SPOKANE, Wash. -- Before he walks the same sideline as Paul "Bear'' Bryant, Mike Price will take one more stab at immortality at Washington State when he coaches the Cougars in the Rose Bowl Game presented by PlayStation2.

Washington State has not won a Rose Bowl since 1916, when it beat Brown.

Price accepted the head job at Alabama on Wednesday, but only after he negotiated an agreement with WSU athletic director Jim Sterk that he could lead the No. 7 Cougars against No.8 Oklahoma on Jan. 1 in Pasadena.

"The players and team and coaches want to go there and have a goal of beating Oklahoma,'' Sterk said. "To do something different would be very destructive to the team.''

New Washington State coach Bill Doba, Price's longtime defensive coordinator, endorsed the arrangement.

"Coach Price will coach the Rose Bowl team,'' Doba said.

Part of the reason is practical. Price is expected to take much of his staff with him to Alabama, and Doba and a handful of assistants would be hard-pressed to prepare the Cougars for Oklahoma.

Price, at his introductory news conference in Tuscaloosa, acknowledged the arrangement might seem strange at first.

"After the first day or two, we're going to be talking about Washington State and the Rose Bowl,'' Price said. "There will be no Alabama talk.''

"I will not be wearing an Alabama hat back there until Jan. 2,'' Price said. "I'm going to go back and coach the Cougars to a victory over Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl.''

Asked if he would ask the players to win one for the Gipper, Price replied: "I hope they say, 'Lets win one for Price.'''

Doba said practices will not be awkward because typically he runs the defensive units and offensive coordinator Mike Levenseller runs the offense.

"Mike stands and watches and blows the whistle,'' Doba said. "That's what most head coaches do.

"I assume it will be business as usual.''

Every year at Washington State, Price has said his goal is to win the Rose Bowl, Doba said.

"I think his players will rally around him and help him achieve that goal,'' Doba said.

Linebacker Mawuli Davis agreed.

"I don't think it will be a distraction,'' Davis said. "Our premier goal is to win the Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl is a common goal.''