As the school year begins to wind down and my time as a Coug nears its end, I feel it

is appropriate to relive my personal top 10 moments in Cougar athletics. With all due respect
to all the sports Washington State participates in, growing up I only paid close attention to
basketball and football which is why they’re the only sports I focus on in this list.

10. January 10, 2009 – Freshman Klay Thompson, known for his quiet demeanor on the
court, found himself on a breakaway steal. With teammate Nikola Koprivica running
alongside, Thompson took matters into his own hands and threw down a two-handed dunk over a
Stanford defender who was called for a blocking foul.

9. November 22, 2008 – What many considered to be the worst Apple Cup in the history of the
series, but there still had to be a winner. On this day, kicker Nico Grasu sent the Cougars home
victorious 16-13 after his game winning field goal in overtime. I cherish this victory because it
kept the Huskies with zero wins for the entire season.

8. January 3, 1999 – Probably the most obscure highlight on this list but I remember it well
while watching in my dad’s apartment. There weren’t many highlights for the Cougar basketball
program in the 90’s but Jan-Michael Thomas supplied one when the Cougars opened up
conference play with a 72-71 victory over the Dawgs as Thomas nailed a three-point shot at the
buzzer.

7. October 1, 2011 – With the Cougars down 10 points with less than three minutes to play, they
capped off an incredible comeback when Marshall Lobbestael threw a strike to Marquess
Wilson for what would be the eventual game winning 63-yard touchdown.

6. January 30, 2011 – The Washington Huskies came into Pullman ranked in the top 25 but they
couldn’t handle the madness of the Zzu Cru. At no point was the coliseum rocking more than
three minutes into the second half when Faisal Aden connected with Reggie Moore on an
alley-oop dunk off of a Husky turnover.

5. December 30, 2003 – The number 14 Cougars upset the number five Texas Longhorns in
the Holiday Bowl. Even with Texas holding future NFL players such as Roy Williams, Vince
Young and Cedric Benson, the Cougar defense was too much for the Longhorns and it all
came to a fitting end on the last play of the game when D.D. Acholonu chased down Texas
quarterback Chance Mock to cap a 28-20 victory.

4. November 22, 1997 - In a game that would send the Cougars to their first Rose Bowl since
1931, the Cougars defeated the Washington Huskies 41-35. No play stood out to me more than
when Ryan Leaf found Chris Jackson for his first of two touchdowns on a 57-yard
touchdown pass. Jackson did most of the work though as he bowled over a Husky defender at the
20 before prancing into the end zone.

3. November 21, 1992 – Some of you may have not even have been born yet but this play in the
1992 Apple Cup is to me what Edgar Martinez’s double is to Seattle Mariner fans. All you have to say is, “Bledsoe to Bobo” and I’m already running the film in my head of a snowstorm where Drew Bledsoe hooked up with Phillip Bobo for a 44-yard touchdown concluding with a pig pile under the goal posts.

2. November 24, 2007 – Easily my favorite moment that I witnessed in person. Tied at 35
with two minutes to go in the ’07 Apple Cup, Alex Brink connected with a wide open
Brandon Gibson for a touchdown that would be the game winner. It was Brink’s final pass as a
Cougar and it could not have been sweeter.

1. February 28, 2009 – On senior day in Pullman, it was Taylor Rochestie who had his
biggest moment when he drained a three-pointer in overtime to take down number 14 Arizona
State. This moment not only is great for the game itself but what happens afterwards. I give
credit to YouTube user "TrueCoug24" for putting together a two minute montage of those last
moments and what it means to be a Cougar.