COUG SOCCER: Washington State Battles to a Draw With No. 1 Stanford
From WSU Sports Info
The Cougars gave everything the Cardinal could handle, earning a draw
against the defending champs.
PULLMAN, Wash. – In one of the biggest games in Lower Soccer Field
history, the Washington State soccer team (11-5-1, 4-5-1) came up with one of
their gutsiest performances of the year as the Cougars earned a hard-fought
draw with No. 1 Stanford (15-0-2, 8-0-1), 1-1, in double-overtime. Battered and
bruised coming into the game, the short-handed Cougars weathered a punishing
attack by the Cardinal in the opening 45 minutes highlighted by 19 shots in the
first half.
Stanford would break through in the 41' on a world-class strike by
Catarina Macario as the sophomore star bent a ball into the upper corner of the
far left post, striking the goal with the outside of her right foot from the
deep corner outside of the Cougars' 18.
Despite the goal, the Cougars never let up in their own attack, turning
the tides of the match late in the second half with a dominant performance over
the final 15 minutes of regulation.
In the 76', the Cougars' pressure would pay off when forward Morgan
Weaver pressured the Cardinal keeper and intercepted a pass just outside the
18. With the ball at her feet and an open net, Weaver gave the home fans the
shot they had been dreaming the entire afternoon as the junior slid her shot
past the outstretched hands of the goalkeeper and into the back of the net. For
the final 35 min of play in regulation and two overtimes the two sides would
play even with neither team putting a shot on frame during extra time.
For the Cougs, the draw was made possible due to the defense as WSU
turned away 12 Cardinal shots on goal led by keeper Rachel Thompson who tied
her career-best with nine saves. The redshirt-junior keeper picked up some key
help from her defensive-mates as the Cougars came up with a trio of team saves
in the game as Brianna Alger, Elaily Hernandez-Repreza, and Grace Hancock all
cleared would-be goals away from the open goal.
Stat of the Match
The Cougars posted a season-high 12 saves including three defensive
saves by the backline.
For your info:
The Cougs' snapped a four-match losing streak to the Cardinal, picking
up their first result against Stanford since their 1-0 win in 2013.
The draw for WSU was its first result over a No. 1 ranked team in nine
contests all-time and the first with a No. 1 ranked Stanford team in six
attempts.
Morgan Weavers' goal was her career-best ninth of the year and 24th
career strike. Two of her nine goals have come against the No. 1 and No. 2
teams in the country
The goal by WSU was the first against the Cardinal in over one month,
the last coming on Sept. 27 when they defeated #2 UCLA, 3-2, at home. It was
just the eighth goal given up by the Cardinal on the season.
The three defensive saves were the most all-time in a single game for
WSU. Elaily Hernandez-Repreza and Brianna Alger both picked up their
first-career defensive saves.
The Cougs close out the regular season Friday, Nov. 2 against Washington
at Lower Soccer Field. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.
Attendance: 921
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Wow, what a match this afternoon! Tied 1-1 after regulation, it went to
two overtimes with neither team, WSU Cougars or Stanford Cardinal, scoring.
Thus, final score in Pullman on Lower Soccer Field in Pac-12 Soccer was a tie.
WSU 1, #1 ranked Stanford 1.
WSU SOCCER vs. STANFORD SUNDAY in PULLMAN
WSU played host to #1 Stanford Sunday afternoon (2pm), Oct. 28, 2018, at
WSU Lower Soccer Field in Pullman. The match
marked the ninth time WSU played the #1 team in the country and the sixth time
that team was Stanford.
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Coug football = Washington State moves up four spots to No. 10 in
Associated Press Top 25; Washington falls out of national poll
UPDATED: Sun., Oct. 28, 2018, 11:36 a.m.
By Theo Lawson Spokane S-R
The Cougars are back inside the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25
rankings for the first time since last October.
Fresh off a 41-38 road victory over No. 24 Stanford on Saturday,
Washington State climbed up four spots from No. 14 to No. 10 in this week’s
edition of the national poll. The Cougars haven’t been this high in the AP Top
25 since they went into a 2017 game at Cal with the No. 8 ranking.
Coincidentally, the Cougars host the Golden Bears this Saturday at Martin
Stadium.
When WSU vaulted from No. 25 to No. 14 last week, the Cougars became the
top-ranked Pac-12 team in the poll for the first time since 2002. That’s still
the case this week – WSU is the only Pac-12 team in the top 15 and one of only
two teams from the conference ranked at all.
The Utes moved up seven spots to No. 16 after cruising past UCLA 41-10
on Thursday. Three Pac-12 teams fell out of the poll after losing games
Saturday. Washington went from No. 15 to unranked after a 12-10 loss to Cal in
Berkeley, Oregon, previously ranked No. 19, got clobbered by Arizona 44-15 in
the desert, and No. 24 Stanford dropped out by virtue of its loss to WSU.
