The Associated Press
SEATTLE Ä Given his druthers, Washington Huskies coach Jim Lambright would like to see Washington State go to the Rose Bowl this season.
And the No. 9 Huskies (4-1 overall, 1-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference) can give the Cougars some help when they face Arizona State (2-3, 2-1) on Saturday at Husky Stadium.
Washington, on probation for NCAA rules violations, is banned from going to Pasadena, Calif., for the second straight year.
"If I can't go, would I like to see the Cougars go?" Lambright asked. "You're darn tootin' I would. That's easy. Because they're here in the state of Washington."
Washington is favored by 161/2 points to beat Arizona State for its fifth consecutive victory. But the Huskies are coming off a surprisingly close 34-20 win over San Jose State last week. They needed Napoleon Kaufman, the nation's leading rusher, at his best to beat San Jose State, a 42-point underdog.
Arizona State defeated the Huskies 32-17 last season in Tempe, Ariz. Kaufman gained 119 yards on 16 carries and scored one touchdown, but it wasn't enough.
Last Saturday night in Tempe, the Sun Devils edged Stanford 36-35 on Jon Baker's 38-yard field goal with six seconds left in a Pac-10 game.
Despite an embarrassing 47-10 loss to No. 8 Miami at home and close decisions to Louisville and California, Arizona State still has Rose Bowl hopes.
"I think this thing is up for grabs," Arizona State coach Bruce Snyder said. "Why not? I think you'd get pretty good odds on that in Las Vegas but why not? You shouldn't limit yourself. So you bet."
Lambright agrees.
"Arizona State is right there," he said. 'The last two years it's been one or two (Pac-10) losses."