PULLMAN – Washington State’s quarterback of the future may have bolstered Paul Wulff’s chances of being Washington State’s coach of the future.
Redshirt freshman Connor Halliday, taking over for senior starter Marshall Lobbestael in the first quarter, passed for 494 yards and four touchdowns to lead Washington State to a 37-27 victory over Arizona State at a snowy Martin Stadium on Saturday night.
The victory snapped Washington State’s five-game losing streak and kept the Cougars’ bowl dreams alive with two games left in the regular season. WSU (4-6, 2-5 Pacific-12) plays Utah (6-4, 3-4) on Saturday in Pullman, then faces Washington (6-4, 4-3) on Nov. 26 in Seattle.
Wulff, 9-38 in four years at WSU, has not been told if he will be retained next season. He helped his job security by giving Halliday his first playing time since the second game of the season Sept. 10.
The Cougars gave up a 95-yard touchdown on the opening kickoff. However, Halliday entered the game with 61/2 minutes left in the first quarter, took his first game snap in nine weeks and immediately threw a gorgeous 85-yard TD pass to Marquess Wilson.
The Cougars came from behind to take the lead three times. Halliday, who starred at Ferris High School in Spokane, was 27-for-36 passing and did not throw an interception.
Halliday’s 494 passing yards ranks second in WSU history to the 531 Alex Brink recorded in a 1995 loss at Oregon State.
Wilson made outstanding catches all game. He finished with eight receptions for 223 yards and a career-high three touchdowns.
Wilson, a sophomore, joined Jason Hill (2004-05) as the only Cougars with a pair of 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Wilson also broke Brandon Gibson’s single-season school record of 1,180 receiving yards in 2007. Wilson now has 1,197 yards.
Snowplows cleared a light layer of snow from the field prior to the game. Snow fell from the middle of the second quarter to the end of the game. The new snow did not stick, but temperatures hovered around the freezing mark and winds were icy.
The Cougars topped ASU in total yards, 590-411. Arizona State quarterback Brock Osweiler was 28-for-44 passing for 351 yards and one touchdown. Gerell Robinson caught eight passes for 158 yards and a TD.
Safety Deone Bucannon led an aggressive WSU defense with a game-high 13 tackles – all solo.
Attendance on Dad’s Weekend totaled 27,213. Slick, snow-covered highways discouraged some fans from attending. Slow-moving traffic was bumper-to-bumper most of the way from Spokane to Pullman.
Former Washington State and New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason, fighting Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), served as honorary team captain and raised the Cougars flag prior to the game.
Moving and speaking slowly due to his illness, Gleason addressed the team at a local hotel in the afternoon. Football and life in general were topics of discussion.
“We talked about what I think is important in life,” Gleason said at a pregame press conference. “I talked a lot about how you treat other people.
“Obviously, winning and losing is important, but more important is the type of relationships you develop and how you grow as a person.”
Gleason, a Spokane native who was popular with fans and teammates, is raising funds to fight ALS through Team Gleason.
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