Tag: Washington State Cougars

Huskies, Petersen beat Boise State in Las Vegas Bowl 38-7

Published on by psushawnLeave a comment

Petersen-Lake-Gettyt-620x370

Photo credit: Getty Images

By Shawn McCullough

LAS VEGAS–The Washington Huskies sent their head coach out on a good note.

Washington (8-5) beat up the Mountain West champion Boise State Mustangs 38-7 in the Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Huskies head coach Chris Petersen surprisingly announced his retirement from Washington on December 2nd, but agreed to coach the Huskies for his final game in the Las Vegas Bowl.

“It’s never about one person,” said Petersen about his last game.  “It’s about the team playing really, really well.”

Petersen formerly was the head coach at Boise State and went 92-12 from 2006 to 2013.  He led the Broncos to two undefeated season in 2006 and 2009.

“For us to finish on this note, I just feel really good for the guys that are leaving this program and the guys that are coming back,” said Petersen.

Redshirt junior quarterback Jacob Eason led the Huskies throwing for 210 yards and one touchdown.

“It was awesome just the way this whole team played,” said Eason.  “I play well and this team plays well.  Overall we just played well and efficient and got the result that we wanted.”

The Huskies started the scoring in the first quarter with Eason hitting Andre Baccellia on a slant for a 17 yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead.

Washington later scored in the second quarter on a pitch sweep to running back Salvon Ahmed, who beat the outside contain and sprinted into the right corner of the end zone to go up 14-0.  The Huskies added a field goal late in the second to go into halftime up 17-0.

“Our guys played hard and they were ready to go out there and play, but as coaches, we didn’t do a good enough job to make the adjustments that we needed to do,” said Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin.  “I am proud of our guys”.

Boise State freshman quarterback Hank Bachmeier struggled in the first half throwing for just 87 yards and two interceptions sparking a quarterback change to redshirt senior Jaylon Henderson.

Henderson led an eleven play, 77 yard drive in the third quarter for the Mustang’s only points of the game on a 10 yard touchdown pass to running back George Holani.

The Mustang loss dropped Boise State to 12-2 on the season, snapping a six game winning streak.

Game Notes:

  • Washington defensive back Elijah Molden was named the game’s MVP with nine tackles and one interception
  • This was the 28th straight and final Las Vegas Bowl played at Sam Boyd Stadium
  • Sam Boyd Stadium seats 36,800
  • The Las Vegas Bowl will move to the currently under construction Allegiant Stadium in 2020, home of the Oakland Raiders and the UNLV Running Rebels

Cougars use big second half to blow away Cardinal, 49-22

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @StanfordFball

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, November 16, 2019

Washington State quarterback Anthony Gordon threw for 520 yards and five touchdowns on Saturday, leading the Cougars to a 49-22 Pac-12 football win over Stanford at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash.

The Cougars (5-5 overall, 2-5 Pac-12) had a 19-0 lead in the first half before Stanford could respond. Gordon threw two touchdown passes to Easop Winston Jr. and another to Davontavean Martin.

Stanford’s Davis Mills, who had an impressive passing game himself, rallied the Cardinal (4-6 overall, 3-5 Pac-12) to within 19-14 in the second quarter with touchdown passes of 28 yards to Simi Fehoko and 23 yards to Michael Wilson.

Blake Mazza, who missed two early PAT kicks, booted a 35-yard field goal to give WSU a 22-14 halftime lead.

Mazza kicked a 38-yard field goal at 6:35 of the third quarter, giving the Cougars an 11-point lead. But Stanford pulled to within 25-22 just over two minutes later when Mills connected with Fehoko on a 10-yard scoring pass. Cameron Scott added a 2-point conversion run.

That’s as close as the Cardinal would get. At 3:29 of the third quarter, Gordon’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Arconado ignited a 24-point run to pull away.

In the fourth quarter, a Mazza 35-yard field goal, Gordon’s TD pass to Max Borghi — his fifth of the day — and Borghi’s 4-yard touchdown run completed WSU’s scoring.

Gordon completed 44 of 60 passes with one interception and was sacked twice. Mills threw 50 times, completing 33 for 504 yards and three touchdowns with two picks and two sacks.

Stanford’s running game was nearly nonexistent, with 16 net rushing yards. Borghi ran 15 times for 111 yards, leading WSU.

Connor Wedington led Cardinal pass receivers with eight catches for 119 yards. Wilson caught five passes for 114 yards. Fehoko had 92 receiving yards on three receptions, and Colby Parkinson caught five passes for 80 yards.

