Washington State Cougars Trample Stanford 42-16
By Ben Renner
The Washington State Cougars added to the free-fall of Stanford in the Pac-12 standings with a dominating win over the Trees in northern California.
The Washington State Cougars crushed the Stanford Cardinal 42-16, much in the same way we saw Washington beat Stanford. Just as the Dawgs stopped Heisman hopeful running back Christian McCaffrey at Husky Stadium, the Cougars stopped McCaffrey at Stanford Stadium.
The Washington State Cougars held McCaffrey to only 35 rushing yards, with 20 of them coming on one play. In fact, the Cougs held one of the more dynamic and versatile offensive players in the country to less than 100 all-purpose yards (that’s including return yards, folks), a feat unto itself.
The detractors will argue that Oregon and Stanford, both destroyed by the Huskies, are shells of their former glory, but the Cougars absolutely controlled the Cardinal from start to finish thanks to smart, efficient drives led by quarterback Luke Falk and a good offensive gameplan by head coach Mike Leach.
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The Washington State Cougars controlled the ball and the clock and let their defense deliver plenty of scoring opportunities for the offense. Perhaps most impressive and encouraging for Cougs fans is that the overmatched Cardinal offensive line couldn’t keep the Cougars’ defense out of their own backfield. The defense forced three turnovers, taking one interception to the house.
The Washington State Cougars held the Cardinal to only 61 yards rushing and just under 300 yards in total offense. Falk finished 30-of-41 for 357 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions. That the Cardinal only scored 16 yards while forcing two turnovers is another testament to the defensive effort by Washington State.
The Cougars play the UCLA Bruins at Martin Stadium on October 15th in primetime. They can still remain unbeaten in the Pac-12 and maybe book a trip to Pasadena after Christmas this year if they keep stomping conference opponents. Only seven weeks until the Apple Cup.