Washington State’s run-and-shoot explodes for big plays as offense lights up second half
It took a little while for the offense to get rolling on Saturday, but once it did, it was hard to stop.
Scratch that. In the second half it was unstoppable.
Washington State scored touchdowns on four of its five second-half possessions, the streak broken only by the victory formation at the end of the game – and WSU outlasted Oregon State 31-24 at Martin Stadium.
The Cougars (3-3, 2-2) had 491 yards of total offense – a single-game high under coach Nick Rolovich.
Jayden de Laura went 32 of 46 for a career-high 399 yards with three touchdowns, including a 1-yard swing pass to Deon McIntosh with 5 minutes, 25 seconds to go that provided the final margin.
“We just finished the chances we had in the first half (in the second),” de Laura said. “We came in to halftime and we told each other, ‘We’re going down the field, we’re just not punching it in.’ When we get the chances to we gotta punch things in and we did in the second half.”
Rolovich heaped praise on his signal-caller.
“I saw some growth with (de Laura) a couple of weeks ago,” Rolovich said. “What he’s grown into is the trust of everyone in the program. He’s making others around him better.”
It was the big play that made the difference on Saturday. It came after the Cougars utilized a five-wideout set more than previous games.
“It’s something that’s been beneficial to us,” Rolovich said of the formation. “It’s not like we’re teaching new things to the quarterback, but it’s pretty seamless with how we’re kind of structured.”
The Cougars connected for their second- and third-longest passes of the season, both in the second half.
Tied at 10-10 with 4:20 left in the third, WSU edge rusher Brennan Jackson came up with a pick at the Cougars 5. After a couple of first downs, de Laura connected with Joey Hobert and the sophomore took it 55 yards to the house for his first career touchdown – and WSU’s first lead of the day.
“I think we were cleaner with our assignments,” Rolovich said. “I think Jayden really knew where to go with the ball.”
Oregon State only needed two plays to tie it again. But once again, the big play bailed the Cougars out.
On third-and-7 from their 27, Travell Harris gathered a medium-distance slant, hit the afterburners and took it 58 yards to the OSU 14. On the next play, de Laura found Lincoln Victor on a screen and the junior stretched into the end zone for another lead.
“It was great run-after-catch,” Rolovich said of the long-gainers. “They weren’t terribly long passes but Jayden does a really good job of getting the ball out.”
“We had those big plays that helped us score,” de Laura said. “Joey’s touchdown, and Travell’s big pass that he caught and took all the way. It was just really good execution in the second half.”
Harris finished with a season-high eight catches for 147 yards.
“It was nice to see some yards after catch and some big plays, some explosion,” Rolovich said.
While the outcome ended up positive for the Cougars, it took a little while to get there. The first half saw some of the same struggles the offense has had this season in the red zone.
After OSU went up 10-3 with just under 6 minutes in the half, de Laura hit on his next four pass attempts to get into Beavers territory. But a fourth-and-goal pass intended for Harris fell harmlessly when the receiver appeared to get tangled up with a pair of defenders.
George Hicks III came up with an interception with 51 seconds left in the half to set up Washington State in Beavers territory. On third-and-goal, de Laura scrambled to his right and his lob to Harris was picked by Omar Speights ended the half.
Washington State entered the game averaging fewer than 5 yards per play. On Saturday, the Cougars averaged 7.0 yards per play overall –10.4 yards in the third and 9.2 in the fourth.
“It should be a little confidence boost – a little, fruits of the labor,” Rolovich said. “We’re getting better. We lost some tough games. The mindset of the team leadership is to keep this team going the right direction.”