It’s pretty rare to say a Power Five team had no shot of beating a fellow team in their conference but based on the way things went during Arizona’s trip to Pullman on Saturday, it’s safe to say that the Wildcats stood no shot of beating a red-hot Washington State team.
That was evident if you looked at the final score, in which the Cougars won by a very nice number of 69-7 but a margin that somehow doesn’t even convey the level of beatdown that took place on the Palouse.
Consider that budding Heisman Trophy candidate Luke Falk threw for 311 yards and four scores against just three incompletions. His backup was just as effective, with Tyler Hilinski having two incompletions to match his two touchdown throws. Maybe just as surprising was the fact that a Mike Leach-coached team scored three times running the ball.
Washington State also forced three turnovers and out-gained Arizona by 328 yards.
The Wildcats probably want to avoid looking at the box score on their flight back to Tucson, as three quarterbacks went a combined 11-of-23 for 128 yards, one score and a pair of interceptions. Samajie Grant had a decent outing at least, rushing for 77 yards, but there wasn’t much to be happy about as the team remained winless in conference and have a fan base ready to run out head coach Rich Rodriguez.
The seventh win of the season for Washington State was probably their most impressive from a game-control standpoint and should help boost their ranking when the College Football Playoff Selection Committee releases their set on Tuesday. With two of their final three at home, a conference crown and Rose Bowl trip remains in the cards for the Cougars and might even be likely if they continue to play like they did on Saturday.