Amid a torrent of bottles hurled on the field by angry Washington State fans after a controversial triple-overtime upset defeat in last November's Apple Cup, it didn't seem like college football in the state of Washington could get any loonier.

And then the next eight months showed up, bringing more chaos, embarrassment and upheaval than any mere game could produce, not to mention overshadowing the prospects for what should be two pretty good teams this fall.

First, Washington State's Mike Price announced in December that he was leaving the team he'd coached for 14 years -- a longer tenure than any other Pac-10 coach -- for the unfamiliar SEC football caldron at Alabama.

Then, after just five months in Tuscaloosa, Price was fired following reports that he drunk himself into a near-stupor at a strip club and spent the night in his hotel room with one or more women who weren't his wife, one of whom charged about $1,000 to his bill.

	Keith Gilbertson inherits a Washington team talented enough to make a Pac-10 title run.

Washington fans smirked a bit -- at least until June, when Huskies coach Rick Neuheisel was fired for participating in a high-stakes betting pool on the NCAA basketball tournament, an apparent violation of NCAA rules.

Both coaches were booted without a settlement. Both vehemently protested their terminations and insisted they were wronged by their schools as well as the media. Both are planning litigation.

How 'bout them apples?

"It's almost surreal," opined Keith Gilbertson, who was elevated from offensive coordinator to replace Neuheisel. "If you sat down to write a book, you couldn't come up with something like that."

Washington State promoted defensive coordinator Bill Doba shortly after the Cougars' ill-fated Rose Bowl against Oklahoma, which Price insisted on coaching. Doba's transition obviously was far smoother than Gilbertson's, and he spent a quiet July at his lake house in Michigan, safely out of cell phone range.

"(Gilbertson) is a great guy. I'm happy for him, but I am sorry for Rick," Doba said.

College football in the state of Washington couldn't have changed more dramatically. Price and Neuheisel were high-profile, media-friendly, veteran head coaches who were the national face of their respective programs.

Doba, 62, essentially unknown outside of Pullman, is now the Pac-10's oldest coach. Gilbertson, 55, ranks third. Both are far more low-key than their predecessors, particularly the sometimes prickly Gilbertson. Neither thought their future included the helm of a big-time program.

Gilbertson, the Huskies offensive coordinator during 1991's national championship campaign under the revered Don James, previously was a head coach at Idaho and California. But his Cal tenure ended badly after four years and a 20-26 record, and that seemed to relegate him to finishing his career as an assistant.

"The phone wasn't exactly ringing off the hook," Gilbertson said. "For a guy like myself, who had pretty much put head coaching aspirations away, and thought my career would probably lead back to the NFL, this is in some ways a dream come true."

A Snohomish, Wash., native, he knows the state, the program and knows what Huskies fans want to hear. At the press conference announcing his hiring, he talked about toughness, attention to detail, hard work and fundamentals, qualities that some fans believed were lacking under Neuheisel.

That talk brought tears to the eyes of one Husky legend, who said Gilbertson was like his son.

"He knows football and he's a football guy," James said. "He's not a politician, he's a football coach. ... That's what they got. They got a real, good, solid football man."

	Bil Doba was an assistant under Mike Price before taking over the Cougars this season.

Doba hasn't been a head coach since a successful stint at Mishawaka (Ind.) High School from 1971-76. Despite lobbying from Price last year, his attempt to get an interview for the then-vacant Indiana job was ignored.

Doba couldn't be more unassuming and pleasant. But being a head coach is far different than drawing up Xs and Os behind the scenes, particularly for an isolated program that has to be sold to a nation that probably can't locate Pullman on a map.

"It's tough to replace a legend," Doba said.

But Doba wasn't talking about himself, something he doesn't enjoy doing anyway. He was referring to quarterback Matt Kegel, who has the unenviable task of taking over for Jason Gesser, whom Price dubbed the MVP of Washington State football history.

In fact, both coaches clearly are looking forward to just talking football. Both teams should reach bowl games, and the Huskies should compete for the conference title. While the Cougars have to replace Gesser, defensive lineman Rien Long and cornerback Marcus Trufant, the Huskies welcome back most of their key starters, a group that is headlined by quarterback Cody Pickett and receiver Reggie Williams, both Heisman Trophy candidates.

Kegel, who was terrible in relief of the injured Gesser during the Apple Cup, is the key for the Cougars, and he looked impressive during spring practices.

The Huskies need to improve an anemic running game, bolster a mediocre pass defense and find a kicker and punter.

Both coaches won't have much time to iron out the kinks. Washington opens at Ohio State on Aug. 30, while Washington State plays at Notre Dame and Colorado the first two weekends of September.

Whatever happens this season, Doba could earn significant points by figuring out a way to beat the Huskies, who have won five consecutive Apple Cups and were 11-3 vs. Price.

And what of last year's game, which controversially ended after four hours on Kegel's attempted pass that was ruled a lateral, and therefore became a fumble?

"I'm sick of the question, quite frankly," Kegel said.

That's what the state of Washington needs -- keep the bad feeling and controversy on the field.

Ted Miller covers the Pac-10 for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.