Recap: Cougs beat Colorado to stay in CFP race
RECAP: Washington State at Colorado
Folsom Field, Boulder Co.
Nov. 10, 2018
Washington State, the Pac-12’s last hope to get a team into the CFB 4-team playoff, traveled to Pac-12 South rival Colorado at Folsom Field on Saturday afternoon. Here is a recap of what happened:
FIRST QUARTER: WSU got the ball first as CU won the toss and deferred. The Cougs had some confusion and called a timeout before the first snap. WSU went 3-and-outand punted as Minshew started 0-2 passing. Punt was downed at the 19. CU completed two straight passes to start the possession, one to top receiver Laviska Shenault, who missed the last 3 games. WSU stopped CU a yard shy of the first down marker on the next series and the Buffs punted with 11:57 left in the first quarter. James Williams made a nice 1-handed grab on the first snap, but gained just 1 yard. Next play, another short pass. But on 3rd down, Minshew scrambled and found Patmon for a 1st down to the 29. Borghi picked up another first down on 3rd and short. Moments later, Borghi rumbled 22 yards to the CU 39. Williams broke several CU tackles to run to the CU 20. After an ineligible receiver penalty wiped out a completion to Harris to the 1, WSU gambled on 4th-and-2 from the 20, but Minshew’s pass to Winston was knocked down. A 14-play, 67-yard drive went for naught. CU took over with 5:02 left in 1Q. On the second snap, RB Travon McMillan gashed the Cougs for a 64-yard run to the WSU 3. Then he ran over the right side for the TD. SCORE: CU 7, WSU 0. 3 plays, 80 yards. 0:48. Borghi ran 7 yards on 1st down to give WSU a 2nd-and-short. On 3rd and 2, Minshew flipped a pass to Williams over the middle and he raced to the WSU 44 for the first down. On 3rd and 2 from the 50, Minshew fired a slant pass to Tay Martin that gained 23 yards to the CU 27. That’s where WSU took the first snap of the 2Q.
FIRST QUARTER: Colorado 7, Washington State 0.
SECOND QUARTER: WSU gained 8 yards on a pass to Sweet to the CU 18 to set up third down. But Borghi was tackled for a 2-yard loss on a swing pass, sending out the FG unit. Blake Mazza drilled a 39-yard field goal for WSU’s first points of the game to cut the deficit to 7-3. Mazza is now 10-14 FGA. SCORE: CU 7, WSU 3. Drive: 10 plays, 57 yards, 5:30. CU punted on its next possession and WSU took possession at its 24 with 11:39 left 2Q. After a targeting call on CU eliminated the Buffs’ leading tackler from the game (Nate Landman), Minshew hit Calvin on the right sideline for 16 yards to the CU 31. At first, the play was ruled incomplete, but the call was reversed upon review as Calvin managed to get one foot inbounds before going out of bounds. Three plays later, Borghi took a swing pass, deked a couple of CU defenders and raced into the end zone for a 28-yard TD with 8:31 left 2Q. It was Borghi’s 10th TD of the season. SCORE: WSU 10, CU 7. Drive: 7 plays, 76 yards, 3:08. The WSU defense forced another punt by CU with 7:08 left 3Q. Montez was pressured twice on that series. WSU took over at its 15 yard line looking to take a 2-score lead. But the Cougs punted as the clock ran under 5 mins left 2Q. CU punted the ball back when a third down completion call was reversed. WSU took over with just over 3 mins left. Minshew had Calvin open by a step downfield, but he couldn’t bring the ball down. WSU punted with 2:29 left 2Q. CU QB Montez was hammered by Willie Taylor on third down and fumbled. Cougs had opportunity to fall on the football, but couldn’t do it. CU recovered and punted. On 3rd and 10, Calvin caught a 11-yard pass for a key first down to the CU 38. Three straight incompletions set up 4th and 10 from the 38. Minshew’s fourth down pass was incomplete. Colorado got the ball back, but Logan Tago sacked Montez on the final play of the 2Q. Cougs dominated the first half statistically, but went to the locker room holding just a 3-point lead.