The top five of the AP Top 25 remained unchanged: No. 1 Alabama, No. 2
Clemson, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 LSU and No. 5 Michigan all held onto their
places. Alabama, LSU and Michigan all had byes, while Notre Dame beat Navy
44-22 and Clemson beat Florida State 59-10.
WSU also jumped four places in the Amway Coaches’ Poll, from No. 15 to
No. 11. Voters bumped Utah to No. 16 and kept the Huskies in the poll despite
their loss to Cal, ranking them No. 19.
The Cougars are also expected to receive a high mark when the first
edition of the College Football Playoff rankings come out Tuesday afternoon.
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FOOTBALL Saturday, Nov. 3: California Golden Bears at Washington State
Cougars, 7:45 p.m. PDT TV: ESPN
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FOOTBALL WSU
Lewiston Trib
> Stars of the game
GARDNER MINSHEW of Washington State passed 40-for-50 for 438 yards,
three touchdowns and no interceptions, and is likely to climb in the Heisman
Trophy polls. BLAKE MAZZA kicked a 42-yard field goal to provide the winning
margin with 19 seconds left, making him 2-for-2 for the day. DEZMON PATMON
caught 10 passes for 127 yards, while JAMIRE CALVIN tallied 102 reception yards
and popped two pivotal catch-and-runs. JAMES WILLIAMS added nine receptions for
127 yards and rushed for 30 yards. On defense, PEYTON PELLUER collected seven
tackles and a sack, plus forced a fumble recovered by TAYLOR COMFORT. For
Stanford, K.J. COSTELLO went 34-for-43 for 323 yards, four touchdowns and no
interceptions, finding J.J. ARCEGA-WHITESIDE 10 times for 11 yards and two
scores.
> Turning point
With the score tied 31-31 and facing third-and-5 from the Stanford
31-yard line in the fourth quarter, Minshew scrambles toward the right sideline
and makes a flywheel flip toward the first-down marker. He comes up short but
keeps the ball on fourth-and-1, nearly getting sacked before driving through a
tackle for a first down. That helps set up his 3-yard TD pass to RENARD BELL.
> Up next
The Cougars play host to California on Dad's Day at 7:45 p.m. Saturday
in a game at Martin Stadium televised by ESPN.
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WSU FOOTBALL
No. 14 Cougars rally for victory over Stanford, now stand as only Pac-12
team with just one loss
Lewiston Trib and AP
STANFORD, Calif. - The Cougars had already received an improbable boost
from the other side of San Francisco Bay.
But they did the heavy lifting themselves here at Stanford.
Gardner Minshew fueled a rally by completing his first 19 passes of the
second half and Blake Mazza kicked a 42-yard field goal with 19 seconds
remaining Saturday night to give No. 14 Washington State a thrilling 41-38 win
over No. 24 Stanford.
Coupled with Washington's 12-10 loss to California at Berkeley, the
Cougars' come-from-behind win lifted them into sole possession of first place
in the Pac-12 North.
The Cougars trailed by 14 points in the second quarter, but Minshew
directed three touchdown drives in the second half, putting Wazzu ahead 38-31
with a 3-yard scoring dart to Renard Bell with 4:28 left.
Stanford answered with K.J. Costello's 25-yard TD strike to J.J.
Arcega-Whiteside with 1:25 on the clock, but Jamire Calvin scampered 35 yards
on a catch-and-run as Minshew drove WSU into position for Mazza's game-winner.
After getting two fields blocked earlier in the season, Mazza put plenty
of loft on the kick this time and split the uprights from the right hash mark.
"It's exhilarating and it's awesome," Mazza said. "Those
are the two things that describe that moment. Only a certain amount of people
can experience that in sports."
Minshew accelerated his upstart push into the Heisman Trophy race by
completing 40 of 50 passes for 438 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Earlier in the day, Cal had stunningly handed the Huskies their second
conference loss, meaning the Cougars (7-1 overall) now lead the North at 4-1, a
game ahead of Washington, Stanford and Oregon in the loss column.
Dezmon Patmon submitted his strongest performance as a Cougar with 10
catches for 127 yards. His three receptions keyed a TD drive to start the
second half, capped by a 3-yard scoring pass to James Williams. Later Patmon
made three straight catches to open another TD march, this one culminating in
Minshew's perfect 7-yard toss to Tay Martin to tie the score 31-31.
Penalties hurt the Cougars in the first half, especially as Stanford
(5-3 overall) took command with two touchdowns in the second quarter. Two false
starts and an ineligible-receiver penalty aided the first of those, and an
after-the-whistle body slam by Marcus Strong fueled the second. And the
Stanford offense, boosted by the return of injured star tailback Bryce Love,
was effective even without the help.
So the Cougars trailed 28-17 at halftime despite an early takeaway
(Peyton Pelluer forcing a fumble recovered by Taylor Comfort) and a late
54-yard catch-and-run by Calvin to set up a Mazza field goal as time expired.
