Washington State 64, Northern Colorado 21
When: 5:00 PM ET, Saturday, September 16, 2023
Where: Gesa Field at Martin Stadium, Pullman, Washington
Temperature:
81°
Head Official:
Gary Reed
Attendance:
23595
By Field Level Media
Cameron Ward passed for 327 yards and four touchdowns in one half of action as No. 23 Washington State rolled to a 64-21 victory over FCS program Northern Colorado on Saturday afternoon at Pullman, Wash.
Lincoln Victor caught six passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars (3-0). Josh Kelly had five receptions for 74 yards and a score, and Nakia Watson added a rushing touchdown for Washington State.
Ward completed 20 of 26 passes for Washington State, which outgained the Bears (0-3) 718 to 366. The Cougars had 34 first downs and converted 8 of 10 third-down conversions.
Jacob Sirmon completed 16 of 24 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns for Northern Colorado, which has been outscored 137-39 this season. The Bears' first two losses were to FCS foes Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word.
Washington State scored 22 first-quarter points and 21 more in the second while taking a 43-7 halftime lead.
Ward's opening 8-yard scoring run was followed by a two-point conversion. He threw a 37-yard scoring pass to Kyle Williams and a 28-yarder to Victor to make it 22-0 with 3:41 left in the first quarter.
Ward tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Kelly and Watson tacked on a 6-yard scoring run to make it 36-0 with 8:45 left in the half. Ward and Victor teamed up on a 31-yard scoring pass with 3:20 remaining.
Northern Colorado got on the board with 12 seconds left in the half on Sirmon's 18-yard touchdown pass to Jamarii Robinson.
In the third quarter, Wazzu backup QB Jon Mateer threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Josh Meredith to make it 50-7 with 9:43 left in the period.
After Hank Gibbs scored on a 1-yard run for the Bears, Tsion Nunnally caught a 62-yard touchdown pass from Mateer.
Dylan Paine scored from the 1 to give Washington State a 64-14 lead with 13:46 left in the game. Sirmon tossed a 52-yard scoring pass to Darius Stewart with 11:36 remaining.
The Cougars have scored at least 50 points in two of their three games. They beat Colorado State 50-24 in their opener on Sept. 2.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Rushing
| Northern Colorado |
|
Washington State |
|
David Afari |
Player |
Dylan Paine
|
|
17 |
Attempts |
7 |
|
116 |
Yards |
71 |
|
6.8 |
Avg Yards |
10.1 |
|
0 |
Touchdowns |
1 |
|
0 |
Long |
0 |
Receiving
| Northern Colorado |
|
Washington State |
|
Blake Haggerty |
Player |
Lincoln Victor
|
|
6 |
Receptions |
6 |
|
70 |
Yards |
119 |
|
11.7 |
Avg Yards |
19.8 |
|
0 |
Touchdowns |
2 |
|
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary
| |
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
| Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
| Northern Colorado |
366 |
158 |
208 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Washington State
|
718 |
229 |
489 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
2.0 |
0 |
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