PAC-10 Washington State gets Rose Bowl bid

The Cougars defeated UCLA, 38-27, and probably will play the Big 12 champion.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- Jason Gesser and the Washington State Cougars earned a Rose Bowl berth in spite of themselves.
Gesser, wearing braces on his sprained right knee and ankle, passed for 247 yards and two touchdowns as the Cougars beat UCLA 48-27 Saturday to get to the Rose Bowl for just the third time.
WSU won despite botching a fake field goal and an onside kick, and getting a field goal blocked.
One poorly thrown pass by Gesser was intercepted by Ben Emanuel and returned for a touchdown, and another one was picked off by Emanuel in the UCLA end zone.
But the offense did its part, and the Cougars' speedy defense and special teams proved too much for the Bruins.
WSU (10-2, 7-1 Pac-10), which played in the Rose Bowl following the 1931 and 1997 seasons, probably will face the Big 12 champion on New Year's Day.
Had UCLA prevailed, it would have meant a Rose Bowl berth for crosstown rival Southern California. Even the presence of hundreds of fans wearing USC colors among the Rose Bowl crowd of 56,335 didn't help the Bruins.
The Trojans (10-2, 7-1), who lost 30-27 in overtime at Washington State on Oct. 5, probably will receive an invitation to the Sugar Bowl.
UCLA (7-5, 4-4) will play a lower-tier bowl.
UCLA freshman Drew Olson completed 13 of 27 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns with two interception and was sacked four times.
Tyler Ebell, another freshman who gained over 100 yards in six straight games earlier this season, was held to 10 yards on nine carries.
Jermaine Green gained 112 yards on 13 carries and ran 80 yards for a touchdown on a third-and-10 play with 48 seconds left before halftime for the Cougars.