Dom Williams’ acrobatic one-handed 35-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter was the only other first half highlight for WSU.
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Washington State running back Gerard Wicks (23) runs against Wyoming linebacker Eric Nzeocha (11) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, September 19, 2015, in Pullman, Wash.
Brian Hill, Wyoming’s talented running back, rushed for 242 yards against Eastern Michigan and is the Mountain’s West’s leading rusher with 273 yards and 8.8 yards per carry. Asked what was the biggest difference from his team’s season-opening loss to Portland State and last week, coach Mike Leach told reporters on Monday: “Week one we were hesitant, just constantly pressing and our tempo was slow as can be”.
“It was third-and-short and we had just got stuffed earlier, and there was not another play that we felt comfortable using at that time”, Bohl said.
Harrington galvanized a sluggish Cougars offense with a 19-yard run on a drive that ended with a 1-yard quarterback sneak touchdown by Luke Falk, then dialed up a highlight reel play to put WSU ahead 21-14 at the half by dancing his way through the entire Cowboys’ defense and dashing down the left sideline on a 36-yard score.
Wyoming (0-3), a ground-based team, seemingly surprised the Cougs with a pair of TD passes from quarterback Cameron Coffman in the first quarter.
The shutout the defense pitched in the second half covered for WSU’s offense, which stagnated in the third quarter before regaining its footing with 10 points in the fourth. Harrington finished with 68 yards rushing to lead the team, while River Cracraft led all receivers with 83 yards. It’s hard to picture a scenario in which he throws for fewer than 350 yards against the Cougs. Gentry had seven catches for 127 yards. Maulhardt’s receiving total and 10 catches were both career highs. It is his second 100-yard receiving game of his career and of the season. Senior Eddie Yarbrough recorded two sacks.
Things changed dramatically in the second half, which had been the Cougars’ achilles heel through the first two games. “I thought they went out on the field and stayed very focused and made some plays and that is something we will build off of”, Bohl said.
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Washington State returns home to play Wyoming on Saturday after a dramatic finish on the road against Rutgers last week. The game is set to start at 1 p.m. Next week’s contest will be televised by ROOT Sports.
