Washington State had its chances to walk out of Logan with a win, and for a half it looked like the Cougars were controlling the night. But a pair of second-half turnovers, a pile of penalties and one crushing replay reversal turned Friday into a 17-16 loss to Utah State at Maverik Stadium.
The swing came late. With 7:40 left, Utah State linebacker Asher Cunningham stripped the ball from WSU tight end Jack Pedersen as Pedersen was going to the ground after a short catch.
The play was first ruled a catch with possession, a call that would have sent Washington State deep in its own territory to punt. Utah State challenged, the Pac-12 replay office overturned it, and the Aggies took over at the WSU 19-yard line.
Three plays later, Javen Jacobs punched in a 2-yard touchdown to put Utah State ahead 17-16 with 6:22 remaining.
Washington State never recovered. The Cougars had two final possessions and went three-and-out both times, gaining just two yards combined.
Cunningham was everywhere for Utah State, finishing with a game-high 17 tackles and forcing both WSU turnovers in the second half.
The opening 30 minutes, though, belonged to Washington State. With first-year coach Kirby Moore handling the offense for the first time and Caden Pinnick starting at quarterback, the Cougars looked refreshed. They rolled up 193 yards in the first half, their best first-half output this season against an FBS opponent, and put up 16 points, their highest half total of the year, to build a 16-3 lead at the break.
Two areas Moore has been pushing hard finally showed up early: better down-and-distance situations and better control of the clock. WSU went 5-for-12 on late-down conversions and held the ball for 20 minutes and 31 seconds in the first half.
That good work disappeared after halftime.
Pinnick lost a fumble on a misdirection run, giving Utah State the ball at the Cougars’ 39 with 8:59 left in the third quarter. Soon after, quarterback Grady Brosterhous hit Eli Wood for a 27-yard touchdown, and the Aggies had their momentum.
Washington State’s offense, meanwhile, went flat. The Cougars managed only 64 yards in the second half, and four of their seven drives lasted just three plays without producing a first down, including the turnover on Pedersen’s catch.
The turnover issues have become a brutal pattern. Washington State has committed a turnover in all six of its games, and it has had multiple turnovers in four of them.
The penalties were just as damaging. The Cougars were flagged 13 times for 113 yards, a season high. Ten of those penalties were on offense, and seven came against the offensive line.
The right side of that line took the worst of it. Right guard Nick Bakken was called for two holding penalties and a false start, while right tackle Jaylin Caldwell was flagged twice for holding.
Still, there were bright spots in the first half that Moore can point to. The offense used more misdirection to create throwing lanes for Pinnick and get the ball out quickly, especially to tight ends Jack Pedersen and Trey Leckner. When the lanes weren’t there, Pinnick also showed a willingness to pull it down and run.
Washington State’s second series was one of the best sequences of the night. The Cougars went 54 yards in 15 plays, used 9:20 of clock and scored on Jack Stevens’ 43-yard field goal to go up 6-0.
Leo Pulalasi later ripped off a 54-yard touchdown run, the longest of his WSU career. Stevens added three field goals from beyond 40 yards, including a 50-yarder early in the second quarter that matched his career long from last week.
In Other News...
Washington State Let Another Winnable Game Slip Away
Washington State had plenty of chances to turn a messy, turnover-filled afternoon into a much-needed win, but the Cougars could not make enough of their breaks count against Utah State. Jack Stevens provided two field goals, Leo Pulalsi added a touchdown run, and for stretches it looked like the game might tilt the Cougars way as both teams worked through penalties, stalled drives and defensive stops.
Instead, the kind of game Washington State had to close out slipped away in a hurry, leaving the Cougars with another frustrating result in a season already full of them. Utah States late push kept the pressure on throughout the finish, and the loss dropped Washington State deeper into the Pac-12 standings with more questions than answers about how this team is going to finish. [Read more 🡒]
Washington State Felt How Costly A Few Missed Stops Became
Missed tackles and missed chances are the kind of small defensive errors that can tilt a game in a hurry, and Washington State had to live with that reality after a late stretch turned costly. Utah State linebacker Asher Cunningham was all over the field, piling up a career-high 17 tackles while flashing the kind of disruption that can change a games rhythm, and the Cougars were left chasing the kind of stops that never quite arrived when they needed them most.
There were bright spots up front for Washington State, including nose tackle Jirah Leaupepetele, who logged two solo stops and his first full sack of the season. He also made a critical late-game tackle as the Cougars tried to steady things defensively, but the bigger issue was the sequence of plays they could not finish cleanly enough to keep the pressure from spilling into the final outcome. [Read more 🡒]
Washington State's Offensive Reset Already Faces A Brutal Question
Washington States offensive reset was already under a microscope before kickoff against Utah State, with coach Kirby Moore taking playcalling duties away from Matt Miller in an effort to spark a unit that had needed a jolt. The Cougars did get points early, and kicker Jack Stevens was steady in the first half, drilling all three of his field-goal attempts, including a 50-yarder, to keep the game within reach.
But the follow-up only sharpened the concern. Washington State was blanked after halftime in a 17-16 loss, with the offense stalling amid turnovers and penalties, and the margin for error suddenly looks even thinner with Oregon State next on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]