The Washington State Cougars beat the Colorado Buffaloes 28-0 on Saturday night (Oct. 22). It was a very one-sided game, as WSU dominated on both sides of the ball, with quarterback Luke Falk putting up the points and the defense shutting out Colorado for all 60 minutes of action. The 28-0 win moved the Cougars to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in Pac-12 games.
Luke Falk finished the night completing 17-of-34 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns. WSU struggled, at first, to get the offense moving, as both teams had to deal with an immense amount of rain and wind in the Palouse.
Temperatures dropped below 40 degrees and it got even colder factoring in the rain and wind. They were very difficult playing conditions that the “Pac-12 After Dark” broadcasters claimed would favor the team from Colorado.
Defense was key for WSU
A trio of quarterbacks for Colorado completed only 13-of-34 passes for 94 yards and zero touchdowns against the WSU defense. Colorado also tried to pound the ball on the ground, but only totaled 80 yards on 40 carries, for an average of just two yards per carry. Taking into account that one of those runs was a 24-yard break by Phillip Lindsay, it shows how dominating the front line of the Cougars was for the entire night.
As for WSU, the team rushed for 194 yards on 35 carries, putting up a season-high total in the running game.
The team averaged 5.5 yards per carry, including 73 yards from Jamal Morrow, 59 yards from James Williams, and an amazing 41 yards from Luke Falk. Falk broke several runs that helped the Cougars move the ball in the second half.
A huge win for the WSU Cougars
Thanks to this 28-0 win over Colorado, the Washington State Cougars have taken over first place in the Pac-12 North.
The school currently owns the tiebreaker over the Stanford Cardinal and the Washington Huskies enjoyed a bye this weekend. Regardless of the reasoning behind their first-place standing, WSU once again showed that they control their own destiny for the rest of the 2017 college football season.
Adding to a resume that already includes upsetting the USC Trojans and beating up on the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium, WSU has once again improved their chances for a really good bowl game this year.
Four games are left in the regular season that stand between the Washington State Cougars and a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Next up is a road game against the Arizona Wildcats on Oct. 28 at 6:30 PM PT.
