PULLMAN – Dezmon Patmon didn’t cross the goal line at any point of Saturday’s game against Colorado, but Washington State coach Mike Leach believes his junior wide receiver was responsible for breaking it open.

In the third quarter, Patmon went 48 yards on a catch-and-run that set the Cougars up inside the Buffaloes’ 30-yard line and eventually allowed Gardner Minshew to rush for the 10-yard touchdown that gave the visitors a 31-7 lead.

“I actually thought that play kind of broke the game open,” Leach said Monday. “I know it wasn’t a score and a lot of times you feel like a score or something is what breaks it open.”

Minshew fired to Patmon on a short hitch and the receiver took care of everything else, bolting down the sideline and shedding off CU tacklers until he was finally forced out of bounds at the 30.

“He’s kind of a strong, powerful guy,” Leach said. “Stronger than he realizes, as we’ve talked about, but he’s getting stronger and stronger as he plays.”

Patmon has shared reps with Easop Winston at “Z,” but the junior from San Diego has been something of a revelation for the Cougars in 2018 after sitting behind Isaiah Johnson-Mack last season. Patmon currently leads the team in total receiving yards with 724 and has 52 catches to go with three touchdowns.

After posting 379 receiving yards as a sophomore, he’s had three 100-yard games this season and had career-high numbers against Stanford, reeling in 10 balls for 127 yards.