WSU Cougars Keys to the Game

1: What went wrong

Kick coverage problems didn’t end up costing WSU the game, but they easily could have. Of Rutgers’ 34 points, 14 came because of returns by Janario Grant, who returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and followed that with a 55-yard punt return for a score. Even when the Cougars tried to kick away from Grant, their coverage was worse than if they’d kicked out of bounds for a penalty.

1: Difference maker

Falk still has areas in which he needs to improve, but that’s part of what makes him such a promising quarterback going forward. A few of his passes were off target and he didn’t see a couple of open receivers. But Falk completed 47 of his 66 passes for 478 yards and four touchdowns. Additionally, he didn’t throw any interceptions and took only one sack.