Final score between WSU and Houston # 20: The Cougs win 31 to 24 behind the big second half

The No. 20 Cougars of Washington State used a big second half to overtake the Houston Cougars and stay unbeaten, beating their AAC counterparts 31 through 24.

WSU rose to 3-0 this season, while Houston dropped to 1-2.

The match was less than expected, largely thanks to a first-half that included only seven non-kneeling orders and ended with Houston taking a 14-7 advantage in the locker room. The Coogs had beaten the Cougs 224-173 behind a powerful rush attack controlling the clock and match.

But the second period was more like what everyone expected, especially for WSU fans: Cougs were ahead of the Coogs 316-143 – including yards per game from 7.9 to 4.8 – and outclassed them 24-10.

Anthony Gordon threw for 36 yards on 48 attempts, including three touchdowns and one interception. Brandon Arconado was once again his favorite goal: he had 9 receptions for 115 yards, a team-high.

D'Eriq King, meanwhile, finished with just 128 yards passing but 94 yards on the ground for Houston.

If Houston had a script about how he hoped the first half would go, it probably would not be so different from how the first half went.

After eliminating his first two jump opponents, WSU struggled to find an offensive early pace. The first two drives gave just 44 yards in 16 games – 2.75 yards per game, well below the average of 9.62 on Cougs. Both drives ended in blows.

Meanwhile, Houston controlled the clock and match with a methodical attack, moving the ball in the same way fans feared it after the WSU's run defense proved fragile last week. The Coogs only had three orders, each running at least 58 meters.

The first one ended with a missing placement, but the second and third were scored by touchdowns. King did a lot of damage, but no game was bigger than the first third of the second. Facing the 3rd and 5th of his 34 years, King bowed to the pass. WSU has a perfect blitz. However, King escaped two tacklers in the backfield, and instead of WSU ending the practice with a three-and-out, Houston was found in the end zone 11 later.

WSU found his third training, however – Gordon found a trio of receivers to reap 35 yards in the first three games, then, after a short run of Max Borghi, the successful with a superb 39-yard bomb at Easop Winston Jr. to tie the game.

After Houston regained the lead, WSU had about 2:30 to try to draw. After a good return from Travell Harris, the Cougs quickly went from their 43 to the Houston 21 after three finishes of Gordon. Gordon then made his first major mistake of the evening: Rodrick Fisher had beaten his man on a fade, but Gordon had never seen Cover 2's safety easily heading to the pass with just 24 seconds left in the half. The Cougs left empty and jogged in the locker room until a touchdown.

Things improved immediately in the third quarter. Houston started with the ball, but King's third duel on the first run ended in a 44-second gap. The Coogs chose to try it, but not without some confusion, and they took a decisive pass for the quarterback. with only a second on the game clock was mismanaged, and WSU was in business.

Gordon found Borghi three times in the first four games to go to Houston 13, then Tay Martin reduced the score to one screen. The score is 1 for Borghi with a scoring goal mark to mark the tie at 14.

Houston took a first downhill at his next training, but could not do more than that, returning the ball directly to WSU after four games. Gordon immediately returned to work, finding Arconado on three consecutive passes (with a hard pass for the passer) on 52 yards, Houston not seeming very interested in covering the midfield. Dezmon Patmon shot his first target in the next game, beating the Coogs over the top for a 39-yard touchdown to give the Cougs their first lead of the game, 21-14.

WSU had another stop on the next record and it looked like they could almost put the game aside with another TD, but from their own 2-yard line, the record stalled when Gordon elected for a bland 3 and 1, that he spilled.

Houston could not win anything from the next record because WSU continued to increase the pressure. It was then that it seemed that WSU had launched the coup de grace: in the first play, Gordon struck Borghi again, this time on a magnificent wheel layout, and Borghi outshot the defense for that. who looked like a goal of 76 yards. . However, he was recalled by an interfering call from an extremely questionable offensive pass.

Five pieces later, WSU replied. The chance of putting the maximum pressure on Houston was past, and a punch combined with another dubious call – crowbar interference was called, while the goalkeeper sent off for a fair take and then tried to blocking when the ball hit the ground – gave Houston a considerable advantage on the field. But all they could do was make an investment after scoring 20 yards to reduce the margin to 21-17.

WSU was finally able to extend the margin to two scores on the next disc. Starting from their own 5-yard line – thanks to a snap reminiscent of that of the WSU that had injured Arizona last year – the Cougars have broken through. It almost did not happen because the first pass was dropped from Borghi's fingers and was almost intercepted, but Gordon moved the chains with a scrum, and there was one: 31 yards at Arconado on a drill , 33 yards to Tay Martin on an inside screen (with help from Renard Bell's blocking), then 19 yards to Martin. The training ended when Gordon entered the pocket before finding Travell Harris in the back with a wrist gesture to bring him back to 28-17.

The Cougs had yet another chance to put the game out of reach when Houston returned the ball from the first play to give the WSU an excellent position on the field. Two games later, WSU was on Houston's 3-yard line, but the strike stalled and the Cougs opted for a goal-scoring placement to return it to 31-17.

Houston took advantage of a slight cover on the next record to score WSU in the middle of the field with short passes and passes to narrow the margin to a goal goal, but the free kick was obtained, and Borghi got the first two tests needed for the WSU. with races of 17 and 10 meters to run the clock.

The WSU returns home to face UCLA next Saturday at 19:30. Shot of sending the Martin Stadium.