"The first half I thought we were disjointed on all sides of the
ball," WSU coach Mike Leach said. "Part of it's them (the Cardinal).
I thought they came out really fresh. They'd been off a lot the last week and a
half. ... They're an impressive unit."
Minshew scrambled for 4 yards on a key drive in the fourth quarter,
nearly performing a flip out of bounds as he fought for the marker. He then
converted the fourth down with a keeper, setting up the scoring pass to Bell.
"It was a little bit like doing surgery with chain saws out there
for both sides," Leach said. "You just have to stick in it. You never
know what's going to happen in a football game."
The Cardinal had been stopped on a fourth-and-3 from the 32 on the
previous drive, with Dominick Silvels stuffing Love for a 1-yard loss on a
short pass from K.J. Costello. That was one of the few mistakes Costello made
all day as he threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns, including two to
Arcega-Whiteside.
"Learned a couple lessons," Stanford coach David Shaw said.
"It's hard. You can't check the ball down on fourth-and-(3), unless the
checkdown is beyond the first-down marker. That was a tough play."
The Cougars extended their winning streak to four games and now have two
straight victories over ranked opponents for the first time since 2002. And in
contrast to the previous week, they didn't have the benefit of a WSU crowd
whipped into a frenzy earlier in the day by ESPN GameDay. Not even close.
"We had to bring our own energy," WSU nickelback Hunter Dale
said. "And I thought we brought it well the second half."
Washington St. 14 3 7 17-41
Stanford 14 14 3 7-38
First Quarter
STA-Arcega-Whiteside 18 pass from Costello (Toner kick), 11:09
WST-J.Williams 5 run (Mazza kick), 8:17
WST-Borghi 4 pass from Minshew (Mazza kick), 5:23
STA-Scarlett 2 run (Toner kick), 1:22
Second Quarter
STA-Smith 10 pass from Costello (Toner kick), 9:25
STA-Heimuli 1 pass from Costello (Toner kick), 1:04
WST-FG Mazza 23, :00
Third Quarter
WST-J.Williams 3 run (Mazza kick), 10:32
STA-FG Toner 40, 6:16
Fourth Quarter
WST-Martin 7 pass from Minshew (Mazza kick), 12:26
WST-Bell 3 pass from Minshew (Mazza kick), 4:28
STA-Arcega-Whiteside 25 pass from Costello (Toner kick), 1:25
WST-FG Mazza 42, :19
A-39,596.
WST STA
First downs 24 27
Rushes-yards 19-59 23-120
Passing 438 323
Comp-Att-Int 40-50-0 34-43-0
Return Yards 0 133
Punts-Avg. 4-34.25 2-36.0
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-1
Penalties-Yards 9-89 3-18
Time of Possession 31:04 28:56
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Washington St., J.Williams 8-30, Borghi 7-25, Minshew 4-4.
Stanford, B.Love 5-53, Speights 8-43, Costello 7-19, Scarlett 3-5.
PASSING-Washington St., Minshew 40-50-0-438. Stanford, Costello
34-43-0-323.
RECEIVING-Washington St., Patmon 10-127, J.Williams 9-79, Martin 5-13,
Calvin 3-102, Winston 3-23, Harris 2-27, C.Jackson 2-23, Borghi 2-17, Bell
2-14, Sweet 2-13. Stanford, Arcega-Whiteside 10-111, Smith 9-112, Irwin 8-80,
B.Love 4-14, M.Wilson 1-3, Parkinson 1-2, Heimuli 1-1.
MISSED FIELD GOALS-None.
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WSU football
In unpredictable Pac-12, Washington State continues to be the cream of
the crop
By John Blanchette, Spokane S-R
STANFORD, Calif. – The market corrections in college football are a
thrill ride to rival Kingda Ka, or even the games themselves.
But, no, the Washington State Cougars are not going to jump 11 spots in
the polls this week.
Wouldn’t be the worst idea, though.
And surely no more indefensible than the consensus presumptions of the
preseason.
Remember those? There were a lot of 6-6s projected, or maybe five wins
and you could even find a 3-9 prediction or two out there, though that seemed
the fuzziest of math when you looked at Wazzu’s nonconference schedule. In any
event, the best the Cougs were supposed to aspire to was a leaky raft and a
roll of duct tape, and maybe a reward in one of those postseason games that
sheds one sponsor’s name for another every year.
And now look.
Another ballsy fourth-quarter pass on Saturday, another signature win –
this one 41-38 over 24th-ranked Stanford, on the Cardinal’s home ground where
the atmosphere wasn’t ionized by spectacle and delirium as it was a week ago.
The Cougs – 7-1 and the toast of the Pac-12. Hell, not just the toast.
The face-saver.
And remember, only the Woodie Dixon Bowl likely separates them from
being undefeated.
Around them? Nothing but carnage. Just up the road in Berkeley, muddling
Cal takes down the underachieving kinda guys of Washington. At last, the end of
the unfairly-maligned-Jake-Browning narrative, though surely he gets to share
the brickbats with his coaches.
