The Washington State Cougars made a late run at the Stanford Cardinals before falling in the end, 38-28. On the back of Jeff Tuel and his wide receivers in the fourth quarter, the Cougars scored 21 points and made it a game, but couldn’t dig out of the hole they created in the first half.
Tuel had another big game through the air, throwing for 297 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. The mistakes by the offense, however, were costly. Tuel’s two interceptions and a costly case of fumblitis by the running backs hurt the Cougs in the first half and gave Stanford all the advantage they needed.
Marquess Wilson had another standout day for Washington State, catching six balls for 150 yards and a touchdown. Jared Karstetter also had a big game, reeling in nine catches for 101 yards and two scores. The passing game was all the Cougars had, however. The Washington State running backs racked up 90 yards on 23 carries and couldn’t get much going on the ground.
The Cardinal were led, once again, by Andrew Luck. Only having to throw on occasion, Luck passed for 190 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Stanford did their damage on the ground, rushing for 249 yards and two scores. Stepfan Taylor paced the Stanford backs with 142 yards and both touchdowns.
Washington State finally ends its run of games against top-20 teams next week as they travel to Tempe to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils.