The Washington State Cougars competed head-to-head with Arizona State on Saturday afternoon, but came up on the short end of the scoreboard, 27-14.

Coach Paul Wulff faced his former college coach across the field in Martin Stadium. The student was trying to give the teacher a lesson.

It was the teacher, coach Dennis Erickson, and his Sun Devils delivering a lesson and escaping Pullman with a win.

Barely.

The defensive unit of ASU brought their "A" game with them. They confused, befuddled, dominated, and shut-out the Cougs the entire first half, yielding a mere 34 net yards of offense.

Washington State was able to generate a couple of touchdowns in the second half. One of those came on a school record 99-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Tuel to Bohnny Forzani. Forzani showed his speed after hauling in Tuel's heave under pressure, something the Sun Devils defense applied to the Cougars offense all afternoon.

Both teams have yet to find a genuine starter at quarterback. Neither head coach found many answers based on the play in this game.

ASU starter senior Danny Sullivan had decent numbers, connecting on 18-of-28 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. But Sullivan was picked for three interceptions by a WSU defense that was flying all over the field. Coach Erickson gave his big freshman Brock Osweiler playing time in the first half. Osweiler didn't impress, though he completed three of his four pass attempts.

Coach Wulff started true freshman Jeff Tuel for the second consecutive game. Behind an offensive line that was overmatched by the Sun Devils, Tuel played inconsistently and seemed rattled by the speed of the game.

With 6:05 left in the first half, sophomore Marshall Lobbestael took over at quarterback. Lobbestael quickly had the Cougs driving 59 yards toward a touchdown. He threw a short route to Daniel Blackledge for his fourth completion on the drive. But when Blackledge turned to go downfield, he was rocked by ASU's Gerrell Robinson and fumbled the ball away to end the march.

Lobbestael continued at quarterback to begin the second half. However, without a running game, the Sun Devils were using stunts with the defensive linemen that kept WSU off the scoreboard through most of three quarters.

When Tuel was put back in the game midway through the third quarter, it was clear he was confident. In his first series back, Tuel called his own number on 3rd-and-10, coming up a couple of feet short of the necessary yardage for a first down. As the offense came off the field, Tuel hoped to get another chance before ASU put the game out of reach.

The last game played at home by the Cougs was won by the defense. In creating six turnovers, they put out another great effort to repeat history a second time this season.

Tuel's desire to get right back out on the field was fulfilled by a great interception by senior linebacker Andy Mattingly. ASU quarterback Sullivan was forced to hurry his throw by blitzing Coug safety Xavier Hicks, giving the aggressive Mattingly a play on the ball.

It took Tuel just four plays to lead WSU to a touchdown.

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