Tuiasosopo makes all the plays.(The Orange County Register)

PASADENA, Calif. _ He has the name nobody can pronounce and the skills no one can describe. The other flashy quarterbacks make more headlines.

Marques Tuiasosopo just makes more plays.

Let Drew Brees generate all those votes in the Heisman balloting and all that interest from the pro scouts.

Washington's warrior of a leader, the gritty grandson of an American Samoan Chief, generates something better. He generates victories.

It was Tuiasosopo running and passing and getting his uniform dirty, being in the middle of all the Huskies' good plays and, yes, a few of the bad ones, that separated the two teams on this picture post card afternoon in the 87th Rose Bowl.

"He's the absolute epitome of what a quarterback should be," said Washington coach Rick Neuheisel, after Tuiasosopo's Player of the Game performance catapulted the 11-1 Huskies to an emotional 34-24 New Year's Day victory they all dedicated to Curtis Williams, their paralyzed teammate.

This game was supposed to be about the classic drop-back passer from Purdue. It proved to be more about the pure football player from Seattle. The option quarterback the pros won't draft in the first round. The chunky kid guaranteed not to impress everybody at those NFL scouting combines next month.