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RECAP
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- Because Marques Tuiasosopo came back,
Washington didn't need a comeback in the Rose Bowl Presented by AT&T.
|  | | An injured shoulder knocked Marques Tuiasosopo out of the game briefly, but he came back to earn honors as player of the game.
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When the quarterback left the field with an injured throwing
shoulder late in the third quarter Monday, it appeared Washington's
hopes went with him even though the Huskies led Purdue by three
points.
"I was mad," Tuiasosopo said. "I was like, 'Can you believe
this, the Rose Bowl game?'"
He missed three plays, returned before the start of the fourth
quarter and then guided No. 4 Washington to two touchdowns and a
34-24 victory over the 14th-ranked Boilermakers.
Voted the player of the game, Tuiasosopo ran for one touchdown,
passed for another and accounted for 213 yards.
"He is the absolute epitome of what a quarterback should be,"
Washington coach Rick Neuheisel said. "He hurt his shoulder, he
came back in there and said he could play. The rest, as they say,
is history."
Washington (11-1) finished the season with an eight-game winning
streak. The Huskies rallied for eight victories this season,
outscoring the opposition 144-68 in the fourth quarter during the
regular season. Once again, they were dominant in the final 15
minutes.
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“ |
He
is the absolute epitome of what a quarterback
should be. He hurt his shoulder, he came back in
there and said he could play. The rest, as they
say, is history. ” |
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— Washington coach Rick Neuheisel on quarterback Marques
Tuiasosopo |
The Huskies gave the Pacific-10 Conference its first Rose Bowl victory in five years and just its second in the last nine games. Washington was
playing in its first Rose Bowl in eight years.
The Huskies started the fourth quarter with a 3-yard run by Rich
Alexis on fourth-and-1 from the Purdue 35. Six plays later,
Tuiasosopo threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Todd Elstrom,
extending the lead to 10 points.
A little more than a minute later, Greg Carothers forced and
recovered a fumble by Montrell Lowe -- the game's first turnover --
at the Washington 34. Lowe, who gained 79 yards on 20 carries, was
injured on the play and didn't return.
The Huskies then moved 66 yards on seven plays, scoring on an
8-yard run by Willie Hurst to make it 34-17 with 7:25 left.
The Boilermakers closed to 10 points on a 42-yard run by
Sedrick Brown on a fourth-and-1 with 6:37 left, and got the ball
back a little more than a minute later when Tuiasosopo threw a lateral
Elstrom couldn't handle at the end of a 26-yard run and Ashante
Woodyard recovered at the Purdue 49.
However, Travis Dorsch was wide left on a 42-yard field goal
with 4:54 to play, and the Huskies then ran out the clock.
Tuiasosopo gained 5 yards on a fourth-and-1 play from the
Washington 45 with a little less than three minutes left.
The Boilermakers (8-4), playing in their first Rose Bowl in 34
years and second ever, got off to a disastrous start, falling
behind 14-0 before the game was 10½ minutes old. They contributed
to their problems by committing six first-quarter penalties.
But they would tie the game 17-17 in the third quarter.
"I think their physical offensive line had a big hand in the
game, and certainly, their quarterback is an exceptional player,
without a doubt," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "They did what
they had to do to win the game.
"I thought our team had its moments. I liked the way we came
back in the first half after digging ourselves a hole. Our offense
underperformed. We did not put ourselves in position to win the
game."
Tuiasosopo was 16-for-22 for 138 yards, and rushed for 75 yards
on 15 carries. Purdue's Drew Brees, like Tuiasosopo playing in his
final college game, was 23-for-39 for 275 yards and two touchdowns --
both to Vinny Sutherland.
"It was a great road getting here," Brees said. "It was a
dream season. Of course, I'm upset that we lost this game, but I
thought that we played hard and we never gave up."
Paralyzed Washington safety Curtis Williams was transported to
the Rose Bowl from his rehabilitation center in San Jose, and
watched the game from a suite in the press box.
Williams, wearing his game jersey while sitting in a wheelchair,
spent about 10 minutes with his teammates in an emotional locker
room before the game. The Huskies wore his initials on their
jerseys.
A fifth-year senior from Fresno, Williams was paralyzed from the
neck down during Washington's 31-28 victory at Stanford on Oct. 28.
Carothers, a redshirt freshman, replaced him as a starter.
Brees slipped on the game's first play for an 8-yard loss, and
was sacked two plays later -- just the ninth sack allowed by Purdue
all season. The Boilermakers punted, and Washington drove 64 yards
to take a 7-0 lead, scoring on a 1-yard run by Braxton Cleman.
Purdue then moved into Washington territory before having to
punt, but Tim Stratton's snap sailed over Scott Kurz's head for a
30-yard loss, and the Huskies needed only three plays to move 25
yards, scoring on a 5-yard run by Tuiasosopo.
"I thought my snap changed the momentum of the game," Stratton
said.
The Boilermakers responded with a 90-yard, 16-play drive,
scoring on a 5-yard pass from Brees to Sutherland early in the
second quarter.
Dorsch kicked a 26-yard field goal with 26 seconds left before
halftime to cut Washington's lead to 14-10. The Boilermakers had to
settle for three points because John Standeford dropped a potential
27-yard touchdown pass from Brees 27 seconds earlier.
Alexis, who gained 78 yards on 10 carries, ran 50 yards on the
first play of the second half to set up a 47-yard field goal by
John Anderson, but the Boilermakers tied the game 17-17 a little
more than a minute later on a 24-yard pass from Brees to Sutherland five
plays after Sutherland's 51-yard kickoff return.
Anderson's 42-yard field goal with 6:55 left in the third
quarter put Washington on top to stay.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Purdue Clubhouse
Washington Clubhouse
Paralyzed Washington player attends Rose Bowl
Brees can't perform for Purdue on Rose Bowl stage
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Willie Hurst blasts through the line for an 8-yard touchdown run.
avi: 931 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Washington's Todd Elstrom brings down an 8-yard touchdown pass from Marques Tuiasosopo.
avi: 1103 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Purdue's Vinny Sutherland hauls in a perfectly thrown pass from Drew Brees for a 24-yard score.
avi: 1251 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Braxton Cleman takes the pitch from Marques Tuiasosopo and goes 1 yard for a Washington TD.
avi: 648 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Marques Tuiasosopo exploits a seam in the Purdue defense for a 5-yard touchdown run.
avi: 814 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Drew Brees finds Vinny Sutherland in the end zone to put the Boilermakers on the board.
avi: 491 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Rose Bowl President Lorne Brown presents Rick Neuheisel and the Washington Huskies with the Rose Bowl championship trophy.
avi: 3292 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Marques Tuiasosopo credits Washington's coaches with the Huskies' success this year.
wav: 631 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Despite the loss, Drew Brees remained optimistic about the Boilermakers' season.
wav: 167 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Rick Neuheisel is happy to be part of the Rose Bowl winning tradition.
wav: 548 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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