The Cougs breakout Quarterback Cam Ward threw for 404 yards with 4 touchdowns leading the Cougs to the 38-35 victory over the 14th ranked Oregon State Beavers.
WSU and Oregon State are in a very unique situation, being the only teams that haven’t left their conference and is now being called the Pac-2. Both teams are trying to prove their worth this year. The Beavers coming in ranked in the pre-season and the Cougs were picked to finish last in the conference, but here we are four weeks into the season and both teams undefeated and ranked.
The Cougs came out firing early, Ward took a shot downfield and connected with Kyle Williams for a 63-yard touchdown strike, then followed that up with a TD run by Cam Ward from 1-Yard out to give the Cougs the early 14-0 lead. The Cougs had no problem moving the ball on one of the top rated defenses in college football. Ward had 295 yards in the the first half on 19 of 20 passing.
Cougars top receiver Lincoln Victor went out early in the first with a hobbled ankle, but in his place, Fresno State transfer Josh Kelly had 2 huge one handed catches out of his eight that led to three touchdowns and 159 yards receiving. “Anytime we get the ball in our hands, we try to score,” Kelly said.
The Beavers led with the run game and accumulated 242-yards on the ground. It was the answers by the Wazzu offense that propelled the Cougars to the win. Ward found Kelly mid-way through the third from 19-yards out with a spectacular one-handed catch to give the Cougars a 35-14 lead.
The Cougar defense held Five-Star Clemson transfer QB DJ Uiagalelei to 198 yards on 17-34 passing, most of which came in the 4th quarter when the Beavers were trying to score quick. OSU had a chance to recover an onside kick in the end, but the Cougs recovered and escaped with the 3-point victory. “I’ll say it again: We belong,” said Jake Dickert following the game who has voiced his displeasure about the Cougs not getting invited to a power 5 conference with the rest of the conference.
The Cougars have a chance to rest this week before they face UCLA in Pasadena on October 7th.
