2003 WSU FOOTBALL FACTS HEAD COACH: Bill Doba, Ball State '62 (WSU: 0-0, 1st year; Career: 0-0, 1st year) ASSISTANTS: Robb Akey, DC/Defensive Line Mike Levenseller, OC/Wide Receivers Leon Burtnett, Linebackers Robin Pflugrad, Tight Ends/AHC/RC Ken Greene, Defensive Backs Timm Rosenbach, Quarterbacks Mike Walker, Defensive Line Kelly Skipper, Running Backs Sammy Moore is a Wide Receiver from Bakersfield, CA. Extra point by Drew Dunning (WSU) is good. 8:38. The second half fireworks began with a 54-yard touchdown pass from Matt Kegel to Sammy Moore with just over nine minutes left in the third. Washington State’s Sammy Moore puts on a few last moves during his 51-yard punt return against Texas in the Holiday Bowl NCAA college football game on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2003. Jesus doesn’t care about football but He is there for you. A man was there who didn’t ask a thing about why I was behind bars, and we started talking and reading the Bible. 19 yard field goal by David Pino (TEX) is good. The Cougars hold on to defeat Texas in the '03 Holiday Bowl. I also called my dad. Cedric Benson (TEX) rushed up the middle for a 1 yard touchdown. 9 plays, 66 yards, 5:00. Matt Kegel (WSU) pass right side complete to Sammy Moore (WSU) for a 54 yard touchdown. WSU used a trick play to get in the end zone once again four minutes later. “The family feel,” he says. WSU strength coach Rob Oviatt has been awarded the Admiral U.S. Grant Sharp Trophy for the Cougars. Well despite having Leaf as QB, etc, they only got about 50 to 75 yards, 0,1 TD's, where they should have gotten at least 85 to … After two deep touchdown passes by Matt Kegel to Sammy Moore and Devard Darling, the Cougs had jumped out to a 17-2 lead after the first quarter, but Oregon's crowd was still in … Wright Thompson looks back on an unusual and historic season of college football. Alabama's Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith, Clemson's Trevor Lawrence and Florida's Kyle Trask were revealed on Thursday night as the finalists for the Heisman Trophy. Following a 39-yard field goal, Texas held a 10–7 lead at halftime. Jonathan Smith (WSU) rushed up the middle for a 12 yard touchdown. NEW MEXICO INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS KEY STRATEGIES WSU has … It was a low point for obvious reasons but reached even greater depths because he missed the birth of his daughter, SydaBabe.“I know you always hear about people in jail seeing the light through church, but that’s what happened with me. Life is going my way and I have the support to keep it going.”He’s a foreman with an industrial coatings company and also operates a small concrete paving business on the side. Jonathan Smith (WSU) rushed up the middle for a 12 yard touchdown. Holiday Bowl - Washington State vs Texas Box Score, December 30, 2003 Moore also caught a TD pass in the first quarter. The guys on the team we’re saying ‘Sammy, you’re always talking about Jesus Christ, come on.”He stays in touch with many of his old Cougar teammates and talks with Gesser via Facebook. Holiday Bowl Countdown A game-by-game countdown to the 40th annual San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl, Dec. 28, 6 p.m., at SDCCU Stadium. Notre Dame won it, 29-26 in OT in a see-saw battle. 39 yard field goal by David Pino (TEX) is good. Calvin Turner fields the kickoff inside the 10-yard line then takes off down the field, weaving between Houston defenders to score a 92-yard Hawai'i touchdown to extend their lead to 28-14. WSU marched back with a six-play, 62-yard drive capped off by a 35-yard field goal by Dunning with 1:50 to go, to send the game into overtime. The more I researched, the more I kept finding the family at the center. The Longhorns tried to make a comeback, but a late defensive stand by the Cougars sealed the victory. I’ve always been a devout follower of Jesus Christ, but I got up out of my bunk one day and decided to check out an LDS meeting there in jail. He has committed to Washington State Cougars. Matt Kegel (WSU) pass left side complete to Sammy Moore (WSU) for a 16 yard touchdown. He loves both because the competition is intense. We talked a lot about trying to find truth in life. Until Taylor’s 100-yard score, you had to look all the way back to 2003 to fin the last time WSU scored on a kickoff return. Strength coach wins award. That’s when the absence of football really hit him hard.