Jacob Thorpe’s keys to the game

What went right

The Cougars could do nothing wrong offensively, for a half. It took Luke Falk less than two quarters to tie the school record for passing touchdowns in a game and WSU only had one drive in the first half that didn’t end in a touchdown, and the Cougars still scored a field goal. The Cougars averaged 8.9 yards per play offensively in the first two quarters and the Beavers never came close to stopping them.

What went wrong

The Cougars could do nothing right defensively, for a half. Falk and the WSU offense were shut out in the second half against an OSU defense that had given up 89 points over the previous six quarters. The Cougars averaged 4.2 yards per play

Difference maker

While Falk couldn’t lead the offense to points in the second half, his play in the first half was so good that he didn’t need to for the Cougars to emerge with a double-digit win. Falk spread the ball to 11 different receivers, completing passes of 12 or more yards to six separate players. Furthermore, Falk took only two sacks despite multiple different pressures from the OSU defense, a big improvement after taking 14 over the previous two weeks.

It was over when

Falk threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Dom Williams with 17 seconds left in the first half to cap a 10 play, 72-yard drive that took 3:59 off the clock. The touchdown gave the Cougars a 28-point halftime lead, a deficit OSU’s offense was never going to be able to overcome.