By Scottie Bricker
Arizona Daily Wildcat
September 24, 1997

Cougars ride Leaf's arm into the Top 25

Washington State plans to showcase its high-powered offense against nonconference opponent Boise State, as the 15th-ranked Cougars try to start the season 4-0 for the first time since 1992, when they started 6-0.

The Cougars went on to finish the year 9-3, including a 31-28 victory over Utah in the Copper Bowl in Tucson.

Washington State leads the Pac-10 in passing offense at 352.7 yards per game and total offense, averaging 475.7 yards per contest.

The Cougars have relied heavily on the arm of quarterback Ryan Leaf, who has thrown for 1038 yards and 10 touchdowns already this year.

"Ryan is throwing a better ball, a more consistent ball," said head coach Mike Price.

Leaf, an All-America candidate, is on pace to shatter the school record for touchdowns in a season at 24, set by Timm Rosenbach in 1988. He is also on pace to break Drew Bledsoe's record of 3,246 passing yards in a season.

The Cougars are currently on top of the Pac-10 standings with a record of 2-0, after back to back wins against UCLA and Southern Cal to start the season.

Speaking of USC

The Trojans travel to Cal with the hopes that their recent success in Berkeley will help turn their frustrating season around.

USC is 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference after opening the season with two losses at home to Florida State and Washington State.

The Trojans have taken four of the last five games from the Golden Bears, including the last two games in Berkeley.

The biggest concern for USC has been its stagnant offense, last in the Pac-10 in scoring, rushing and total offense.

"We need to put something together on offense and not shoot ourselves in the foot," said head coach John Robinson.

California on the other hand, has seen its offense flourish, primarily as a result of the steady play of wideout Bobby Shaw.

Shaw has garnered offensive conference player of the week honors after each of his two games this year, and is the national leader in receptions per game and receiving yards per game at 11 and 181 respectively. He is on pace to better Pac-10 and NCAA records for receiving yards gained in a season.

The Pac-10 record is 1,373 set by USC's Johnnie Morton in 1993, and the NCAA record is held by Alex Van Dyke of Nevada, who gained 1,854 yards in 1995.

Another Pac-10 showdown

The Stanford Cardinal plays host to the Oregon Ducks this weekend as both teams look to improve their conference record to 2-0 and move into a first-place tie with Washington State.

The Cardinal defense had been impressive at times, ranking fifth overall in the conference in total defense, yielding 323.7 yards per game.

The two schools played a thrilling game last year in Palo Alto, as the Cardinal escaped with a 27-24 victory behind the 514 yards of total offense from quarterback Chad Hutchinson.

Hutchinson has struggled this season dropping him to ninth in the conference in passing efficiency and sixth in total offense.

The Cardinal boast a pair of running backs that rushed for 100 yards each in Saturday's victory over Oregon State, the first time that has happened since 1991.

Anthony Bookman rushed for 120 yards and Mike Mitchell gained 102 yards in the Cardinal's 27-24 win over the Beavers.

The Ducks counter with a star running back of their own in Saladin McCullough.

"He's probably the best natural running back I've ever coached in 25 years of college football," said head coach Mike Bellotti.

McCullough is leading the Pac-10 in kickoff returns at 39.5 yards per return.