Difference makers: Colby Humphrey records rare interception for WSU; Zevi Eckhaus bounces back

Colby Humphrey: As a collective, WSU’s defense played another commendable game, holding Louisiana Tech to 167 yards – the Bulldogs’ second-lowest output in a game this season. But we can’t spotlight every defender, so we’ll go with the one who had the biggest individual highlight. Humphrey, a fifth-year senior cornerback, snagged an interception in the fourth quarter, his first of the year and only the second interception for WSU’s defense this season. Louisiana Tech was driving and had reached WSU’s 27-yard line before quarterback Trey Kukuk fired an errant pass toward the near sideline, behind his intended target. Humphrey was there to pick it, then weaved through traffic for a 15-yard gain. The Alabama native also finished in a tie for second on the team with five tackles. Humphrey now has five interceptions in his career, which includes stops at Northern Arizona and South Dakota State.

Zevi Eckhaus: The senior quarterback wasn’t spectacular, but he mostly played a safe and efficient game, avoiding the kinds of costly mistakes that had plagued him in past weeks, and WSU’s offense was good enough to outpace La Tech and its struggling backup quarterbacks. It was a bounce-back after Eckhaus had his worst game two weeks ago in a loss to Oregon State. Eckhaus completed 17 of 25 passes for 146 yards and one passing touchdown, and rushed for 56 yards and two TDs on 11 carries. On WSU’s first drive, he floated a perfect pass to Joshua Meredith on a crossing route for a 23-yard TD. Eckhaus took a keeper 7 yards in for a TD to make it 14-0 in the second quarter, then led a 14-play, 66-yard drive that spanned 8:19 between the third and fourth quarters, capping the series with a 1-yard TD on a QB sneak. Eckhaus took some shots, almost threw one pick and seemed a bit timid at times, but he largely took what was there and didn’t commit any turnovers – that’d been a problem recently, as Eckhaus threw six interceptions over the previous three games.