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Leader of the Pac: Anthony Gordon breaks conference single-season passing touchdowns, yards records

Washington State Cougars quarterback Anthony Gordon (18) is hoisted skyward by Washington State Cougars wide receiver Kassidy Woods (17) after WSU scored the go-ahead touchdown in the final moments of the second half of a college football game on Saturday, November 23, 2019, at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Dan Thompson For The Spokesman-Review

PULLMAN – Anthony Gordon’s ascent to the top of the Pac-12 Conference record books is just about complete.

In Saturday’s 54-53 last-second victory against Oregon State, the Washington State senior quarterback threw for a season-high 606 yards yards and six touchdowns, vaulting him to the top of the conference’s all-time lists for most passing yards (4,920) and touchdowns (45) in a single-season.

He passed former WSU quarterback Gardner Minshew for the Pac-12 yardage record (previously 4,779 yards) and quarterbacks from Cal (Jared Goff) and Washington (Jake Browning) for the touchdown mark, which had been 43.

During his climb up the yardage ladder he also passed former Cougars quarterbacks Luke Falk and Connor Halliday.

Gordon, 50 of 70 on Saturday and 417 of 585 attempts on the season, achieved the yardage record in 77 fewer attempts than Minshew and has two more games to extend it: the Apple Cup at Washington on Friday and then a bowl game to be determined.

“The individual rewards aren’t all that important to me, to be honest, but reflecting on it a little bit, it kind of goes to show if you keep your head down and work hard anything’s possible,” Gordon said when asked about the records. “My situation looked kinda dark at the beginning, but I kept my head down, kept working, and it just goes to show what you can do if you work hard.”

Gordon’s 606 passing yards Saturday were the second-most ever by a WSU quarterback, behind only Connor Halliday’s 734 against Cal in 2014.

The FBS all-time single-season passing record is 5,833 yards, set by Texas Tech’s B.J. Symons in 2003 with Mike Leach as his head coach. Graham Harrell is second on that list with 5,705 yards in 2007, also under Leach at Texas Tech. Both came in 13-game seasons, the same as WSU will have this year.

“He played a great game today, he made the reads he was supposed to make, the checkdowns he was supposed to do, the checks from different plays,” junior receiver Renard Bell said. “He’s getting better and better each game, and he’s doing a terrific job right now.”