In spite of getting intercepted twice in the end zone, Cougar QB Cameron Ward kept his cool and connected on 27-of-40 for 343 yards, 3 TD’s and a 28-9 win at home in Pullman against Cal. His counterpart, Jack Plummer, didn’t throw any picks while connecting 23 times for 273 yards but didn’t throw any TD’s either with their Freshman RB Jayden Ott getting the credit for Cal’s only trip to the end zone all game long with Senior Place Kicker Dario Longhetto responsible for the other three points on a successful 42 yard field goal—their only points of the first half.
The first five possessions of the game ended up in a punt for both teams with Washington State not putting any points on the board until early in the 2nd Qtr on a Jaylen Jenkins run from the Cal 2 yard line, giving them a 7-3 lead at half-time. The 2nd half started out great for the Cougars as they moved the ball 75 yards and scored in four plays on three pass completions of 11, 47, and 17 yards from Cameron Ward with the TD pass collected by Senior WR Robert Ferrel. But that was all the scoring for either team in the 3rd Qtr with Washington State ahead 14-3 going into the 4th Qtr. Ott gave Cal their only TD early in the 4th Qtr after the Bears had moved the ball 90 yards in seven plays—all on Jack Plummer pass completions—down to the Cougar 2 yard line where Ott ran it in to get within 5 points at 14-9. But Washington State would score back-to-back TD’s on their next two possessions while forcing Cal to punt three times in a row—keeping them a safe distance away on the scoreboard.
Both teams combined barely rushed for a total of 100 yards with Cal’s Jayden Ott picking up that 1 TD and 69 yards on 16 carries. But by the time Jack Plummer rushed seven times and lost 28 yards Cal’s total for the day amounted to just 31 yards on 24 carries-barely over 1 yard per attempt. The Cougars were better on the ground but not by much, rushing 25 times for 72 yards and one score by their Freshman RB Jaylen Jenkins. Senior WR’s Renard Bell and Robert Ferrel accounted for more than 50% of Washington State’s total yards in the air as well as two of the three TD’s with Sophomore TE Billy Riviere III picking up the other. Washington State led in 1st Downs, 21-13; Passing Yards, 343-to-280; and Total Yards, 415-to-311 while the Cougar defense was disruptive the entire game credited for 67 tackles, 4 sacks, and 7 tackles for loss.
After their devastating 44-41 loss in the closing minutes of the game against Oregon the week before, Washington State needed this one to right the ship before heading to the Coliseum this next weekend to take on No. 6 USC. After coming that close to beating Oregon it should be a good one. Cal has a bye week and should have a much easier time on the road against Colorado on Saturday, October 15th.