Arconado had nine receptions for 148 yards to lead the Cougars. Winston Jr. caught a game-high 11 passes for 107 yards,

The Cardinal return home this Saturday (11/23) to host California for this year’s edition of The Big Game, Kickoff is at 1 p.m. PST.

Healthier, Wealthier: Bears finally cash in with 33-20 win over WSU ending four-game slide

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, Calif. — Well, we knew coming in that previously ranked Washington State and Cal are pretty good football teams except when they aren’t.

The Cougs look bad when they can’t stop anybody, and when the Bears struggle they can’t score.  Those two storylines grew old in Pullman and Berkeley with all the losing. Since late September when WSU and Cal were both undefeated and nationally ranked, the two clubs combined for a 1-8 record.

So Saturday’s matchup offered redemption for one of the two teams, and more of the same for the other.

Who gained the upper hand?

Cal did, winning 33-20, as they welcomed back injured, offensive starters Michael Saffell, Kekoa Crawford and Devon Modster, three big reasons the Bears put up a season-best 33 points, one game after they were shutout in Salt Lake City.

“It just shows a lot of grit, coming off of a four-game losing streak,” said Modster, who threw for three scores and ran for another. “Our spirits didn’t die. We came out to work every day, and I think it showed tonight.”

The Bears scored just 24 points total in their previous three losses, but needed all of 45 seconds to find the end zone on Saturday night. Jaylinn Hawkins picked off Anthony Gordon’s first pass attempt of the game, and Christopher Brown Jr. covered 27 yards on a touchdown run one play later.

Any illusions that Cal was going to erase all its ills immediately were wiped out on the extra-point attempt when WSU’s George Hicks III scooped up a blocked kick and raced the length of the field for two points for the Cougars.

When is a touchdown not worth seven points on the scoreboard? In this case, when the Bears’ faulty place-kicking game gets involved. In that case, seven points is effectively reduced to four.

Defensively, the Bears were on point from the start, not only with Hawkins interception, but by getting off the field in a timely matter on Washington State’s next two possessions. But after tight end Gavin Reinwald fumbled trying to get extra yardage after a catch, WSU had a short field, and drew within a point on Drew Mazza’s 30-yard field goal.

Giving away points to a normally prolific WSU offense could have spelled disaster. Trailing only 6-5 after a lackluster beginning may have been the Cougars signal to bury Cal offensively, but it wasn’t. WSU committed too many penalties (10), couldn’t run the ball (16 yards on just 14 attempts) and didn’t do enough in the pass game despite racking up 407 yards passing on Gordon’s 58 pass attempts.

Instead, Cal limited WSU’s receivers after the catch, came up with Hawkins’ pick and a fumble recovery, along with a key stop early in the fourth quarter that preserved Cal’s 20-14 lead.

Meanwhile, the Bears took after halftime, as the Cougs imploded, building on their 13-11 lead at the break with a couple of big plays, most significantly, Makai Polk’s 52-yard catch-and-run that put Cal up 26-14 with 6:15 remaining. Polk, the freshman from Richmond, had just three catches all season prior to his touchdown, a moment of brilliance that saw Modster recognize the defense pre-snap, then have Polk take advantage after catching a simple screen pass.

“They were (in) cover zero and I knew it was going to be a big gain, but I didn’t know if it was going to be a touchdown or not,” Modster recalled. “But right when I threw it I saw a huge hole and Makai just did all the rest.”

The Bears are back in the postseason mix if they can gain at least one more win in their final three games. USC comes to Berkeley on Saturday, then the Bears visit Stanford. Both teams have been vulnerable at points this season, and Cal could benefit greatly if that resurfaces for either opponent. Bringing to an end the nine consecutive losses to Stanford probably is especially enticing to the Bears.

 

March Madness NCAAB podcast with Michelle Richardson: Top schools Virginia and NC; plus Tenn, Kentucky, and Duke

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @UVAMensHoops

On the March Madness NCAAB podcast with Michelle:

#1 Michelle, talk about some the top ranked schools in March Madness, Virginia and North Carolina.

#2 Talk about the Tennessee Vols (5), Kentucky Wildcats (6), and Duke Blue Devils (10).

#3 The Washington State Cougars (11-20) finished up their season with Oregon State Beavers (18-12) they’ve lost four in a row. What is the best thing they can expect out of the Pac-12 Tournament?

Michelle’s Final Thoughts

Michelle does the NCAAB podcast each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal basketball podcast with Joey Friedman: Cal gives Stanford fits on home floor in season finale

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Joey:

#1 The Cal Bears, who couldn’t win a Pac-12 conference game to save their lives, took two games from the Washington Huskies and the Washington State University Cougars, and dominated Stanford on Thursday night at Maples Pavilion at Stanford.

