Washington State 56, Colorado 14

—

November 17th – at Washington State           Washington State 56, Colorado 14

—

Cameron Ward threw for 288 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, Brennan Jackson had two scoop-and-score touchdowns and Washington State beat Colorado 56-14 on Friday night to snap a six-game losing streak and end the Buffaloes’ hopes of a bowl game in the first year under Deion Sanders.

CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders left the game in the second quarter after taking a big hit on a botched snap. Sanders was slow to get up but walked off the field on his own before being taken to the locker room. The junior was 6-of-10 for 86 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown strike to Travis Hunter. Sanders was sacked four times before leaving the game.

“The opponents played a heck of a game, coached a heck of a game,” said Coach Prime. ” They came to play handily from the start to the finish. Obviously it doesn’t look like we did. You give up two fumble returns for touchdowns and a kickoff return for a touchdown, that’s not the recipe for a win. They executed early and executed often and when they got Shedeur out of the game it was tough sledding from then on.”

Washington State posted 447 yards of total offense, holding the Colorado offense – which had three turnovers and nine punts – to 255 yards of total offense. Freshman quarterback Ryan Staub completed 5-of-14 passes for 56 yards, while junior walk-on quarterback completed one-of-three passes for 21 yards, also throwing an interception.

CU’s scores came on Travis Hunter’s 45-yard touchdown reception and a one-yard run by Sy’veon Wilkerson in the fourth quarter with Washington State already up 56-7.

“Very, very (surprising), because it’s not who we are,” Coach Prime said. “We’re still trying to figure out our identity, trying to figure out who we are in turbulent times. And I still don’t know. After all these weeks, I still don’t know.”

—

Game Story … The game opened as it had so many times in previous Buff routs, with the CU offense going three-and-out, including a sack of quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

The Washington State offense, meanwhile, wasted no time in letting the home crowd of 27,869 – the first non-sellout crowd of the season for Colorado – that the home team was going to finish the disappointing season with a victory. The Cougars marched 65 yards in seven plays without facing a third down, scoring on a 15-yard run by Lincoln Victor to take the lead for good six minutes into the game.

The Buff offense showed a bit of a spark on its next drive. On third-and-12, Sanders hit Sy’veon Wilkerson for 18 yards and a first down. Two plays later, facing a third-and-seven, Sanders connected with Jimmy Horn for nine yards and another first down near midfield. On the next play, however, Sanders was sacked, fumbling the ball away. WSU defensive end Brennan Jackson went 40 yards with the scoop-and-score, making it a 14-0 game.

Freshman quarterback Ryan Staub came in to replace an injured Shedeur Sanders on CU’s ensuing drive, with running back Sy’veon Wilkerson accounting for two first downs – on a nine-yard run and an 11-yard reception – before the Buffs were forced to punt.

A three-and-out from the WSU offense and a short punt gave the CU offense the ball back near midfield. Shedeur Sanders returned to the game, and quickly put the Buffs on the board. A 45-yard touchdown pass to Travis Hunter made it a game again, with the scoreboard reading 14-7 in the final minute of the first quarter.

It remained a game for all of 13 seconds.

Leyton Smithson returned the CU kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, and, just like that, it was a two-score game once again, at 21-7.

After a three-and-out from the Buff offense, the Cougars allowed the home crowd the option of returning home early on a crisp Friday night in Pullman (38-degrees at kickoff). An eight-play, 67-yard drive was culminated by a 23-yard touchdown pass from Cameron Ward to Nakia Watson. Washington State 28, Colorado 7, just three minutes into the second quarter.

The CU offense went three-and-out on its next possession, losing Shedeur Sanders for good in the process. On third-and-five, Sanders fumbled. He recovered, but re-injured his hand, and did not return.

After the teams traded three-and-outs by their offenses, the Cougar offense set up shop at its own three-yard line after a 55-yard punt by Mark Vassett. It took ten plays, but Washington State was able to cover all 97 of those yards, with a one-yard scoring run by quarterback Cam Ward making it a 35-7 game late in the first half.

But the Cougars weren’t done. After CU’s third consecutive three-and-out on offense, the Washington State offense needed only five plays to cover 73 yards to score again. After a 51-yard completion from Cam Ward to Josh Kelly, Ward took it in himself for a two-yard touchdown with just over a minute to play before the break.

Halftime score: Washington State 42, Colorado 7

Junior walk-on Gavin Kuld, whose previous experience at quarterback was at Monterey Peninsula College and Northeast Oklahoma A&M, came in for the Buffs to open the second half. After three Anthony Hankerson runs netted a first down, the CU drive quickly stalled thereafter, forcing CU’s fifth consecutive punt.

The Buff defense then forced a three-and-out from the Cougars, with linebacker LaVonta Bentley picking up a sack in the process. Taking over near midfield, the Buffs gained a first down via pass interference, but couldn’t take advantage. Three plays later, on fourth-and-13 at the Washington State 35, Gavin Kuld was unable to get off a pass, settling for a one yard run and a turnover on downs.

The Cougar offense then reasserted its dominance with another quick (five-play) touchdown drive, capped by a 34-yards touchdown pass from Cameron Ward to Kyle Williams, upping the score to 49-7 midway through the third quarter.

After Gavin Kuld’s first completion of his CU career, a 21-yarder to Xavier Weaver, disaster struck again. Defensive end Brennan Jackson, who had a 45-yard scoop-and-score in the first half, did it again, with a 74-yard fumble return for a touchdown making it a 56-7 game with 20 minutes still left to be played.

Three runs for a total of 34 yards by running back Dylan Edwards pushed the ball into Washington State territory on CU’s next possession, but Gavin Kuld, who had his first completion of his career on the previous drive, threw the first interception of his career on this drive, ending the Buffs’ scoring opportunity.

Washington State quickly returned to the CU red zone, but a fumble on a sack of Cam Ward gave the ball back to the Buffs at their 20-yard line.

The CU offense, with Ryan Staub back in at quarterback, then set off on its only sustained drive of the game. Running back Anthony Hankerson opened the drive with an 11-yard run, with a roughing the passer penalty on former Buff Na’im Rodman giving CU a first down in Washington State territory. A 27-yard completion from Staub to Travis Hunter gave the Buffs a first-and-goal at the WSU three yard line, with Sy’veon Wilkerson taking it in from a yard out on fourth down three plays later.

Almost 12 minutes of clock remained, but it was a 56-14 game, and interest in the game was waning. The teams traded three-and-outs before a fumble near midfield was recovered by CU safety Shilo Sanders. The Buff offense responded with … its seventh three-and-out of the game.

Washington State backup quarterback John Mateer connected with Carlos Hernandez for 48 yards on the Cougars’ last possession, but the drive mercifully ended with a pair of kneel downs at the Buff 20-yard line.

Final score: Washington State 56, Colorado 14

“I’m very sad of how we played,” Sanders said of his team, which fell into the basement of the Pac-12 with its seventh loss in eight games. “We practiced hard this past week. We prepared, and to go and display a performance like that it’s not indicative of who we are, what we are, how we are.”

–

—–

This post, about the Washington State game, from the 2023 Season, is filed under Article.
You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment.