to shine than on Halloween weekend?

Dog Day Afternoon

In a season of crumbling icons, Alabama, Notre Dame and Texas have been joined by Florida and its vaunted passing game. The Gators not only can't humiliate a good defense any longer, but they also can't beat one. Last Saturday, Georgia defeated Florida 37-17 by playing a soft zone and daring the Gators' triumvirate of inexperienced quarterbacks to pick it apart. Florida completed only 19 of 44 passes and was intercepted four times. "I obviously messed up, thinking we could throw the ball around like we used to," Gators coach Steve Spurrier said after the loss. "I'm almost convinced we can't."

In the last three games quarterbacks Doug Johnson, Noah Brindise and Jesse Palmer have combined to throw 10 interceptions and one touchdown, which has made onlookers feel as if they're watching the Fun 'n' Gun offense through the wrong end of their binoculars. Though Brindise played the best of the three quarterbacks against the Bulldogs—the fifth-year senior came off the bench and led the Gators to a pair of third-quarter touchdowns that gave them a 17-14 lead—Spurrier is intent on developing the two younger passers. He yanked Brindise in the fourth quarter and reinserted Johnson the sophomore starter, and then went to Palmer, a freshman.

Georgia, meanwhile, got outstanding performances from receiver-quarterback Hines Ward, who had 85 yards receiving, 27 yards passing and 21 yards rushing and tailback Robert Edwards (124 yards on the ground). The Bulldogs also proved that they have long memories. Two yean ago Spurrier called a halfback-option pass in the final minute so Florida could be the first visiting team to score 50 points at Sanford Stadium. Last Saturday, when Florida turned the ball over on downs at its 25-yard line, Georgia didn't hesitate to score a rub-it-in touchdown with 2:44 to play.