Duquesne at Washington State
The non-major confrontation with Duquesne took a while to ramp up. After being tied at seven each at the end of the 1st Qtr and missing a field goal to start the 2nd, the Cougars moved out to a 14-7 lead after holding the Dukes to a three-and-out half-way through the quarter. Bogging down at mid-field and sitting 4th and 12, Duquesne would punt after seven plays of their next possession. With less than two minutes left in the half Washington State couldn’t generate much positive yardage either as time ran out.
Deferring to start the game, the Cougars got the ball back after the break and didn’t waste any time forging an unsurmountable lead on back-to-back-to-back TD’s while forcing the Dukes to punt on their only two possessions of the quarter. The first score on an 11 yard TD pass from Sophomore QB Caden Pinnick to Senior TE Jack Pederson; the second, a 10 yard TD pass from Pinnick to Junior WR Branden Ganashamoorthy; and the third, a 58 yard TD run from Junior RB Kirby Vorhees to make it 35-7 with time running out in the quarter. That would be all of the scoring as the fourth quarter would consist of five punts including back-to-back-to-back three-and-outs with Washington in possession of the ball as time ran out.
For Washington State, Sophomore QB Caden Pinnick connected on 17-of-22 for 196 yards, 2 TD’s, and 1 interception while also rushing 12 times for 76 yards and another score. On the ground it was Sophomore RB Maxwell Woods and Junior RB Kirby Vorhees who combined for 225 yards on 20 carries with Vorhees picking up two more rushing TD’s. The Cougars led in first downs, 26-10; were more efficient on 3rd down conversions, 66% compared to just 15%; total yards of offense, 512-185; picked up 9 yards per pass and 8 yards per rush compared with just 4 yards per rush and pass; and completed over 75% of their passes compared with just 50% for Duquesne. Washington State stays home in the Palouse to take on a familiar opponent as the Arizona Wildcats come to town this coming Saturday.
Montana at Oregon State
After holding Montana to a three-and-out to start the game, Oregon State scored on back-to-back TD’s, a 19 yard TD pass from Sophomore QB Bradon Atkinson to Senior TE Eric Olsen and a 21 yard TD pass to Sophomore WR Aeryn Hampton to take a 14-0 lead with five minutes left in the quarter. A punt after five plays by the Grizzlies and a three-and-out by the Beavers would take us to the 2nd Qtr where Montana finally got on board with a 39 yard field goal by Senior Place Kicker Joe Silver to make it 14-3 just three minutes into the period. Holding the Grizzlies to just punts the rest of the half, Oregon State would put the game seemingly out of reach with back-to-back-to-back TD’s before the break. The first a 23 yard TD pass from Atkinson to Freshman WR Jesse Legree; the second an 11 yard TD pass to Senior TE DecorionTemple; and the third a QB keeper by Atkinson himself with time running out to give the Beavers a commanding 35-3 lead going into the half.
Having deferred to the second half, Oregon State would be back in the end zone in just three plays to start the 3rd Qtr on another TD pass from Atkinson to his fourth scoring target, Sophomore WR Aaron Butler to make it 42-3. With both teams punting on their next possessions after six and eight play drives respectively, the Grizzlies would get the ball back and go on a 72 yard 12 play drive and find the end zone on a 2 yard TD pass from Senior QB Kealil Ah Yat to Sophomore TE Reese Brooks to make it 42-10 at the end of three.
Both teams would start the fourth quarter out by picking up a TD each to make it a 49 to 17 game. But between a fumble, a punt, and an interception, those would be the last points for Montana in the game. Oregon State topped their scoring off with a 20 yard field goal by their Senior Place Kicker Caleb Ojeda to give us a 52-17 final. For Oregon State, Sophomore QB Braden Atkinson had quite a day hitting on 22 of his 30 pass attempts for five TD’s to five different receivers. Freshman WR Jesse Legree and Sophomore WR Aeryn Hampton would lead the way with 19 catches between them for 194 yards and a TD each. On the ground, Freshman RB Tre Garrison, Senior RB AJ Newberry, and Sophomore Cornell Hatcher Jr., combined for 127 of the 144 total yards with Hatcher picking up a TD to go along with the one his QB took in. The Beavers had six more first downs; picked up one of every two third downs they tried to convert and both fourth downs they went for compared to 28% and 50% for Montana; they had twice as many yards per pass; 172 more total yards of offense, 510-338; and one less turnover. The Beavers and their chainsaws will hit the road this week to take on UTEP.