Saturday’s meeting between the No. 15 Arizona Wildcats and the Washington State Cougars was the irresistible force against the movable objects.
Washington State entered the game with the nation’s 95th-ranked defense. Arizona was 88th overall. On the other side of the ball, Arizona claimed college football’s fourth-best offense, while Washington State was ranked ninth.
The Wildcats got the best of Wazzu on both ends as Arizona won 59-37. The 59 points was a school record for Arizona in conference play.
#Arizona has now tied School record for most points scored in PAC10/12 gm (59). Ironically ties with 2008 win at WSU. All-Time is 74pts 1921
— AZ Wildcat Country (@Wildcat_Country) October 26, 2014
Arizona took over very early in the contest. Rich Rodriguez‘s squad built a 24-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Wildcats were up 31-0 before the Cougars even placed a tally on the scoreboard.
Arizona’s freshman quarterback, Anu Solomon, was efficient throughout the game and continued to make the right read and throw. Solomon was 26-of-38 passing for 294 yards and five touchdowns.
Overall, the Wildcats accumulated 451 total yards. A number that was eclipsed by Washington State.
Cougars quarterback Connor Halliday threw the ball 79 times and amassed 489 passing yards. He also threw a pair of touchdowns and interceptions.
Halliday is on pace to shatter passing records this season in Mike Leach‘s Air Raid offense.
Washington St's Connor Halliday has 517 pass attempts in 8 games, on pace to obliterate FBS marks for attempts in season, attempts per game
— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) October 26, 2014
After giving up 21 inconsequential points in the fourth quarter, Arizona is now bowl eligible and remains in contention for Pac-12 South.
Arizona is 6-1 for just the 2nd time since 1998. Previously started 7-1 in 2010, before losing 5 games in a row to end the season.
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) October 26, 2014