Washington State offense comes out flat in second half

PULLMAN – Washington State scored on three successive drives in the first half Saturday, but its first three drives of the second half produced only two punts and a missed field goal.

In the first half, Gardner Minshew continually used his legs to extend plays and find streaking receivers for chunks of yards. But the offense came out flat in the second half against Utah and put the onus on the defense to keep the Cougars in the game.

Trailing 24-21 since the Utes’ Matt Gay kicked a 41-yard field goal with 4:21 remaining in the third quarter, the Cougars mustered three drives that netted a total of 65 yards.

Several receivers dropped what appeared to be catchable balls and Minshew had a couple of misses. It didn’t help that Washington State had little success running the ball to take the pressure off the passing offense.

With 10 minutes left in the game, the Cougars had 22 total yards on the ground.