What else? Hapless Oregon State gets happy with an impossible comeback
at Colorado. Arizona State humbles USC. Oregon, exposed a week ago in Pullman,
laid bare at Arizona.
You want market corrections? Only mercy will sustain more than Wazzu and
Utah as Pac-12 representatives in the Top 25 come Sunday.
Think not? Already this season, eight teams have taken double-digit hits
in the polls after embarrassing losses.
Then again, embarrassment is in the eye of the beholder. WSU coach Mike
Leach himself made the case last week that the Pac-12’s worst would eviscerate
the low-enders of the SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 – and if it triggered a
nation’s roll of the eyes, either Saturday’s results bolstered his point or
furthered the snark that the Pac doesn’t have a top end.
Except the Cougs, of course. They’re top end.
Someone’s going to have to prove otherwise.
The Cardinal tried – taking a two-touchdown lead at halftime, punishing
Wazzu with the pass, tying the score with 85 seconds to go. It wasn’t enough.
Gardner Minshew, America’s new quarterback sweetheart, completed 19
straight passes in the second half. Dez Patmon monstered Stanford’s JJ
Arcega-Whiteside to a draw of big-man receivers. Jamire Calvin made the
defining catch that Travell Harris did a week ago and Easop Winston made a
month ago.
“They flat-out earned it,” Stanford coach David Shaw said.
“We had guys in coverage. We had guys there. Quarterback made the
throws. Guys made the catch. Guys made some guys miss. It wasn’t just (our)
guys diving on the ground. We had the lead and we just couldn’t extend it and
we couldn’t keep it.”
It was back in August, along about the time the Cougs were picked to
finish fifth in the Pac-12 North, when Leach cautioned that his team was better
than people believed.
What made him think so?
“Well, the quick, simple answer is, I always think that,” he said. “On
Sunday, I’m not sure we can beat Pullman Junior High. On Thursday, I think we
can beat an all-star team of the Eagles and Patriots. This is not a business
for rational people.
“And that’s not why anybody comes to the games – to see what’s supposed
to happen. They want to be surprised. And it’s an opportunity for players to
elevate and do something no one thought they could do and maybe didn’t know
they could do themselves. But that starts with expectations and generating them
for the whole group.”
There were other things, though. He’d Hail Mary’d himself a quarterback
– Minshew – after the devastating suicide of Tyler Hilinski, the presumptive
starter. Youngsters ratcheted up the battles for other open jobs. Through
tragedy off the field and competition on, the Cougs forged bonds that
transcended positions and sides of the ball.
“Maybe the most coachable team I’ve ever had,” Leach allowed.
If it was almost hilarious to see the Cougs become an overnight
sensation last week, the attention will only grow. Unlikely as they are to
figure in the College Football Playoff picture, they’re the only Pac-12 team
that can.
“It’s just clutter,” Leach said. “Everybody thought we were going to get
our head kicked in nearly every game. That didn’t do us any benefit to pay any
attention to that, so it doesn’t do any benefit to pay attention to the other.”
So it’s on with the business of making market corrections – in
everybody’s notions of what they should be. And maybe their own.
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Washington State’s Blake Mazza nails first game-winning field goal of
career in win over Stanford
UPDATED: Sun., Oct. 28, 2018, 1:50 a.m.
By Theo Lawson, S-R of Spokane
STANFORD, Calif. – Max Borghi spoke with a scratchy voice Saturday night
as he responded to reporters after No. 14 Washington State’s 41-38 win over No.
24 Stanford.
The freshman running back and his teammates had plenty of reason to
empty their lungs in the wake of a come-from-behind victory on The Farm, but
that isn’t necessarily why Borghi had trouble getting words to come out during
Saturday’s postgame interviews.
“I’ve been screaming all week, preparing Mazza – Blake Mazza – in
practice,” Borghi explained. “We were actually screaming at the kickers to give
them that pressure feeling and I was going at it there.”
Anticipating Mazza’s right leg would probably determine WSU’s fate at
some point this year, the Cougars began their screaming ritual just last week.
Their timing, suffice it to say, was fortuitous.
WSU and Stanford were tied at 38-38 when the Cougars sent out Mazza for
a 42-yard field goal with 19 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. Stanford
Stadium isn’t reputed as the noisiest venue in the Pac-12 Conference, but the
home fans that did stick around to witness Saturday’s finish were collectively
roaring by the time Mazza walked out to the center of the field and lined up
behind holder Trey Tinsley.
The Arkansas transfer took a deep breath before he struck the center of
the ball and watched it soar over Stanford’s defensive line, through the
uprights and into the back netting. Mazza pumped his fist three times in
celebration before being hoisted up by his offensive line.
“I was pretty happy, I was excited,” Mazza said. “This was actually my
first experience at a game-winner in my life, so I prayed about it for a long
time. As it rose, I got excited and the juices started pumping and I was happy
to be out there.”
