Oregon’s Mase Funa intercepted Cameron Ward’s attempt at a game winning drive and took it 27 yards for the touchdown to complete the Ducks comeback and seal the Cougs’ fate. The Cougs were looking to add another big win to their resume as the Ducks visited Martin Stadium Saturday.
After three straight wins to open the season, a sold out Martin Stadium was primed to get their first win against the Ducks since 2018 when ESPN College Gameday was in town. The Cougs got started early on their opening drive. Ward put together a masterful eight play drive ending with a 5-yard keeper from Cam to give the Cougs the early 7-0 lead. WSU this season has been outstanding in red zone defense and they showed that early on, leading to a Cam Lewis 27-yard field goal to pull the Ducks within 4. The red Zone defense showed up again in the 2nd quarter on a 1st and goal from the 7 when Francisco Mauigoa intercepted Bo Nix at the WSU 5-yard line and returned it 95 yards for the Cougar touchdown completing the second largest interception return in Cougar history. The Ducks were able to tack on a couple more field goals and the Cougs took a 17-9 lead into the locker room.
The Ducks 2nd half adjustments spelled doom for the Cougars defense. To open the 2nd half, Bo Nix connected with Kris Hutson for a 55-yard gain to the WSU 20 on the opening play of the half. Nix finished the drive off with a 12-yard touchdown connection to Bucky Irving to pull the Ducks within 2. Midway through the 3rd, the Cougs found the end zone again offensively. Cam ward found De’Zhaun Stribbling across the middle for a 15 yard touchdown connection to give the Cougs their biggest lead at 27-15.
The Ducks were able to return the favor on the following drive. Nix found Troy Franklin for a big 27-yard pickup to the WSU 16, then targeted Franklin 2 plays later for another 13 yards down to the 2-yard line. Jordan James then punched it in from a yard out to pull the Ducks within 5. The Cougs offense wasn’t done, Ward put together a 12 play 81-yard drive that was riddled with personal fouls by the Ducks to give the Cougs the 34-22 lead with 6 minutes remaining in the contest. Wazzu was going to need to make a stop to seal the game.
For most of the half, the Ducks were moving the ball at will with huge gains. The Ducks moved down the field getting chunks of yards down to the 1-yard line where McCormick finished it off for the 1-yard touchdown grab from Nix. Trying to kill the clock, Ward and the Wazzu offense played conservative and went three and out on the following drive. It took the Ducks 1:15 of game time and a 50-yard touchdown pass from Nix to Franklin and the Ducks captured their first lead of the game at 37-34 with 1:21 remaining. The Cougs had one last shot to take the lead, but on the second play of the drive, Ward through it directly to the defense and Mase Funa took the ball 27-yards to the house and foiled Wazzu’s upset bid.
“We didn’t make the plays to win the game,” Coach Jake Dickert said following the game. “We lost to a good football team. We are a good football team, we just gotta go out and do it.” The Cougs have a home game next week again Cal before going on the road to face USC then Oregon State.
