No. 23-ranked Washington State entered its Saturday afternoon matchup against Northern Colorado on the heels of its biggest win on the Palouse in a very long time, upsetting Wisconsin at home last weekend, and wanting to maintain the energy into its latest game.

The Cougars never let off the gas throughout the first half, with Washington State leading 43-7 after 30 minutes of action, beating up on the Bears in all three phases and producing a clean sheet in the turnover battle.

The second half was nothing but similar success for WSU, even with the reserves playing in the third and fourth quarters, the dominance from the first half remained, ending in a commanding 64-21 win for the Cougars to close out the nonconference slate.

WSU outgained Northern Colorado by 273 total yards throughout the first half, with most of them coming through the air. Once again, the passing attack for the Cougars (3-0) being the main mode of success for the offense, similar to the ‘Air Raid’ days.

The Cougars never looked back against the Bears (0-3), winning through all four quarters against Northern Colorado and never a thought of doubt entering the minds of the coaching staff and the players.

For WSU head coach Jake Dickert, there is no problem with winning in dominant fashion as long as his players keep the mindset of not getting ahead of themselves when things are going their way.

“I just thought our maturity was gonna be tested, and we got a bunch of new guys on this team,” Dickert said. “This was the one time you said, ‘Hey, we felt really good about being the dominant team.’ So, coming in here and really performing, and not messing around and not turning the ball over, I think it speaks to the team of the mindset of where we really want to go.

“And, I think that’s an important mindset to have. Culture is something that’s important to us, and the standard of being our best, I thought you saw that out there.”

The Cougars had one of their best games offensively in program history, letting most of the second and third team make debuts and big plays, and pushing the tempo throughout the game, not letting Northern Colorado play its game.

First quarter

10:28, WSU – Cam Ward 8-yard run (Jaylen Jenkins pass to Billy Riviere III 2pt Conversion) WSU 8-0

6:08, WSU – Kyle Williams 37-yard passing TD from Cam Ward (Dean Janikowski PAT) WSU 15-0

3:41, WSU – Lincoln Victor 28-yard passing TD from Cam Ward (Dean Janikowski PAT) WSU 22-0

Second quarter

12:27, WSU – Josh Kelly 18-yard passing TD from Cam Ward (Dean Janikowski PAT) WSU 29-0

8:45, WSU – Nakia Watson 6-yard run (Dean Janikowski PAT) WSU 36-0

3:20, WSU – Lincoln Victor 31-yard passing TD from Cam Ward (Dean Janikowski PAT) WSU 43-0

0:17, UNC – Jamarii Robinson 18-yard pass from Jacob Sirmon (Hunter Green PAT) WSU 43-7

Third quarter

9:43, WSU – Josh Meredith 15-yard passing TD from John Mateer (Dean Janikowski PAT) WSU 50-7

5:40, UNC – Hanks Gibbs 1-yard run (Hunter Green PAT) WSU 50-14

5:10, WSU – Tsion Nunnally 62-yard pass from John Mateer (Dean Janikowski PAT) WSU 57-14

Fourth quarter

13:46, WSU – Dylan Paine 1-yard run (Dean Janikowski PAT) WSU 64-14

11:36, UNC – Darius Stewart 52-yard pass from Jacob Sirmon (Hunter Green PAT) WSU 64-21

Was there really a turning point? The defense continued to come with the same intensity against the Bears as it did last week against Wisconsin, not allowing Northern Colorado to sniff WSU territory through most of the first half.

From start to finish, the offense was able to dominate for the Cougars ending the day with 718 total yards behind 327 yards passing from Ward to go along with four passing touchdowns from the starting quarterback.

From the opening kickoff, this game was controlled by WSU, with Northern Colorado being on the receiving end of the beatdown.

It’s hard not to say Ward after his performance, finishing the first half, yes, the first half alone, completing 20 of 26 passes, for 327 passing yards, along with four passing touchdowns, and another one on the ground.

You can also give it to redshirt freshman QB John Mateer, who came in to relieve Ward of his duties for the game, and he started by completing his first six passes, throwing for 139 yards just in the third quarter alone, and two passing touchdowns.

The whole offense deserves the recognition, totaling over 700 yards on the afternoon, the most of the young season, and putting naysayers on notice after putting up the most points in a game since the infamous UCLA game of 2019.

