Associated PRess

Nakoa McElrath - WSU wide reciever

Thursday September 27, 2001

Talk about a heated rivalry.

Three of the last four meetings between the Washington State and Arizona were decided in overtime or on the last play of the game.

Last season's game followed suit, and Washington State found itself on the short end of a 53-47 triple overtime game.

"I don't know what it is about these two teams, but it's always a catfight," said WSU head coach Mike Price. "Every year it comes down to the wire. It's just been a real, real competitive game."

The Cougars (3-0 overall, 1-0 Pacific 10 Conference) are accustomed to close games - WSU played in three games last season that went into overtime and lost all three. They finished the season 4-7, its third losing season in a row.

If Price is hoping to end that streak this season, he's going to need a healthy Jason Gesser under center.

The junior quarterback, who missed the last three games of the season last year after suffering a broken leg against Oregon, passed for a school-record 432 yards against California in a 51-20 blowout win last weekend.

Gesser is currently ranked seventh in the nation in total offense and ninth in passing efficiency with a 171.4 rating. The Cougars outscored their opponents this season 128-47.

Despite the loss against the Wildcats last season, Gesser had a stellar performance, throwing for 348 yards to go with a school-record six touchdown passes.

"He's been in the offense now for a couple years and has really come around," Price said. "Physically, he's in great shape, but mentally is where I think he has improved the most. At the line of scrimmage, picking audibles and that type of thing.

"We'll need him to do that against Arizona because it can get noisy down there if they're doing good. He's playing much better right now than he did a year ago when we came down there."

Arizona cornerbacks will face arguably the best receiver in the Pac-10, if not the nation, in senior Nakoa McElrath.

McElrath, who is in his second year with the Cougars, leads the nation with 514 receiving yards and an average of 171.3 receiving yards per game.

The La Jolla, Calif., native, had his breakthrough game last season at Arizona Stadium, catching five passes for 106 yards.

"Nakoa had a great game against (Arizona) last year," Price said. "It was kind of his coming out party within that stadium. He's just a big physical receiver that has real good speed. He's not the fastest guy out there, but he runs when he catches it. He'll just come down with it one way or another. He's very strong, very physical, yet he's smooth and really fluid."

Another strong point for the Cougars this season has been their defensive line, which has allowed only 199 net yards of rushing, an average of 66.3 per game - good for tenth-best in the nation.

Although Arizona and Washington State bear little resemblance on the defensive side of the ball, the two schools' offenses are quite similar.

"Their defense, the old flex defense, is real tough to bulk into," Price said. "But they run a lot of the same plays that we run on offense. We may be going against each other a little this week, the No. 1 offense vs. the No. 1 defense."

UA head coach John Mackovic said the Cougars likely will try and win in an offensive slugfest.

"They are going to try to score 35 points or more," Mackovic said. "Washington is the type of team that will try to take control of the game and make you play their game. They are going to do everything they can do - run, pass and throw to try to win the game. Knowing that they're going to play that way, we're going to play that way as well."