“I was focused and getting really good grades but I was just lost. 4 plays, 51 yards, 1:45. We took care of each other and loved one another. Matt Kegel (WSU) pass across the middle complete to Sammy Moore (WSU) for a 41 yard touchdown. Hawai'i QB Chevan Cordeiro tosses quickly to Calvin Turner, who stiff-arms a defender on his way to complete a 75-yard touchdown play. My grandma actually called the Pullman Police because she hadn’t heard from me in days and they came and checked on me and said I need to called her. That helped, but when I went home for Christmas I knew I didn’t have the mental frame of mind to return for the second semester.”Tyler Hilinksi’s death by suicide in January hit him hard. It was just one of a series of memorable plays Moore fired up over the last two of WSU’s unparalleled run of consecutive 10-wins seasons from 2001-2003 — the most celebrated and exciting stretch of football in the Cougfan.com Era, which hits 20 years next month.The Colorado kickoff return is actually more of a second-tier feat on Moore’s list of amazing moments. WSU, which also scored later on Sammy Moore's kickoff return, now has scored in 214 consecutive games, last getting shut out by Ohio State in 1984. What would they have gotten in Bobo's place? The next morning I was completely fine. © 2005-2020 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Trandon Harvey and Curtis Nettles add experienced depth while incoming JC transfer receiver Sammy Moore can eventually add another dangerous element to … Moore pointed the nose of the football at the Oregon student section as he crossed the goal line. In the third quarter, Washington State outscored Texas by nineteen points. Wide receiver Sammy Moore is scheduled to play in the Las Vegas All-American Classic on Jan. 17. Washington State tied the game following a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Kegel to wide receiver Sammy Moore. It’s a perfect match for his innate competitive spirit.HIS CAREEN OFF THE RAILS A DECADE ago stemmed in part because “my life didn’t have enough structure (after leaving football). There’s been a lot of negative things said about it or associated with it. The Cougars did finish off the 89th Rose Bowl with style points when Sammy Moore caught a kickoff with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter and weaved through the field for an 89-yard touchdown. The other camdidates mentioned like Sammy Moore, only got about 50 to 73 yards, 0,1 TD's. WSU took a 26-10 lead into the fourth quarter, thanks to two touchdown passes from quarterback Matt Kegel to wide receiver Sammy Moore. Moore had a four-game stretch in games 2-5 with 14 catches for 273 yards and two touchdowns. Sammy Moore FA–Seattle Virgil Williams FA–Chicago 2004 Jonathan Smith FA–Kansas City CLASS OF 30 31. Life in Pullman local watch Hawks cut Moore •Former Washington State University receiver Sammy Moore was released by the Seattle Seahawks on Monday. 20 yard field goal by Drew Dunning (WSU) is good. Cougfan at 20: Sammy Moore’s life back on track in a big way 31 [0] Robert Franklin (6-1, 191, #Fr.) I only knew football and when you lose what you love it can be hard to adjust. He said let’s pray here over the phone for healing. Sammy Moore took a kick back 97 yards — after bobbling the ball — for a touchdown against Colorado last week. I had a hamstring injury and it was hard to walk. Taking a kickoff 89 yards for a TD against Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl. Hawai'I QB Chevan Cordeiro keeps it himself for a 52-yard run and then a few plays later, he shovels a pass to Jonah Laulu for a touchdown. WSU put up 14 points in the fourth quarter, but the offensive spurt was too late and OU finished off the 89th Rose Bowl with style points when Sammy Moore … Matt Kegel (WSU) pass across the middle complete to Sammy Moore (WSU) for a 12 yard touchdown. Winning offensive MVP honors in one of the great victories in WSU history — over No. I fell into a deep depression. Chance Mock (TEX) pass left side complete to Roy Williams (TEX) for a 30 yard touchdown. WSU vs. Notre Dame, 2003. 6: 0: FG. This is the last minute of the game with the WSU radio feed overlaying the video. Extra point by Drew Dunning (WSU) is good. “That’s why I chose WSU coming out of junior college. Sammy Moore had an 89-yard kickoff return for a TD in the loss. His biggest contribution this season has been on kickoff returns (23.4-yard average) and punt returns (8.6 average). 