Recap and highlights: Washington State, QB Cameron Ward respond in fourth quarter to beat California 28-9
10/1/2022 S-R
of Spokane
PULLMAN – Inconsistency from the Washington
State quarterback kept the door open. But right as California arrived, he
closed it shut.
Cameron Ward found Renard Bell on a 37-yard
touchdown early in the fourth quarter to stamp out any thought of a comeback
and the Cougars beat the Golden Bears 28-9 on Saturday in front of a homecoming
crowd of 23,021 at Gesa Field.
Ward completed 27 of 40 passes for 343 yards and
three touchdowns, but threw two endzone interceptions to keep California in the
game.
There seemed to be no urgency from Ward or the
offense through three quarters, as the Cougars’ defense stood stout. There
didn’t have to be. The Golden Bears managed three points and seven punts on
their first eight possessions.
That was until Jack Plummer sparked some life in
California with a 49-yard completion to Jeremiah Hunter to set up the teams’
lone touchdown. A familiar feeling of fourth-quarter letdown fell over the
Washington State faithful with 13 minutes remaining.
It didn’t last. Ward responded with the 4-play
75-yard drive in one minute and 28 seconds and California couldn’t keep up.
The Cougars forced a 3-and-out and scored again,
this time a 9-play 67-yard drive that ended in a touchdown from Ward to Billy
Riviere from the one.
Washington State totaled 428 yards and woke up
from a sleepy Saturday when it mattered most.
The Cougars (4-1, 1-1 Pac-12) may be ranked in
the AP Top 25 come Sunday. They travel to No. 6 USC next Saturday for a 4:30
p.m. showcase on FOX.
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TV Take: At times it wasn’t pretty, but Washington
State’s win over Cal was a story of defense
By Vince Grippi Spokesman-Review
10/1/2022
Pretty? No, unless a win, any win, can be
considered beautiful.
Washington State overcame its – read, Cameron
Ward – mistakes, made enough plays – read, Cameron Ward – and topped California
28-9 on homecoming Saturday in Pullman.
If you couldn’t make the trek to the Palouse,
you watched on the Pac-12 Network, with veteran Roxy Bernstein on the
play-by-play and former Washington All-American tackle Lincoln Kennedy
supplying the analysis.
What they
saw
• Surprise is not usually an emotion any
broadcaster wants to own. But Bernstein and Kennedy had to as the game went to
halftime with a 7-3 score. After all, their pregame show highlighted two
offenses that combined for 90 points last week.
Cal’s Jayden Ott, whose 274 rushing yards last
week set a Pac-12 freshman record, and quarterback Jack Plummer, WSU’s Cameron
Ward and others were mentioned before the kick.
“We thought we would get a lot of points,”
Bernstein said as both teams headed to the locker room. “This was not the game
we expected.”
Why were the defenses so dominant?
California (3-2 overall, 1-1 Pac-12) was helped
by a recurring Washington State problem: turnovers – something Bernstein
pointed out often.
In the second quarter, Ward threw an ill-advised
pass from the Cal 29 and safety Daniel Scott picked it off in the end zone. You
could almost hear Kennedy shaking his head.
“Cam Ward knows better,” he said as the replay
rolled. “He’s sitting in the backfield, not pressured at all. … The first thing
you recognize is where the safeties are.
“This ball can’t be thrown there.”
Ward bounced back quickly, though. In the
Cougars’ 75-yard scoring drive to start the second half, he hit on a 47-yard
throw with Renard Bell and a 17-yard scoring strike to Robert Ferrel. The Bears
defender beat on both? Scott.
• It wasn’t Ward’s only poor throw. He was
intercepted again in the end zone, trying to connect with a well-covered
Donovan Ollie midway through the third quarter.
“You just don’t need to throw that ball,”
Kennedy said.
“Now, in all five games, Washington State has
turned it over at least two times,” Bernstein said.
• The mistakes didn’t matter, ultimately.
Washington State’s offense clicked after halftime.
“The Cougars with a strong second half,”
Bernstein said.
By the time Ward connected with Billy Riviere
for a 1-yard touchdown pass – Ward’s third scoring toss – with 6 minutes, 19
seconds left, the Cougars (4-1, 1-1) had outgained the Bears 316 yards to 166
in the second half.
“Just too many weapons,” Kennedy said after the
touchdown, which came one play after Ward threw a perfect left-handed pass to
Andre Dollar, who dropped it in the end zone. But who knew one of the weapons
was Ward’s left arm?
The WSU defense didn’t stop, unlike last week.
It kept the pressure on, finishing with seven tackles for loss and four sacks
of Plummer.
What we
saw
• The last time California won in Pullman,
special teams destroyed the Cougars’ chance to win in a 60-59, ahem, defensive
battle. Everyone remembers the Cougars’ missed 19-yard field goal with seconds
left, but that wasn’t the only issue. The Bears’ Trevor Davis had second-half
kickoff returns of 100 and 98 yards for scores.
So maybe it’s appropriate in this one it was a
34-yard punt return from Ferrel and a tacked-on 15-yard personal foul that
turned around the Cougars’ offense. The penalty was on backup tight end Elijah
Mojarro, who had his helmet knocked off but continued to try to make the
tackle.
Kennedy seemed a little miffed about the
severity of the penalty, especially during a replay showing Mojarro not hitting
anyone without his helmet but still shadowing the runner.
Bernstein explained more than once it was about
player safety, something Kennedy acknowledged but glossed over. He was more
intent on praising the effort.
Given a first down at the 20 yard-line, the
Cougars scored in four plays. Up to that early second-quarter “drive,”
Washington State had just 39 yards. It finished the half with 103, California
121.
• Commercials are tough to watch in most
instances. There are the exceptions, but we’re pretty sure none of those has
been for a Spokane company. The Pac-12’s broadcast networks have space reserved
for local commercials. When they show up, there is only one thing to do. Hit
the fridge. Switch channels. Anything but watch. Maybe you’ll get lucky and
miss that annoying Allegiant commercial as well.
• Kennedy has improved in his time with the
Pac-12 Network. But there are still the more-than-usual faux pas, like
repeatedly referring to California playing at Arizona last week (the game was
in Berkeley).
Or calling the Cal quarterback “Jake Plummer,”
the name of the former Arizona State quarterback, more than once
