Notebook | Williams hoping for one big play
Washington receiver Corey Williams will play his final home game Saturday having never really reached the heights that were predicted of him after he was the hero in one of his first - the 2003 Apple Cup, in which he dove to snare the winning touchdown with 1:10 left.
The catch, on a pass from Cody Pickett, put the Huskies ahead for good in an eventual 27-19 victory.
Williams has 12 catches this season and 42 for his career. But he thinks he has one last big moment in him if needed.
“I’m already visualizing it,” he said of making another winning grab. “But you know, it would be great if we could just blow them out. But I’m getting my mind ready just in case we’ve got to do a little game-winning catch or something. I wouldn’t mind getting the ball again.”
Williams, a native of Las Vegas, admits he used to sometimes tire of being known primarily for that Apple Cup, not completely comprehending the magnitude of the game.
“I wanted to be known for more than just a catch,” he said, adding he didn’t understand then “what the rivalry means to the school. But now that I’m a fifth-year senior I’m able to really understand what the Apple Cup is about, and I’m really grateful that I made that catch and take pride I was able to lift everyone’s spirits like that.”
Gibson milestone
Washington State junior Brandon Gibson last week became the eighth Cougar to go over 1,000 yards in receiving yards in a season. He has 1,043 yards, even having missed the Oregon game with a heel injury. He needs 121 Saturday to break Nakoa McElrath’s school season record of 1,163 set in 2001.
Gibson is on pace to become just the third Cougar to average more than 100 yards in a season, joining Jason Hill (109.7 in 2005) and Mike Levenseller (102.2 in 1976). Levenseller is the Cougars’ offensive coordinator.
Gibson leads the Pac-10 both in receiving yardage and average per game (104.3).
Notes
• This will be a return trip to Husky Stadium for Cougars running-backs coach Steve Broussard, who wore an “RIP Sis” armband as a Cougars player during the 1989 Apple Cup, which the Huskies won 20-9.
Washington State coaches at the time said Broussard told them that his sister had been killed, but Broussard this week said it was all a misunderstanding.
He said a woman died but that she was “a real close friend” and “not my biological sister.”
“It’s nothing that I choose to continue to talk about,” he said.
• Cougars and Huskies fans are asked to compete in the “Spread a Little Warmth” campaign before the game to donate winter coats, clothing and cash to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
Volunteers will receive the items outside Husky Stadium from 1:30-4 p.m. Donations also can be made at area St. Vincent de Paul stores. Results will be tallied by school.
• Washington State quarterback Alex Brink said bouncing back from his six-interception disaster against Oregon State was made easier because his family was in Pullman on Sunday after the game.
“I put it away pretty quickly,” he said.
Brink leads the Pac-10 in total offense (3,469 yards for an average of 315.9) and passing (3,419 yards for an average of 310.8).
• This is only the second time since 1948 that the Huskies will play a regular-season game after the Apple Cup. The other came in 2001, when a game at Miami was rescheduled after the events of Sept. 11.
Washington will play at Hawaii on Dec. 1 in an 8:30 p.m. game that will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
• The Huskies are averaging 4.93 yards per carry, on pace for a school record. The previous best was 4.87 by the 1991 national-title team.
• Washington needs a win to avoid losing to all three Northwest rivals in the same season for just the sixth time - the others came in 1948, 1968, 1973, 2004 and 2005. The Huskies are just 1-7 against Washington State, Oregon and Oregon State under Tyrone Willingham, the only win coming in the Apple Cup last season.