6: 0: XP. A finger-tip catch of a 53-yard Jason Gesser bomb to set up a critical score in the 2002 overtime win over USC in a game that effectively determined the Pac-10 championship. We were a family.”Asked about his knack for shining brightest in the biggest moments, he is straight forward: “I have no idea. Mac Jones, Trevor Lawrence, DeVonta Smith and Kyle Trask are the finalists for the 2020 Heisman Trophy. 10: 13: TD. “The team — just the way we were as a team. Name Title Office Phone Email; Li, Haijun: Prof: WSU Evrt: 425-405-1780: liklu@wsu.edu: Probability, Stochastic Processes, Risk Analysis. 6:26. “I had many questions about the LDS faith at first. 5 Texas in the 2003 Holiday Bowl — with a performance for the ages: 193 all-purpose yards via 66 in receptions, 68 in punt returns and 59 in kickoff returns, and two TDs. His resume reads like a fairy tale: But none of that compares to his greatest achievement: overcoming alcohol and turning the biggest mistake of his life — one that landed him in jail for six months — into a life-altering turn toward a better tomorrow.“Life is great now,” Moore, 37, told CF.C in a recent phone interview from his home southeast of Phoenix in Coolidge, Ariz. “My wife Jessica, my kids, a great job. I walked over to Touchdown Jesus and prayed for healing. "After WSU, Moore signed with the Seattle Seahawks and stuck up to the fourth preseason game of 2004. Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP Sammy Moore hauled in a Kegel bomb for a 54-yard touchdown that gave WSU the lead in the third quarter—which they didn’t surrender for the rest of the game. Matt Kegel (WSU) pass right side complete to Sammy Moore (WSU) for a 54 yard touchdown. Washington State University Football SE 20 * [0] SAMMY MOORE (6-0, 180, Sr.) 88 * [0] Trandon Harvey (5-11, 182, #So.) I just tried to do my part, do what I was supposed to do … maybe defenses were so geared toward stopping Devard (Darling) they weren’t paying attention to me.”In terms of his favorite individual moments, Moore doesn’t pick any part of his MVP work against Texas in the Holiday Bowl.“Playing Notre Dame stands out. He worked for a year and then returned to WSU in 2005 to wrap up  his degree in criminal justice. Making a one-handed, circus catch in the end zone of a 34-yard Matt Kegel pass in the final minute of regulation at Notre Dame in 2003 to send the game into overtime. Quarterback Matt Kegel and safety Virgil Williams have been tabbed for the Gridiron Classic on Jan. 31 in The Villages, Fla. Former WSU quarterback Matt Kegel’s 41-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Sammy Moore midway through the first quarter opened the floodgates. 6:20. The family. FOR 13 SEASONS, until Robert Taylor took one to the house at Arizona State in 2016, Sammy Moore was the answer to a trivia question that was both frustrating and mind numbing: Who was the last Cougar to a return a kickoff for a touchdown?He did that in 2003 in a big Cougar victory at Colorado. WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY Cougars in the Pros COUGARS IN THE NFL (As of June 1, 2004) TEAM POSITION EXPERIENCE ARIZONA CARDINALS James Darling Linebacker 8 Years BALTIMORE RAVENS Devard Darling Wide Receiver Rookie This was a juncture in my life.”The family-centric nature of the Mormon church intrigued Moore. Alas, it would be 10 more seasons before Washington State went bowling again. That really appealed to me.”When his probation ended, he was baptized into the church and it remains an important anchor for him.WHEN IT COMES TO HIS COUGAR CAREER, Moore doesn’t hesitate when asked his favorite memory. Name (click for homepage) Position Room Phone Office Hours Email; Alahmadi, Wail: Grad Student: Neill 222--wail.alahmadi@wsu.edu: Alanazi, Faizah: Grad Student •Former University High … … “We wore the same number, I took my sons to the Arizona game last fall and loved how he played and his energy, and then to learn he was keeping his depression secret just like I was when my career was over … In life, people have things bothering them, there’s  pressure, that they don’t talk about.”Moore says when his grandma, who raised him, died of lung cancer in 2007, “things really went south — losing her was always my biggest fear in life … I started drinking more and more and then got into trouble for the first time in my life.”He doesn’t want to relive the details of his “stupid mistake,” but says the turning point in life came while locked up in the correctional center in Florence, Ariz. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. 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