#2 For Cal, Connor Vanover and Austin Paris led the Bears in scoring in the first half of Thursday’s game.

#3 It was Stanford’s home floor, the Cardinal normally don’t have too much problem at home. Is Cal a possessed team since getting those two wins against those Washington schools last week?

#4 What’s it going to be like for Stanford when KZ Okpala leaves for the NBA Draft?

#5 Talk about the job that Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase did against Cal on Thursday night in trying to back into the game.

Listen to the Stanford Cardinal podcasts each Friday with Joey at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips: After two straight wins, Cal prepares for Stanford Thursday

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from yahoosports.com: The Cal Bears defense was all over the Washington Huskies last Thursday at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley the first of two wins for Cal

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1 The Cal Bears are coming off two wins against the mighty Washington Huskies and the Washington State University Cougars. Morris talks about Cal’s motivation to win their first two Pac-12 games.

#2 Getting two wins in the Pac 12 after nearly going winless has to build confidence going into the Pac-12 tournament.

#3 Now 7-22 coming off a 76-69 win, was the game against WSU a game where the Bears could see improvement in ball movement and getting their shots?

#4 Darius McNeill led Cal with 17 points for a big offensive day. Cal also distributed the ball well.

#5 It’s off to Stanford Thursday night, a 8:00 PM tip. Could the Bears come in with momentum and possibly get this game?

Morris does the Cal Bears podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Joey Friedman: Start to finish, Cardinal don’t let up WSU in 48-point blowout

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Pac12Network

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Joey:

#1 From start to finish, the Stanford Cardinal (15-13) left little doubt about this game with the Washington State University Cougars (11-17) as the Cardinal won it by 48 points at Maples Pavilion Thursday night.

#2 KZ Okpala led the Cardinal with 22 points and was a key factor for the big margin win for the Cardinal.

#3 The Cardinal’s Isaac White and Cormac Ryan both finished second in scoring with 14 points they were finding their accuracy in this game.

#4 There was no mercy rule in this one Stanford head coach Jerod Haase milked it for all it’s worth getting all the offense he could out of the players.

#5 The Washington Huskies are up next Sunday at Maples and they are not a pushover, ranked 25th in the nation and first in the Pac-12. Will the Cardinal have their hands full or will they be able to hang with the Huskies?

Joey does the Cardinal podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford routs WSU at Maples 98-50

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

by Joey Friedman

PALO ALTO — The Stanford Cardinal (15-13, 8-8 in Pac-12) routed the Washington State Cougars (11-17, 4-11) by a final score of 98-50 on Thursday night after dropping two consecutive road games to the Arizona schools last weekend. They looked to redeem themselves against the 11th-seeded Cougars with the Pac-12 tournament just a 3-game home-stand away.

Stanford looked focused on both offense and defense to start the game. On the back of 6 forced turnovers, 4 steals, and 3 blocks and they stretched their lead to 24 points with the score 31-7 with 10 minutes left in the first half. In that time, Cormac Ryan made 3 of his first 4 three-pointers and KZ Okpala led the Cardinal with 11 points. Okpala finished the half with 16 points and 8 rebounds.

Ryan, battling two ailing ankles, played tonight game assisted by what appeared to be heavy-duty ankle braces.

Sophomore point guard Daejon Davis injured his knee midway through the first half. Although he didn’t return to the court, he did return to the bench with crutches later on. No update had been made available since.

Stanford’s lead only grew, as everything appeared to be going right for the Cardinal. They took a 52-15 lead to the locker room at the half. Stanford converted a remarkable 64% (7-12) of their three-pointers in the first half after combining for a 15% 3 pointer percentage in the two games against the Arizona schools on the road last week. They also smothered the Cougars who shot just 23% from the field in the first half and were kept scoreless from beyond the arc (0-8).

The second half was more of the same. Sophomore Isaac White hit 3 3-pointers of his own in the second half. He finished the game tied with Cormac Ryan for second on the team in points with 14.

Freshman Jaiden Delaire finished with 12 points, 8 of which came in the second half. Fellow freshman Bryce Wills also finished in double digits with 10 points to pair with 5 assists. Senior Josh Sharma had 8 points and 7 rebounds while freshman Lukas Kisunas had a career-high 7 rebounds. Two of Stanford starters, Deajon Davis and Oscar Da Silva, didn’t score.

Stanford finished the game shooting 60% from the field and 54% from 3-point range. Stanford also collected a total of 20 assists. They forced 15 WSU turnovers and collected 26 points off those turnovers as a result. Head coach Jerod Hasse praised Stanford’s energy level tonight, especially on defense.

