Game Breakdown: Defense, OL, officiating frustrate WSU in Apple Cup loss

In one of the worst officiated games of the weekend, Washington State fell to the high-potent offense of the Washington Huskies, who outpaced the Cougars for a 51-33 win as the Apple Cup returns to Seattle.

This was a shootout from the opening kick, back and forth between these two rivals and it came down to the fourth quarter.

Ultimately, Washington (10-2, 7-2 Pac-12) accounted for 703 yards of offense, and the Cougars defense had no answers, especially on third down. Washington State didn’t quit, however. The Cougars (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12) still fought back on their own drives, making it a 1-point game at halftime before the offense stalled in the second half.

Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. absolutely had his way against the Cougar secondary, completing 25 of 43 passes for 485 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, with the defense giving up big plays and quick scores.

Cougars quarterback Cam Ward displayed some of his magic out on the field, but the offensive line had one of its worst performances of the season protecting Ward, who finished 35 of 52 for 322 yards, 2 TDs and an interception plus a rushing TD.

The Cougars found out senior cornerback Armani Marsh would be a late scratch before the game, which proved to be very costly in the long run, with Penix picking on sophomore CB Armauni Archie all game.

A 4-yard Nakia Watson touchdown run midway through the third quarter cut Washington's lead to 35-33, but the Huskies scored 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to close it out.

First quarter

12:18, WSU: Dean Janikowski 50-yard field goal (WSU 3-0)

5:23, UW: Michael Penix Jr. 26-yard pass to Ja’Lynn Polk (Peyton Henry PAT) (UW 7-3)

0:53, WSU: Cam Ward 14-yard run (Dean Janikowski PAT) (WSU 10-7)

Second quarter

13:27, UW: Michael Penix Jr. 47-yard pass to Rome Odunze (Peyton Henry PAT) (UW 14-10)

11:05, WSU: Cam Ward 34-yard pass to Robert Ferrel (Dean Janikowski PAT) (WSU 17-14)

9:41, UW: Jaden McMillian 30-yard pass to Michael Penix Jr. (Peyton Henry PAT) (UW 21-17)

5:07, WSU: Cam Ward 15-yard pass to Nakia Watson (Dean Janikowski PAT) (WSU 24-21)

1:40, UW: Michael Penix Jr. 4-yard run (Peyton Henry PAT) (UW 28-24)

0:02, WSU: Dean Janikowski 27-yard field goal (UW 28-27)

Third quarter

14:50, UW: Michael Penix Jr. 75-yard pass to Jaden McMillian (Peyton Henry PAT) (UW 35- 27)

6:30, WSU: Nakia Watson 4-yard run (2-point conversion failed) (UW 35-33)

Fourth quarter

14:30, UW: Rome Odunze 4-yard run (Peyton Henry missed PAT) (UW 41-33)

5:02, UW: Peyton Henry 20-yard field goal (UW 44-33)

1:28, UW: Wayne Taulapapa 40-yard run (Peyton Henry PAT) (UW 51-33)

You can point it in many different directions, whether it be the controversial pass-interference call that went in favor of the Huskies or the amount of deep shots Penix took against the secondary, but the fourth quarter defense for the Huskies, shutting down any kind of rhythm offensively for the Cougars made it hard and forced pressure on a beleaguered Washington State defense to make a stop. It was simply hard for the defense to stop the best passing attack in the country without one of its lead defensive backs.

Quarterback Cam Ward

This game saw the good, the bad and the ugly of Ward, but for the most part, Ward played with some of that magic he brings onto the field, along with some good reads and his decisiveness getting better and better as the game went along. Ward had a decent game in the air, throwing for over 300 yards with 2 touchdowns. Senior slot wide receiver Robert Ferrel also deserves much recognition after making some incredible snags, finishing with 4 catches for 71 yards and a score.

After this performance? No one.

The fourth-and-10 for the Cougars in the second quarter, where Ward was scrambling all over a collapsing pocket, escaping pressure before ultimately finding Ferrel downfield for a 34-yard touchdown was the work of a magician. The pocket collapsed very quickly and Ward avoided two potential sacks and found Ferrel about 20 yards downfield, and he did the rest.

There are many reasons why the Cougars lost. Many. The officiating, even though it was really bad on both sides, cost WSU many chances to either stop the Huskies from moving downfield at all or prevented the Cougars from getting any momentum on offense. The brutal PI call, the missed targeting call, many missed holding calls on both sides -- a really poor performance from the officials. The defense allowing 700 yards pretty much cancels the idea of the refs favoring Washington, with one of, if not, the worst performances this WSU defense has had all season.

Penix threw for almost 500 yards and it was mostly from the deep ball, where the Huskies thrive offensively. The secondary was beat all day.. The offensive line couldn’t protect Ward, really missing redshirt sophomore OL Ma’ake Fifita and redshirt junior OG Jarrett Kingston, who both got injured leading up to the game.

So a bad defensive performance, bad officiating and bad offensive line protection sum up this Apple Cup loss.

WSU is nonetheless bowl eligible at 7-5 and will await its fate for a bowl decision in the coming week. The Cougars lost the Apple Cup trophy after just getting it for the first time in nine years.

The Cougars will look forward to the bowl announcement coming next week. The projected bowl for WSU is the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl against the winner of the Mountain West Conference championship game between Boise State and Fresno State.

Passing

Cam Ward: 33 of 52, 322 yards, 2 TDs

Nick Haberer: 1 of 1, 36 yards

Rushing

Nakia Watson: 15 carries for 73 yards, 1 TD

Jaylen Jenkins: 4 carries for 10 yards

Cam Ward: 16 rushes for -5 yards, 1 TD

Receiving

Robert Ferrel: 4 catches for 71 yards, 1 TD

De’Zhaun Stribling: 7 catches for 58 yards

Leyton Smithson: 7 catches for 58 yards

Nakia Watson: 7 catches for 41 yards, 1 TD

Donovan Ollie: 2 catches for 39 yards

Daiyan Henley: 1 catch for 36 yards

Lincoln Victor: 3 catches for 24 yards

Orion Peters: 1 catch for 14 yards

Billy Riviere III: 1 catch for 11 yards

Anderson Grover: 1 catch for 6 yards