In 56 Seconds the Football Gods smiled upon Wazzu ...

There was no reason to expect the comeback.

There was every reason to expect an interception.

Eleven games, fifty nine minutes, and four seconds into a season of epic futility and the Cougs had one last turn with the ball at their own twenty and no time outs.

And yet, there it was in today's Apple Cup ... or Crapple Cup ... or Rotten Apple Cup ... Kevin Lopina makes the big play to Jared Karstetter and suddenly the QB is scrambling to get the ball spiked with 2 seconds left.

In the 1998 Rose Bowl every one but the referee crew saw that the ball was spiked with 2 seconds left and we have been waiting for that great make up moment from the Football Gods. Lopina gets the team lined up and the ball gets spiked ... and in a season when that sort of break never happened, it did.

Suddenly, Nico Grasu gets the opportunity to make a game tying field goal and two field goals in overtime, including the winner, and we have a new hero in Pullman.

The body language of Washington at that moment told the story. The game should have been over. The game should have never come to this. The opportunity to put this game away had been squandered. As much as I admit I enjoyed that win today ... it really only secured 9th place in the PAC 10 for Wazzu over Washington. Part of me wants to rub it in, but I just can't. The loss today had to be such a gut punch that I simply will not kick the Dawgs when they are down. This time.

I was pacing back and forth from play to play from room to room and TV to TV at my folks' house.

This is one win. It is one win over another struggling program at its lowest point. But, Paul Wulff - he of the most joyfully spastic celebration in Cougar history as he flailed his way across the field - now will find himself with a team in the off-season that played a close one and won. Off-season work outs and Spring drills take on a whole different tone now. Whether they win in Hawaii seems like it should be almost moot at this point, but still ... the trip to Hawaii this week becomes an opportunity to build immediately on this win and go into the off-season on a two game winning streak.

WSU 16, Washington 13 ...

All of that because of 56 seconds.

Go Cougs!