Washington State Cougars 1-3 Overall (0-2 Conference)

This Week’s Score: USC 27 – Washington State 6

Next Week’s Opponent: @Oregon

Just two weeks ago, the Cougars were coming fresh off of a crushing home loss to the lowly Hawaii Warriors, putting into serious question whether or not they would win a single game this season. Losing Jeshua Anderson for the year did nothing but fuel the fire. Not many people were giving them a chance against SMU, considered to be the last real chance they had.

And then they beat SMU in remarkable come-from-behind fashion. While some might point to a Bo Levi Mitchell collapse, the most important thing to take from that game was the fact that the team never gave up, and showed a ton of heart, making the big plays when they needed to. But as good as everyone felt about the win, losing RB James Montgomery for the season and a trip to USC made it look like the happiness would be short lived.

But for the second straight week, the Cougars shocked everyone. A quick strike touchdown pass by Matt Barkley followed by an onside kick and another huge touchdown pass on the first play of the ensuing drive made it 20-0 USC in the first quarter, making it look like we were well on our way to a repeat of last year’s humiliating blowout loss.

But once again, the Cougars showed that they aren’t going to just roll over. True freshman quarterback Jeff Tuel took over and performed admirably, going 14/22 for 130 yards and an interception. His performance was highlighted by a 19-play drive that spanned 8 minutes and 35 seconds in the second quarter that unfortunately ended with no points do to a missed FG, but quickly established the young passer as an offensive threat. WR Gino Simone also had a big day, hauling in eight catches for 83 yards.

As far as moral victories go, they don’t get a whole lot bigger than this one. Washington State controlled the clock, forced two turnovers, and found themselves a quarterback worth getting excited about. Interesting stat on the Cougars; through four games, Washington State is outscoring their opponents in the second half by a score of 53-36. We might have all been writing off the Cougars, but they aren’t writing themselves off.

Things don’t get any easier for Washington State this week when they head into Autzen. But with Cal just getting beat 42-3 there, the Cougars probably can’t do a whole lot worse.

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