Cougars catch early breaks in Holiday Bowl

The Cougars escaped disaster early in the first quarter on when Jamal Morrow fumbled a punt on his own 7-yard line, but managed to fall on the ball just as MSU’s Matt Morrissey arrived.

WSU got another break later in the first quarter. Facing third-and-4 from the MSU 43, Hilinski threw complete on the left sideline to Kyle Sweet.

Sweet was ruled out of bounds, but WSU challenged the call, which was reversed. The Cougars gained 8 yards and a first down, keeping alive a drive that ended with Erik Powell’s 45-yard field goal that gave WSU its first points of the night.