Mazza, who redshirted for the Razorbacks in 2017-18 before transferring
to the Cougars as a walk-on, made 17-of-23 field goals during his three-year
varsity career at Plano High School in Texas. But none of those were attempted
with the game on the line, which made Saturday’s kick the most pressure-packed of
his young career.
He approached it without hesitation.
“I think as a kicker, if you’re in that situation, you’ve got to want
that mentality and that confidence,” Mazza said. “Especially going out there,
you can’t leave any doubt on the sidelines, so when we got in that situation I
was excited and I was happy. I wanted it.”
Mazza, who redshirted for the Razorbacks in 2017-18 before transferring
to the Cougars as a walk-on, made 17-of-23 field goals during his time at Plano
High School in Texas. But none of those were attempted with the game on the
line, which made Saturday’s kick the most pressure-packed of his young career.
He approached it without hesitation.
“I think as a kicker, if you’re in that situation, you’ve got to want
that mentality and that confidence,” Mazza said. “Especially going out there,
you can’t leave any doubt on the sidelines, so when we got in that situation I
was excited and I was happy. I wanted it.”
“As I hit it, it felt pretty good. Toed it a little bit, but as I saw it
in the air, I knew it was going in.”
Mazza’s been mostly reliable for the Cougars this season, making 7-of-10
field goals and 40 of his 41 point-after-attempts. But he’s stumbled into some
adversity, too, and had kicks blocked in consecutive games, against USC and
Utah.
Had his late field goal at SC not been stuffed, the Cougars could’ve
taken the Trojans into overtime and perhaps avoided their only loss of the
year.
“I think it never really got to me,” Mazza said. “I’ve done work helping
myself out just with my lift on the ball, because that 52-yarder versus Utah,
that was me. So these past couple weeks I’ve been on it with (special teams)
coach (Matt) Brock and coach (Shane) Gallant, so that’s been my main focus
these past couple days.”
It paid dividends. Mazza, seated between Borghi and linebacker Peyton
Pelluer in the press conference room, got a round of applause from both
teammates as he was dismissed from interviews.
“We had complete faith in him,” Pelluer said. “… Blake’s the man for
that. He’s got the golden leg.”
“The golden leg, for sure,” Borghi added
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Analysis: No. 14 Washington State uses second-half surge to claw back,
top 24th-ranked Stanford
Spokesman-Review By Theo Lawson
STANFORD, Calif. – Late in the second quarter, as things were starting
to unravel for No. 14 Washington State at Stanford Stadium, Mike Leach motioned
for a timeout and herded the Cougars before delivering a passionate speech to
all 70 of the white jerseys on the visitor’s sideline.
Leach doesn’t often reveal what’s said in these private meetings, but
one can assume the dialogue included a few expletives and succinct barking
orders.
It probably wasn’t as effective as Leach hoped: No. 24 Stanford scored
nine plays later to take a two-touchdown lead over WSU in Saturday’s duel of
Pac-12 North contenders.
Either Leach improved his speech-giving, or the Cougars improved their
playmaking, because the visitors came out of the locker room after halftime an
entirely different team than the one that entered it.
WSU quite easily could have been the next victim on a bizarre day for
the Pac-12 – one that saw Cal upset No. 15 UW, Oregon State stun Colorado for
its first road win in four years and USC lose in the Coliseum for the first
time in 19 games – but the Cougars, led again by grad transfer quarterback
Gardner Minshew, showed their mettle in the second half and Blake Mazza kicked
the winning field goal with 19 seconds left for a 41-38 victory in the Bay
Area.
“We had them right where we wanted them the whole game,” Leach said
postgame, offering his genre of dry humor at the end of a game that had to be
unnerving for both coaching staffs from start to finish.
The defensive coordinators, especially.
Minshew and his counterpart, junior K.J. Costello, put on a passing
clinic and combined to complete 74 passes – and 80 percent of their attempts,
impressively – for 761 yards and seven touchdowns. WSU kept Stanford’s
secondary on its heels, forcing the Cardinal to account for four receivers at a
given time, not to mention running backs James Williams and Max Borghi.
When Minshew coolly led WSU downfield with 9:15 minutes to play, the
senior QB completed throws to four targets before locating a fifth, Renard
Bell, for the 3-yard touchdown that gave the Cougars a 38-31 lead – their first
since the first quarter.
“I don’t know how many guys caught balls tonight, but I feel like
everybody on our team did,” Minshew said. “We’re two-deep at every spot and
there’s just as much belief in one of them as the rest of them.”
Minshew’s estimate was correct. All 10 skill players that saw the field
– eight receivers, two tailbacks – finished with at least one catch. Dezmon
Patmon led the Cougars on a career night with 10 receptions for 127 yards.
Costello might not have had as many weapons at his disposal, but he
didn’t need much more than the trio of JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Trenton Irwin and
Kaden Smith. Those three accounted for 27 of Costello’s 34 completions, 303 of
his 323 passing yards and three of his four touchdowns.
Stanford didn’t flinch when Minshew’s touchdown to Bell gave WSU a
seven-point lead with 4:28 left. Costello and the Cardinal moved 73 yards in 10
plays and the QB found an uncovered Arcega-Whiteside in the end zone for a
25-yard touchdown, tying it 38-apiece.
That gave Minshew and his crew 1:25 to score again, or at the least, set
up a manageable field goal for Mazza.
“First I looked at the clock, I was like, ‘That’s too much time,’ ”
Minshew said. “We had three timeouts and I was like, ‘Man, this is what we
want, we want the ball to come to us, we want to have the chance to make the
play to win the game.’ Our defense played a heckuva game, made some big stops
down there, but we knew if we had the chance again, we could go win it for us.”
It didn’t look promising at first. After a 9-yard completion to
Williams, the running back lost 1 yard on second down, setting up third-and-2
on the Cougars’ 33-yard line. But Minshew scanned the field, noticed a shift in
Stanford’s coverage and stepped into a long pass, completing to Jamire Calvin
for 35 yards.
“The safety kind of widened out, the opposite safety came down, the
middle of the field was open and he kind of just put it up there and let me go
make a play,” Calvin said.
One more pass to Patmon reduced the distance of the impending field goal
by 7 yards. Two incomplete passes brought Mazza onto the field and the Arkansas
transfer left no doubt, splitting the goal posts on a 42-yarder that sent WSU’s
sideline and a contingent of Cougar fans behind the same end zone into a wild
frenzy.
“I thought it was outstanding and I’m really proud of him,” Leach said
of Mazza. “… What a moment for him and he needs to get used to doing that on a
regular basis.”
“Hats off to our kicker tonight, man,” Minshew said. “Blake, he had a
heckuva game and he really truly won it for us, so we’re so proud of him.”
The Cougars (7-1, 4-1) are the only team in the Pac-12 with one
conference loss and continue to control their own destiny in the North
Division, while Stanford (5-3, 3-2), UW (6-3, 4-2) and Oregon (5-3, 2-3) all
need WSU to slip up at some point in the next month to edge out the Cougars out
for a berth in the Pac-12 Championship game.
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TV Take: Well-known Washington State impresses Pac-12 Network broadcasters
again in win over Stanford
UPDATED: Sat., Oct. 27, 2018, 9:36 p.m.
By Vince Grippi of the S-R of Spokane/Inland Empire
With familiarity comes respect, if the familiar relationship is a
respectful one.
Such is the case with the Pac-12 Network’s top football announcing duo,
Ted Robinson and Yogi Roth, and the Washington State Cougar fanbase.
Robinson, the veteran play-by-play voice, and Roth, the former USC
assistant turned analyst, have called three WSU games this season, including
Saturday’s 41-38 win before an announced 39,596 at often library-quiet Stanford
Stadium.
What they saw …
It’s obvious Roth loves what he sees from Cougar quarterback Gardner
Minshew. It’s close to a man crush. But it’s probably justified, considering
Minshew came in leading the nation in passing. And led the Cougars down the
field in the final seconds for Blake Mazza’s 42-yard game-deciding field goal.
“This is brilliant, Gardner Minshew,” Roth said after Minshew beat a
Stanford fourth-quarter blitz with a short pass to Travell Harris for 15 yards
right to the spot from which the blitzer came.
“This is beautifully placed, beautifully placed,” Roth pointed out after
Minshew connected with Tay Martin on a fourth-quarter, game-tying 7-yard
touchdown pass. It was an appropriate response considering the pass was thrown
in the exact right spot.
As Roth, who coached quarterbacks, pointed out.
The crew, along with sideline reporter Jill Savage, is, in total, the
best the conference offers.
Even after the game ends, when Savage got Mike Leach to say he thinks
Minshew is the best quarterback in the country and to make a joke about his
comments to his players.
During the action, however, it was pretty good, too.
A lot of have been bandied around recently about meeting a home team
following a bye. Washington State took advantage last week in the win over
Oregon. In this one, though, Stanford didn’t have a full bye, but the Cardinal
had played on Thursday, given them a couple of extra days to prepare.
And they only occasionally mentioned the possibility of Washington State
(7-1, 4-1 and leading the Pac-12 North) suffering a hangover from the Oregon
win, which came on the most exhilarating Saturday in Pullman in years.
Robinson and Roth did have a great discussion about this being only the
second time Washington State had played on grass this season. The first? At
USC, the Cougars’ only loss. A foreshadowing, perhaps?
But they didn’t talk about the extra time, which seemed to show up most
consistently in Stanford’s pass protection. The Cougars’ numerous – and
inventive – blitzes usually cause problems for the offensive line. They didn’t
often against the Cardinal, though more often in the fourth quarter. The lack
of pressure played a big part in Stanford (5-3, 3-2) throwing for 323 yards.
