The Cougs dropped a close game in Pullman Saturday in their first game without former coach Nick Rolovich, 21-19.
WSU has pulled off comeback wins in each of the last two games, but the magic ran out Saturday, as the Cougs were an extra-point away from sending it to overtime. The punter Nick Harberer bobbled the snap and was forced to roll out of the pocket and throw a pass that was unsuccessful in the 3rd quarter which ultimately ended up being the difference in the game.
The Cougs started off on the right foot in their first drive. Jayden de Laura went 5 for 5 and Max Borghi ran it in the end zone from 11-yards out for the early 7-0 lead. BYU seemed to set the tone on the offensive end throughout the game, and the Coug defense once again, took a bend but don’t break mentality. BYU followed the WSU score with a 9 play, 75 yard drive of their own, ending in a Tyler Allgeier 1-yard TD score to tie the game at 7. BYU had a few chances in the first half, but a missed field goal and fumble in WSU territory, which helped the score to be tied at halftime.
BYU and WSU traded long drives to start the 2nd half. Both long drives taking nearly the entire 3rd quarter collectively. BYU was helped all day by their sophomore back Tyler Allgeier who had 190 yards rushing on the day on 32 carries and sealed the deal for the Cougs. WSU got 83 yards on 18 carries and 3 touchdowns from Max Borghi who helped the Cougs with their red zone woes, going 3 for 3 inside the 20-yard line. WSU’s defense came up huge in the 4th forcing BYU’s only punt of the half and giving the WSU one last shot to tie it down 21-13. Jayden de Laura led an 11 play 76-yard drive in seemingly an easy drive for the freshman ending in a 1-yard TD run by Borghi, leaving them just a 2-point conversion away from tying it at 21. On the conversion attempt, de Laura rolled out and handed it to the receiver on a reverse who tried to convert on the other end, but BYU showed discipline and tackled him before the line of scrimmage.
With just over 3-minutes left, WSU had a few chances to stop BYU, but Tyler Allgeier picked up yards in bunches of 8 and more which spelled doom for WAZZU. On 3rd and 8 with no time-outs remaining, Allgeier picked up 10-yards on a draw play and ended any chances of a comeback for the Cougs. “We just didn’t do our best today as far as scrapping and squeezing and getting angles,” interim head coach Jake Dickert said regarding the defense following the game.
The Cougs face Arizona State next week before a much needed bye week and head to Eugene to face the 10th ranked Ducks.