HALFTIME: Washington State 10, Colorado 7.
STATS:
Total yards: WSU 232, COL 131
Passing yards: WSU 157, COL 67
Rushing Yards: WSU 75, CAL 64
Total Plays: WSU 49, COL 23
First Downs: WSU 12, COL 4
Third Downs: WSU 6-12, COL 0-5
Fourth Downs: WSU 0-2, COL 0-0
Time of Possession: WSU 20:52, COL 9:08
Individual Passing: Minshew 17-33 for 157 yards; Montez 8-14 for 67 yards
Individual Rushing: Williams 8-36, Borghi 5-34; McMillan 7-72
THIRD QUARTER: It didn’t take long for the WSU defense to force the first turnover of the day as the Cougs recovered a fumble less than one minute into the third quarter. WSU took the football and drove inside the 10-yard line. Borghi fumbled inside the 1 but the ball was recovered by WSU. On 3rd down, Minshew tossed a 1-yard TD pass to an open Renard Bell into the left corner of the end zone. SCORE: WSU 17, CU 7. Drive: 7 plays, 32 yards, 3:30. Down 10 points, CU needed a score desperately, Shenault dropped two passes as the Buffs punted for the 6th time and WSU took over at its 20 with 9:19 left 3Q. Williams leaped over a defender to pick up a key first down at the WSU 34. On 3rd and 8, the Cougs got a huge break when CU was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after a pass gained nothing. WSU took advantage by driving inside the 30-yard line. On 3rd and 5, Minshew scrambled to the 25 to set up 4th and 2. WSU was 0-for-2 on fourth down. Make that 0-for-3 as Minshew couldn’t find an open receiver and threw towards the end zone but the pass was incomplete. CU took over at the 25 with 4:20 left 3Q. The moved to the WSU 36, but incompletions on 2nd and 3rd downs doomed the drive. The crowd booed when the punt team trotted onto the field. WSU took over at its 12 but quickly flipped field position on a long completion to Patmon for 48 yards to CU 30. On 3rd and 8, Minshew scrambled for 9 yards and a first down. A pass to Harris picked up 9 yards to the CU 10 as the 3Q ended.
END THIRD QUARTER: Washington State 17, Colorado 7.
FOURTH QUARTER: On the first snap of the 4th quarter, Minshew scrambled towards the pylon on the right side of the end zone and seemed to put the ball over the pylon. He was ruled out of bounds inside the 1-yard line. The play was reviewed and the call was reversed. Touchdown!! Minshew with his third rushing TD of the season. SCORE: WSU 24, CU 7. Drive: 7 plays, 88 yards, 2:51. After CU punted for the 8th time, WSU took over at its 32 with 12:55 left. The Cougs punted to give the ball back to CU for one final attempt to get back into the game. The Buffs completed a 17-yard pass to the WSU 36 before the Cougs called timeout with 10:19 left. Fumble! Shenault carries the ball like a loaf of bread and loses his grip on the football. WSU recovers. That should do it. WSU has the ball with 10:10 left. Opportunity to drain some time off the clock. The Cougars drove inside the 30 as the clock moved under 6 minutes left. Swing pass to Williams for 16 yards to the CU 3.Williams took the handoff and powered over from 3 yards out for the TD. That's how you clinch a victory, a time-consuming scoring drive. Drive: 13 plays, 64 yards. Cougs will improve to 9-1 overall, 6-1 in Pac-12. SCORE: WSU 31, CU 7. Drive: 13 plays, 68 yards, 6:24. Kedron Williams intercepted pass and returned the ball 25 yards with 2:11 left to end matters. Targeting was called on CU to add insult to injury. But the call was reviewed and reversed. WSU ran out the clock after that.
FINAL: WASHINGTON STATE 31, COLORADO 7.
