• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Henry scores twice as Arizona stuns Washington State

Nov 5, 2006 - 1:38 AM PULLMAN, Washington (Ticker) -- Washington State was back in unfamiliar territory, making its first appearance in the national rankings in nearly three years. Chris Henry changed all that rather quickly.

Henry ran for a pair of touchdowns as lowly Arizona pulled off a 27-17 upset of No. 25 Washington State in Pac-10 Conference action.

It was Arizona's first win in the last five meetings with Washington State (6-4, 4-3 Pac-10), which lost to an unranked opponent for the first time this season.

"I was really pleased with our team effort," Arizona coach Mike Stoops said. "I thought we played probably as good a game on offense, defense and special teams as we've played in quite a while. It was a very complete and gratifying game."

The Wildcats (4-5, 2-4) used a power-running attack to control possession for more than 35 minutes.

"We really controlled the tempo of the game, and that was really pleasing to see," Stoops said.

The brunt of the work fell on the shoulders of the 233-pound Henry, who ran for 94 yards on a school-record 35 carries.

"Every running back thinks about a game like this, when you can help your team out and run the ball hard and carry your team to a victory," Henry said. "It definitely feels good. I think as far as running the ball, it's the best running game I've had because of the fact that it's the most carries I've been given."

"I thought Chris ran exceptionally well," Stoops added. "He really protected the football and got us some tough yards in there."

Arizona owned a 10-point halftime lead, but Washington State cut its deficit to 20-17 on Jed Collins' one-yard TD run with 10:27 left in the third quarter. The Wildcats jumped back ahead by 10, however, as Henry scored a six-yard TD with 2:16 remaining in the period to cap the scoring.

"It always gets down to execution," Stoops said. "Our execution has not been what it needs to be in those tough situations, and it showed up in some games."

Willie Tuitama completed 10-of-17 passes for 159 yards, a touchdown and an interception for Arizona, which won for just the second time in its last six games.

"Basically we just stuck with the game plan," Tuitama said. "We ran the ball all night. Chris was back there all game and played his heart out."

With the victory, Arizona revived its hopes of clinching a berth in a bowl game for the first time since 1998.

"We have three games left," Henry said. "We have to win two for a bowl and we're going to try and win the rest of our games."

Alex Brink went 18-of-33 for 265 yards and a TD for the Cougars, who fell to 13-21 all-time against the Wildcats.

"I don't think we played too well on both sides of the ball," Washington State coach Bill Doba said. "It didn't seem like we were intense."

Washington State moved the ball at will in last week's 37-15 victory over UCLA. But after Brink found Brandon Gibson for a 91-yard score in the first quarter, the Cougars' offense sputtered before the break.

"It took us a while offensively to adjust," Brink said. "Give credit to them - they are a great defense and we knew that coming in."