PASADENA, Calif. -- At least Washington State players were not forced to choose which coach to douse with Gatorade.

	Mike Price wanders the sideline during the final game of his 14 years as WSU's head coach.

Mike Price stood on the sidelines as the team's head coach for the last time as Oklahoma rolled over the Cougars 34-14 in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday. A short distance away stood defensive coordinator Bill Doba, who succeeds Price as head coach. There was some speculation before the game that players might not know which coach to douse should the Cougars win.

It was a disappointing end to a season that saw the Cougars (10-3) rise as high as No. 3 in college football polls. It was only the third 10-victory year for WSU.

In the locker room after the game, Cougars players huddled around Price, who had put in a total of 20 years at WSU, and shouted "Cougar Pride!''

"We wanted to send coach out with a win tonight, but we couldn't get it done,'' quarterback Jason Gesser said.

"The coach told us we had the best team in Washington State history,'' senior running back John Tippins said.

Most players said Price's decision to leave for Alabama had no effect on the way they played.

"It wasn't a distraction. He did a real good job of telling us what we needed to do to win the Rose Bowl,'' left tackle Calvin Armstrong said. "Afterwards, there were a lot of mixed emotions. It's sad to see such a quality coach leaving.''

Price said he didn't think the hoopla surrounding his departure affected the way his players performed.

"It was business as usual on the field,'' Price said. "I never had a twinge'' that something was amiss. "I think I'm leaving the program in great shape, with three great guys as coaches.''

Offensive coordinator Mike Levenseller and defensive assistant Robb Akey will remain with Doba.

WSU players said Oklahoma didn't throw anything at them they hadn't seen during practices the last three weeks, but Sooners running back Quentin Griffin offered some new wrinkles.

"We've been seeing it for a month, against our scout teams,'' defensive end Fred Shavies said. "But he's a better back than we've been seeing in practice. We missed too many tackles and we got worn down.''

Oklahoma's defense proved nettlesome, WSU players said.

"They were a really aggressive defense, like we knew they would be,'' wide receiver Devard Darling said. "They flew around the football. Oklahoma is a really good team and a really good defense.''

By scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, Washington State avoided a third shutout at the hands of the Sooners. WSU teams were beaten 21-0 in 1967 and 28-0 in 1938 by Sooners teams in Norman, Okla.

Players from the 1998 Rose Bowl team, which was beaten by Michigan 21-16, were on the sidelines and in the locker room. Former quarterback Ryan Leaf was among them.

Levenseller said he told the players to keep their chins up.

"The season's over. We didn't win the Rose Bowl, which was our goal, but we won the Pac-10,'' Levenseller said. "We still had a hell of a year.''