What we saw …
Another aspect of playing on the road is facing a hostile crowd,
something that isn’t a usual aspect of playing Stanford.
“A different setting here,” is how Robinson described it.
Roth was a little more blunt. “It’s not a difficult environment for the
visiting team” is how he described it.
Truthful. And usually right. But those statements were followed quickly
by two WSU false starts and an illegal lineman downfield – Liam Ryan released
too soon – which are usually assisted by noise.
But Robinson did have his prescient moments, including once in the first
half when he mentioned tight end Kaden Smith has been used on go routes just
seconds before K.J. Costello hit him on a go route.
One of the key drives of the game came late in the first half and one
had to wonder if Leach’s recent criticism of Pac-12 authorities came into play
during it.
If you recall, a text message from Leach to conference commissioner
Larry Scott, questioning the conference’s commitment to player safety after the
USC loss, was published after a public-records request.
On the drive, Marcus Strong was flagged by line judge Rich Troyer for a
dead-ball personal foul on an incomplete pass. Problem was, replays showed the
whistle was blown as Strong was twisting Trent Irwin to the ground, making it
tough for Strong to stop. (A similar play occurred with a little more than a
minute left in the third quarter when Dezmon Patmon was driven to the ground.
No flag surfaced.)
On the play following the Strong penalty, side judge Gary Reed flagged
Darrien Molton for pass interference in the end zone. The replay showed JJ
Arcega-Whiteside actually pulled Molton down. It was one of four pass
interference calls against Washington State.
Twice during the game Roth, a former receiver, described pass
interference flags against Washington State “that’s tough for me,” as he didn’t
agree with the call. This was one of them.
::::::::::::::
In aerial showcase, Washington State edges Stanford on late field goal
By Tom FitzGerald
San Francisco Chronicle
10:28 pm PDT, Saturday, October 27, 2018
Everybody knew Washington State would fill Stanford Stadium with passes.
Few realized that Stanford would, too.
The Cardinal’s main problem was that they couldn’t come up with enough
defensive stops against quarterback Gardner Minshew and the dangerous Cougars.
In the end, Minshew hit a huge 35-yard pass to Jamire Calvin to set up
Blake Mazza’s 42-yard field goal with 19 seconds left. It gave the 14th-ranked
Cougars a 41-38 win Saturday night.
“Crunch-time situation — give it to Minshew,” Stanford head coach David
Shaw said. “That’s an unbelievable throw down the middle. About 6 inches off
either way, and it’s incomplete.”
The Cougars (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) took over first place in the North
Division as Washington lost to Cal.
The No. 24 Cardinal (5-3, 3-2) lost their third straight in the series
with the Cougars.
Minshew, the nation’s leading passer, was every bit as good as
advertised. He completed 40 of 50 passes for 438 yards and three touchdowns
without an interception.
But Stanford had a prolific passer of its own. K.J. Costello completed
34 of 43 passes for 323 yards and four touchdowns. He didn’t throw a pick
either, although he lost a fumble that led to a Wazzu touchdown.
The paid crowd for Reunion Homecoming was announced as 39,596. The
actual crowd seemed to be in about the 25,000 range in a stadium that holds
twice that number.
That was too bad because this game was a thriller. Stanford had leads of
7-0, 14-7, 28-14 and 31-24 before the Cougars stormed back. They outscored the
Cardinal 17-7 in the fourth quarter.
“That was a great college football game,” Shaw said. “We just ended up
on the wrong side of it.”
He didn’t think the Cougars had an advantage in a shootout because
they’re used to passing a lot.
But he said, “They’re very good.” In contrast to the Notre Dame and Utah
losses, even the win over Oregon, when Stanford committed turnovers, blew
coverages and missed tackles, Washington State “earned it.”
There were some missed tackles, certainly. “We were trying to match
their level of execution,” cornerback Alijah Holder said. “They out-executed us
on a couple of third downs. Those add up.”
Shaw said the decision to open up the attack originated with Stanford’s
loss to WSU in Pullman last year. Luke Falk threw an 11-yard pass to Calvin in
the fourth quarter to win it 24-21.
“That was a difficult game for me to take,” Shaw said. “I took it hard.
This game plan, honestly, started that night. This was the way we wanted to
play against these guys. We thought it gave us the best chance to win.”
In other words, the Cardinal thought that although the Cougars lived by
the pass, they could be passed on as well.
“They called on me early to get us in a rhythm, and I was grateful for
that call,” Costello said. “We all answered it in a great way. We’ve been
asking ourselves to feel that way for eight weeks now, and we finally got in
that rhythm early.”
Minshew’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Renard Bell gave the Cougars a 38-31
lead with 4:28 left.
But Costello fired a 25-yard strike to JJ Arcega-Whiteside to tie it
with 1:25 remaining.
Early in the fourth quarter, Minshew tied it 31-31 on a 7-yard pass to
Tay Martin, who made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone.