What’s Next?
Stanford will host the 25th ranked Washington Huskies on Sunday at 1:00 PM before they host the rival Cal Bears to close out the season. Washington is the 1-seed in the Pac-12 and the only school in the conference to be ranked.

Washington State will travel across The Bay to the 12-seed California Bears on Sunday at 4:00 PM before they host the Oregon schools to close out the regular season.

Stanford kicks off final homestand of the season vs. Washington State Thursday

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By: Ana Kieu

Last week, Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball toured the Grand Canyon State with two conference matchups against the Arizona State Sun Devils in Tempe, Ariz. on February 20th and the Arizona Wildcats in nearby Tuscon, Ariz. on February 24th, respectively. Stanford got swept by both teams by the final scores of 80-62 and 70-54 in that order. It was unfortunate as the Cardinal had just built up a two-game win streak in Palo Alto, Calif. prior to boarding the two flights. But what can the team do? They can only move on and learn from previous mistakes.

Anyways, Stanford (14-13, 7-8 Pac-12) has been slated to open the final homestand of the season at Maples Pavilion. Game one has been scheduled for Thursday evening versus the Washington State Cougars, who currently sit second to last in the conference with a 11-16, 4-10 Pac-12 record, at 6:00 pm PT on the Pac-12 Network.

Yes, Stanford sits two spots above Washington State, but that won’t automatically mean that the Cardinal will win the conference matchup. Just take a look at my alma mater, San Jose State Spartans, this season under second-year head coach Jean Prioleau, who mustered a measly 3-23, 0-14 MW. As you can see, those three wins weren’t conference wins, so there’s a thing or two that makes conference games a tad bit tough, like, say, opposing team strength and quality of game site. If I missed anything, please contact me directly on Twitter @AnaKieu. Thank you!

Stanford was exposed to the hot-shooting Sun Devils and Wildcats, who both managed to get hot at the right times to down the Cardinal by far-fetched routs. Stanford was without Daejon Davis in Tempe. While Davis returned just in time for the Tuscon tilt, Stanford needed more than Davis’ leadership with 14 points for double figures to rise above Oscar da Silva’s 12 points, Josh Sharma’s 11 points and KZ Okpala’s 10 points.

Stanford’s stats were extremely poor as they shot just 39.6% from the field overall and finished 4-of-20 from beyond the arc in Tuscon. That being said, Stanford proved to be significantly better in the second half, shooting 52.2%. However, Arizona shot 50% in the second half to keep up and outlast the Cardinal in the end.

Oh, and in other news, Milwaukee Bucks center and Stanford alum Brook Lopez hosted a block party Monday night against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. The Bucks downed the Bulls 117-106. Lopez scored 13 points and four rebounds in 27 minutes played. Lopez, a North Hollywood, Calif. native, played college basketball at Stanford from 2006-2008 and was selected 10th overall by the New Jersey Nets in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Cardinal come from behind to upend Cougars 83-60

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, February 7, 2019

Thanks to a big night from Dorian Pickens, punctuated by timely shooting, Stanford traveled to Pullman, Wash., and defeated Washington State 79-70 Thursday in Pac-12 men’s basketball.

Pickens bagged a career-high 28 points, including a crucial 3-pointer with 1:16 to play in the second half. Pickens also made 7-of-10 from behind the arc.

Freshman KZ Okpala was next for Stanford with a career-high 21 points and Daejon Davis hit 6-of-7 field goals and finished with 15 points for the Cardinal (9-8 overall, 3-1 Pac-12).

Malachi Flynn led WSU (8-8, 0-4) with 24 points, including seven 3s. Milan Acquaah was next for the Cougars with 10 points, and Drick Bernstine added eight points and pulled down 12 rebounds.

Robert Franks, who came into the game leading WSU with 17.3 points per game, was held to eight points while committing six of the Cougars’ 22 turnovers.

With the Cougars leading 55-47, Washington State’s Kwinton Hinson committed a hard foul on Stanford’s Reid Travis, and the players had to be separated. From that point, the Cardinal roared to a nearly 10-minute, 21-3 run, taking a 68-58 lead with 6:26 remaining.

The Cougars pulled to within three points twice, but Pickens hit a pair of 3-pointers that helped Stanford hold on for its third straight win.

Stanford, which rallied for victories after being down 13 at UCLA and down 15 against USC, trailed Washington State 45-38 at the half.

A game official collided with a Cougars player in the second half, was injured, and had to leave the game.

The Cardinal travel to Oregon to face the Ducks on Sunday at 5:00 pm PT.