There wasn’t really one standout player on the defensive side of the ball who stood out more than anyone else. The collective effort by all 11 men on the defensive side of the ball to not let Northern Colorado move downfield throughout the first half, and tightening up throughout the contest, even with the second team was commendable.

The Cougars weren’t perfect in the second half, but they got the job done, stifling up to try and prevent big explosive plays for the Bears either through the air or on the ground, only resulting in 366 total yards for the Bears.

Edge rushers Brennan Jackson and Ron Stone Jr. each ended up with a pair of sacks in the contest as well plus a total of three tackles for loss, not letting the Bears move up the field throughout the first half.

It was an absolute dominant performance from the defensive line for the Cougars, not allowing any big plays over the top along with stopping the run and forcing pressured throws from Bears QB Jacob Sirmon.

Josh Kelly, welcome to Pullman, and welcome to the SportsCenter Top 10. The 50-50 ball came from Ward down the sideline to find Kelly, who made an acrobatic catch to secure the touchdown over the defender’s fingertips.

Ward just aired it out down towards the corner of the end zone, knowing that Kelly could haul it in with a man in his face while still maintaining possession on the way down, not letting the ground impact the catch in hand.

Even though it resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct for the Cougars, due to the ‘celebration’ from Kelly, the celebration was warranted with Kelly scoring his first touchdown in the Crimson and Gray.

How about that first quarter for Ward? Completing all 12 passes for 169 passing yards, along with a couple touchdowns through the air, and one on the ground.

A perfect first quarter with no incompletions, followed up by finishing the first half completing 20 of 26 passes, throwing for 327 yards and five total touchdowns, slinging the ball all over the field to both Lincoln Victor and Kyle Williams as his primary targets.

That first quarter was the best quarter Cam Ward has played in a Cougars uniform, not missing a step after the win against Wisconsin just one week ago. Ward entered the week with low odds to win the Heisman, with many favorites, especially within the conference, leading the charge, but with this performance, Ward can easily be a dark horse candidate for the coveted award for the best college football player.

The Cougars start the nine-game conference slate with a home matchup against No. 16 Oregon State, in a highly-anticipated game for both teams with all the noise surrounding the status of the Pac-12 and its implosion after the academic year ends. Both teams are the final two teams remaining in the Pac-12, and now they have a battle set for Saturday night on the Palouse.

When this matchup happened in Corvallis last year, the rushing offense for the Beavers carried them to a home win against the Cougars. With an improved run-defense for WSU, this matchup pitting two strong defenses will be the first ‘real’ test for Dickert’s team.

Passing

Cam Ward: 20/26, 327 yards, 4 TDs

John Mateer: 7/8, 138 yards, 2 TDs

Emmett Brown: 2/4 14 yards, 1 INT

Rushing

Dylan Paine: 7 rushes for 81 yards, 1 TD

Nakia Watson: 9 catches for 41 yards, 1 TD

Djouvensky Schlenbaker: 4 rushes for 41 yards

Leo Pulalasi: 7 catches for 39 yards

John Mateer: 3 rushes for 19 yards

Cam Ward: 2 rushes for 12 yards, 1 TD

Receiving

Lincoln Victor: 6 catches for 119 yards, 2 TDs

Josh Kelly: 5 catches for 74 yards, 1 TD

Carlos Hernandez: 4 catches for 36 yards

Kyle Williams: 2 catches for 49 yards, 1 TD

Josh Meredith: 2 catches for 36 yards, 1 TD

Cameron Johnson: 2 catches for 27 yards

Cole Pruett: 2 catches for 14 yards

Isaiah Hamilton: 2 catches for 7 yards

Tsion Nunnally: 1 catch for 62 yards, 1 TD

Cooper Mathers: 1 catch for 26 yards

Nakia Watson: 1 catch for 19 yards

Billy Riviere III: 1 catch for 10 yards

Defense

Reece Sylvester: 6 tackles (3 solo)

Ron Stone Jr. : 4 tackles (3 solo), 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss

Kyle Thornton: 3 tackles (2 solo), 2 QB Hits

Brennan Jackson: 3 tackles (2 solo), 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 QB Hit

Chau Smith-Wade: 2 tackles (2 solo), 1 tackle for loss, 1 QB Hit, 1 pass breakup