Game Breakdown: Cougars come up short against undermanned Utah

What a first half. That’s all you can really say.

Despite playing a Utah team that was surprisingly without starting quarterback Cam Rising, Washington State committed enough miscues, penalties and costly plays offensively to fall behind by a touchdown at halftime in Pullman.

The Cougars tried to climb themselves back into the game in the second half, but some controversial calls, a sluggish offense continued to hinder the struggling squad as No. 14 Utah escaped the Palouse with a 21-17 victory.

What can you say about the first half? Offensively, the ground game wasn't getting any movement, the pass game stalled, except one drive when quarterback Cam Ward threw a dart to wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling up the sideline. The defense lost EDGE rusher Brennan Jackson in the first half off of a targeting call and ejection, which led to Utah's go-ahead score at the time and left the Cougs without the captain of their defense.

In the special teams, defensive back Cam Lampkin ran into wide receiver Robert Ferrel on a punt return, causing a fumble that Utah recovered.

Yes, it was that kind of night for the reeling Cougs (4-4, 1-4 Pac-12), who have now lost three straight.

Sophomore Bryson Barnes filled in at QB for Rising, who was a late scratch due to injury. Barnes completed 17 of 27 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown, putting Utah up 21-7 late in the third quarter on a 5-yard touchdown to tight end Dalton Kincaid.

Washington State stopped the run of 21-straight Utes points as Ward scored on a 7-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, and the Cougars tacked on a 42-yard Dean Janikowski field goal with 4:48 remaining to make it 21-17, but they never got the ball back.

Utah ran out the remaining time with a nine-play drive that included a third-and-9 conversion on a 10-yard Barnes pass to Devaughn Vele and a holding call on fourth-and-7 on Chau Smith-Wade that negated his interception and gave the Utes the final first down they'd need.

Utah improved to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Pac-12, remaining in the thick of the hunt for a second straight conference championship.

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

13:24, WSU: Cam Ward 29-yard pass to De’Zhaun Stribling (Dean Janikowski PAT), WSU 7-0

9:23, Utah: Ja’Quinden Jackson 6-yard run (Jadon Redding PAT), 7-7 tie

0:49, Utah: Jaylon Glover 1-yard run (Jadon Redding PAT), Utah 14-7

Third quarter

1:17, Utah: Bryson Barnes 5-yard pass to Dalton Kincaid (Jadon Redding PAT), Utah 21-7

Fourth quarter

14:35, WSU: Cam Ward 7-yard run (Dean Janikowski PAT), Utah, 21-14

4:48, WSU: Dean Janikowski 42-yard field goal, Utah 21-17

You can point in many directions, but as soon as EDGE rusher Brennan Jackson was ejected from the game late in the first half from a very late targeting call, it turned a fourth-and-short for Utah into a first-and-goal. This definitely turned the game upside down as the Cougars could’ve gone into halftime with momentum, but instead, they went down 7. Luckily, Jackson will not have to miss any time against Stanford next week, but a very controversial targeting call again swings momentum.

QB Cam Ward

The run game was nonexistent after what seemed to be a promising start. Cam Ward did, however, take his game up a little bit, using his legs and his arm when it was really needed. He ran for 28 yards and a TD and completed 27 of 31 passes for 222 yards, 1 TD and 0 INT. Ward doesn’t ‘deserve’ player of the game, but with the offense being as anemic as it is, Ward is the only man that qualifies for the award.

Quinn Roff and Tanner Moku

Defensively, this team looked so much better, but take it for what it was -- Utah was missing two of their top backs, their starting quarterback and their No. 1 passing target who went down late in the second half. The defense, however, really stepped up when it mattered, forcing a fumble midway through the fourth quarter that set up the final field goal. Quinn Roff punching it out and Tanner Moku recovering the fumble make them co- defensive players of the game.

Cam Ward finding De’Zhaun Stribling down the sideline for a 29-yard touchdown and the first score of the game was a beautiful play. Even with a slip from Utah CB Clark Phillips III, that throw couldn’t have been thrown more perfectly from Ward to Stribling in the end zone. Ward kept his composure with a collapsing pocket and made the confident sideline throw to Stribling for the touchdown reception.

Blaming the refs again? Yes, but to an extent. There were some controversial calls, especially the Jackson ejection, that definitely swayed how this game finished, but my goodness, going for it on fourth-and-11, a muffed punt and a very slow offense is not making that argument any better. The offense NEEDS to change. The Cougars had so many opportunities to drive and change the flow of the game, but getting behind the chains almost every drive is not the way to go. The defense can’t keep carrying the team anymore, there needs to be a change offensively.

WSU now sits at 4-4 after starting 3-0 on the season, dropping four of its last five games with the offense going backward instead of forward. Whether it’s a play-calling issue, playbook re-design or something, the offense is getting behind the chains more than ahead. There needs to be a serious change in this locker room if this team wants to go bowling.

The Cougars get an extended amount of time off after playing two days before the normal Saturday schedule and, boy, do they need the extra time. Practice will be interesting to see with a bunch of changes needed for success. WSU goes to Palo Alto to face Stanford to start the final month of the regular season next Saturday.

Passing

Cam Ward: 27 of 31, 222 yards, 1 TD

Rushing

Cam Ward: 12 rushes for 28 yards, 1 TD

Dylan Paine: 2 rushes for 10 yards

Jaylen Jenkins: 4 rushes for 7 yards

Receiving

Robert Ferrel: 8 catches for 26 yards

Leyton Smithson: 5 catches for 23 yards

De’Zhaun Stribling: 4 catches for 66 yards, 1 TD

Dylan Paine: 3 catches for 29 yards

Tsion Nunnally: 2 catches for 41 yards

Billy Riviere III: 2 catches for 15 yards

Orion Peters: 1 catch for 15 yards

Donovan Ollie: 1 catch for 10 yards

Defense

Daiyan Henley: 12 tackles (3 solo), 1 pass breakup

Armani Marsh: 9 tackles (6 solo), 1 pass breakup

Jaden Hicks: 8 tackles (5 solo)

Sam Lockett II: 6 tackles (2 solo)

Amir Mujahid: 6 tackles (1 solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 quarterback hit

Francisco Mauigoa: 6 tackles (3 solo), 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass breakup