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Washington State suffered a humiliating 24-13 loss last Friday to Nevada. With an 0-2 start, the Cougars chances of attaining a bowl game this season seem to have vanished.
The Cougars started the game slowly, and an early interception thrown by Connor Halliday led to a 7-0 lead for the Wolfpack. Nevada would race out to 14-0 lead before the Cougars rallied and only trailed 14-10 at the half.
In the third quarter the Cougars moved the ball well, but missed two field goals. The Washington State defense couldn't hold any longer, and Nevada scored to take a 21-10 lead.
The teams traded field goals in the fourth quarter and Nevada won 24-13.
Washington State Defense
In a switch from the Rutgers game, the Cougar defense actually played well, while the offense struggled. The Cougars held Nevada to only 324 yards, 214 rushing and only 110 yards through the air. However, the Cougars were not able to force any turnovers.
Washington State Offense
The Cougar offense struggled all night, and rarely showed any consistency. They managed to gain 427 yards, but had two costly turnovers. Penalties slowed many drives, and the Cougars couldn't score in the red zone.
Quarterback Connor Halliday was 38 of 57 for 389 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT's. Despite completing 66% of his passes, Halliday was inconsistent and couldn't put the ball in the end zone. The offensive line played decently, but gave up 4 sacks and allowed Nevada to put some pressure on Halliday. The Cougars only ran the ball 18 times for a net of 38 yards (losses from sacks counted), but Theron West had 3 carries for 29 yards and Jamal Morrow had 7 carries for 32 yards.
Untimely penalties killed many Cougar drives. They finished with 10 penalties for 72 yards.
Washington State Special Teams
Special teams once again hurt the Cougars. Erik Powell missed two field goals in the third quarter, one from 37 yards and another from 39.
This was a difficult loss for the Cougars, dropping them to 0-2. The Cougs were favored to win this game, and should have. Nevada simply played a more physical game than the Cougars. The loss is going to make it very tough to get to a bowl.