Pac-10 coaches marvel at Arizona's bad bounce

Colleagues across the Pac-10 were sympathizing with Arizona coach Mike Stoops over the freak misplay that doomed the Wildcats against Washington.

It went down like this: Nick Foles' short pass under duress bounced off Delashaun Dean's shoe and was caught by Washington's Mason Foster, who ran 37 yards with 2:37 left for what proved to be the winning touchdown in the Huskies' 36-33 victory.

Replays from several different angles appear to show that the ball hit the ground. But Stoops ultimately had no choice but to accept it.

"There's nothing you can do about it now," he said. "It is what it is. You just live with it and go on."

While not taking anything away from Washington's victory, Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson called the whole thing "unbelievable" and said nothing similar had ever happened to him as a head coach.

"I can't imagine what coach Stoops is going through," Erickson said.

"I've been a part of some tough losses like that," Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh said. "That was a minor miracle. That was a tough one."

Oregon State coach Mike Riley called situations like that his worst nightmare, and went on to recount a near-disaster that happened to him in 1992 while he was with the World League.

As time was running down, Riley's team was ahead and taking a knee on a victory formation. But the center's snap was low and the ball got kicked by the quarterback - and scooped up by the opposition's safety.

The safety ran it down field and went out of bounds as time expired, but it could have resulted in a game-winning field goal, Riley said.

"That's why I'm really conservative at those points in the game with the lead," Riley said. "I have a paranoia about that."

Oregon coach Chip Kelly went so far as to talk to the No. 13 Ducks about what happened to the Wildcats.

"It's just another example of the old cliche," Kelly said. "It isn't over until it's over."

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WORKING THE WILDCAT: Oregon State finally unveiled an offensive formation that has been "in the lab" this season: the wildcat.

The wildcat, considered gimmicky in the past, has been gaining popularity around the nation. California runs it with running back Jahvid Best. Notre Dame's version is nicknamed "the Leprecat."

The Beavers pulled out the wildcat formation early last weekend against Stanford, and the result was better than even the Beavers could have expected.

Tailback Jacquizz Rodgers took a direct snap from the new wildcat formation and ran 61 yards on the Beavers' first drive - leading to a tone-setting touchdown in a 38-28 victory.

"The first thing was to just get the snap, everything just fell into place after that," said Rodgers, who ran for a career-high 189 yards and four touchdowns against the Cardinal.

Coach Mike Riley and the Beavers often joke about stuff they are working on as being in the lab. The wildcat was in the care of offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf.

"The players were kidding Danny for a long time about when he was going to call that in a game, since we've been practicing it since last spring," Riley said.

The wildcat formation is marked by an unbalanced offensive line, with the running back taking a direct snap. It's another example of how the Beavers have toyed with unexpected plays. Last season they became known for running the fly sweep.

And there could be still more to see from Oregon State.

Rodgers, or Quizz as he is known, has been known to pass in practice and was asked whether he would ever throw out of the wildcat formation.

"That's still in the lab," he smiled.

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TO GOATEE OR NOT TO GOATEE: USC coach Pete Carroll took to Twitter to campaign this week.

No, he wasn't looking for poll votes, or drumming up Heisman hype for one of his players. That's just not Carroll's style.

Instead, he was campaigning for votes to resolve something that has been pestering all of Troy this season: Should Tommy Trojan have a goatee?

Kenny Morris is the drum major of the Trojan Marching Band, the guy who gets the role of Tommy Trojan. He has facial hair.

Morris says he's gotten comments both ways about whether the iconic Tommy should be clean shaven. So he has taken the issue to fans, via the blog on Southern California's official athletics Web site.

The results of the vote will be obvious on Saturday when the Trojans visit Notre Dame.

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HONORS: Oregon State running back Jacquizz Rodgers, Washington linebacker Mason Foster and Oregon kick returner Kenjon Barner received Pac-10 player of the week honors.

Rodgers ran for a career-high 189 yards and four touchdowns in the Beavers' 38-28 victory over Stanford. He also had five catches for 82 yards, giving him 271 all-purpose yards.

"He's one of the best running backs we'll face," Stanford safety Bo McNally said about the 5-foot-7 sophomore known as Quizz. "He's a rare kind of guy. You don't see guys that small who can bring it like he can."

Rodgers, a sophomore, was the Pac-10's offensive player of the year last season as a freshman.

Foster had a 37-yard interception return in the Huskies' 36-33 victory over Arizona, while Barner, a freshman, returned the second-half kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in the No. 13 Ducks' 24-10 victory at UCLA.