Rarely is the most popular kid on a college campus a freshman, but that may be the case at Washington State after the Cougars’ impressive 37-27 victory over ASU.
Entering the game, Washington State coach Paul Wulff knew redshirt freshman quarterback Connor Halliday was going to play in the third series, but he was not sure what to expect because of the quarterbacks’ youth.
“He throws the ball very well,” Wulff said. “We knew that, but there is always the concern with guys who haven’t played very much.”
This may have been a legitimate concern, but Halliday quickly showed he was ready to play.
He completed an 85-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Marques Wilson on his first snap.
“We got a play that we’ve been trying to call for about five weeks now and we finally got the look we wanted,” Halliday said. “I’m just lucky that I’m the one that got it. It’s kind of like hitting the lottery.”
Not only was Halliday’s first snap a touchdown, but the signal caller got hit on the play, something he felt was necessary.
“The snaps I’ve gotten before just felt like another high school game, I didn’t get touched,” Halliday said. “Taking my first hit on the first play to get things started was good.”
Despite snow and temperatures in the 30’s, Halliday completed 27-of-36 passes for 494 yards and four touchdowns, and he credited his offensive line for the majority of his success.
The play of the redshirt freshman quarterback certainly stands out, but this win was a total team effort.
“We had some players step up and to win football games you have to have guys that can make plays,” Wulff said. “We had some guys do that.”
Wilson had eight receptions for 223 yards and three touchdowns. Senior receiver Isiah Barton also caught a touchdown pass while junior running back Carl Winston added a touchdown on the ground.
Despite only rushing for 87 yards, the Cougars (4-6, 2-5 Pac-12) amassed 590 yards of total offense, just seven days after the offense only put up 224 yards against Cal.
Defensively, WSU was just as impressive.
Arizona State (6-4, 4-3) averaged 192 rushing yards over their last three games, but managed just 60 on Saturday night.
This may be Washington State’s most impressive win of the season, not because they defeated a team that was looking to gain control of the Pac-12 South, but because they ended a five-game losing streak and kept their slim bowl hopes alive.
If the Cougars are able to beat Utah this week and then follow that up with a win in the Apple Cup against Washington, they will be bowl eligible for the first time since 2003.
Last week Wulff said 2012 was going to be the season the Cougars broke through and after a statement win against ASU, the future in Pullman, Wash. does not look as bleak as it once did.
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
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