James Williams’ second rushing touchdown of the game for WSU, a
3-yarder, cut Stanford’s lead to 28-24 early in the third quarter.
It was a night of strong offensive performances. Arcega-Whiteside had 10
catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Kaden Smith caught nine
passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. And Trent Irwin had the best game of his
career with eight catches for 80 yards.
But the Cougars were as efficient as ever. Minshew threw to 10
receivers, led by Dezmon Patmon with 10 for 127 yards.
:::::::::::::::::::
No. 14 Washington St. rallies past No. 24 Stanford 41-38
By Josh Dubow, Associated Press Sports Writer
Updated 10:36 pm PDT, Saturday, October 27, 2018
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — As soon as Stanford threw a tying
touchdown pass, Gardner Minshew's first reaction was that the Cardinal left
Washington State too much time with 1:25 to play.
With one deep pass over the middle and a clutch kick that
proved to be true and the Cougars are now all alone in first place in the
Pac-12 North.
Minshew completed his first 19 passes of the second half and
drove No. 14 Washington State to a 42-yard field goal by Blake Mazza with 19
seconds remaining to lead the Cougars to a 41-38 victory over No. 24 Stanford
on Saturday.
"That's too much time. We had three timeouts,"
Minshew said. "We want the ball to come to us. We want to have the chance
to make the play to win the game. ... We knew if we got the chance, we could
win it for us."
Minshew completed 40 of 50 passes for 438 yards and three
touchdowns to lead the Cougars (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) to their third straight win
over the Cardinal (5-3, 3-2). This victory follows last week's over then-No. 12
Oregon, giving Washington State back-to-back wins over ranked opponents for the
first time since 2002.
Minshew engineered the winning drive in the final 1:25 with
the big play coming on a 35-yard pass to Jamire Calvin on third-and-2 from the
33. Minshew completed one more pass to move the ball to the 25 and after two
incomplete passes, Mazza made his kick to win it in his first try at a
game-winner at any level.
"It's exhilarating and it's awesome," Mazza said.
"Those are the two things that describe that moment. Only a certain amount
of people can experience that in sports."
With No. 15 Washington losing at California, the Cougars
head into the final month of the season alone in first place in the conference
and remain the only one-loss team in the Pac-12.
"On Sunday, I'm not sure we can beat Pullman Junior
High. On Thursday, I think we can beat an All-Star team of the Eagles and
Patriots. This is not a business for rational people. That's not why people
come to the game to see what's supposed to happen. They want to be
surprised."
K.J. Costello threw a game-tying 25-yard touchdown pass to
JJ Arcega-Whiteside with 1:25 to play but it wasn't enough to prevent Stanford
from losing for the third time in four games.
Costello threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns but made a
key mistake when he threw short to Bryce Love on fourth-and-3 from the 32 in
the fourth quarter. Love was stopped for a 1-yard loss and the Cougars drove
down for a TD.
"Learned a couple lessons," coach David Shaw said.
"It's hard. You can't check the ball down on fourth-and-(3), unless the
check down is beyond the first-down marker. That was a tough play."
THE TAKEAWAY
Washington State: The Cougars fell behind 28-14 late in the
first half before seizing momentum. Minshew led a 69-yard field-goal drive in
the final 1:04 of the second quarter and the Cougars then got a second TD run
by James Williams on the opening drive of the second half. They tied it early
in the fourth on a 7-yard pass from Minshew to Tay Martin.
Stanford: The Cardinal have turned into a pass-first team,
throwing 43 times compared to 23 runs with some of those coming on sacks and
scrambles. Arcega-Whiteside had 10 catches for 111 yards and two TDs, Kaden
Smith had nine catches for 112 yards and a TD and Houston Heimuli also caught a
touchdown pass.
FLY AWAY
Minshew provided a highlight running as well. He scrambled
for on a key drive in the fourth quarter for 4 yards on third-and-5, nearly
performing a flip out of bounds as he fought for the marker. He then converted
the fourth down with a keeper, setting up a go-ahead 3-yard TD pass to Renard
Bell.
"I was trying to set the high-jump record right
there," he said. "I thought they should have given me the first down
because I imagine it looked cool. It felt cool. That was pretty wild."
SPREAD IT AROUND
Minshew completed passes to 10 players, with all of them
getting at least two receptions. Dezmon Patmon led the way with 10 catches for
127 yards, while Calvin gained 102 yards on just three receptions. Williams had
nine catches for 79 yards out of the backfield, while Martin caught five balls,
including a TD.
LOVE'S HEALTH
Love has been nursing an ankle injury for most of the season
and wasn't 100 percent for this game. He left after hurting himself again in
the fourth quarter and finished with 67 yards from scrimmage on nine touches.
"I'd love for somebody to find me a tougher guy in
America," Shaw said. "This kid just grinds through it and he pushes
through it. He knows this is not a long-term, career-threatening deal."
UP NEXT
Washington State: Host California on Saturday.
Stanford: Visit Washington on Saturday.
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