TV take: SEC Network gives Cougs their due during upset bid

There are no such things as moral victories in college football anymore. Mainly because the word “moral” seems to have disappeared from college athletics, overrun by the more fashionable “financial.”

But a beat-up Washington State defense certainly could have claimed a moral victory Saturday in the Cougars’ 24-21 loss to fourth-ranked – for now – Mississippi in Oxford. Instead, they got some more important victories, ones that the SEC Network crew of play-by-play voice Taylor Zarzour, analyst Matt Stinchcomb and sideline reporter Alyssa Lang kept pointing out.

• The defense stood up to a Mississippi offense that has averaged 530.6 yards and 40.6 points a game in its 5-0 start. Ole Miss finished with 439 yards.

• The offense, while outgained by 93 yards, still rushed for 127 against an SEC defense, including Kirby Vorhees’ 46-yard second-half touchdown that gave WSU the lead.

• First-year coach Jimmy Rogers has the video proof what he’s selling can compete at the Power Four level.

• And, maybe most importantly, the Cougar faithful who showed their support with their wallets were rewarded with an easy cover of the 32.5-point spread.

With the $400,000 payday the program earned it was something of a win/win. In a loss.

What they saw

• For those of us who watched the Pac-12 Network for years and railed against the sometime homer nature of the broadcasts, the trio working this one for the SEC Network reflected the competition. It was refreshingly balanced.

A good example came late in the third quarter when Cale Reeder was ejected for targeting by the replay official. Both Zarzour and Stinchcomb, the former Georgia All-American, pointed out both players lowered their heads and running back Logan Diggs was probably more at fault.

The penalty was followed by a 17-yard touchdown scramble by Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, giving the Rebels a 17-14 lead. Through a spot Reeder would have been patrolling.

Part of that was how well the Cougars (3-3) were playing. But that doesn’t mean the commentary necessarily follows. The ESPN-supplied crew pointed out both teams’ successes and failures, albeit with an expected Mississippi bent.

• “What a fight by Washington State in the first 45 minutes. What do they have left for No. 4 Ole Miss in the fourth frame,” Zarzour asked as the third quarter ended with the Rebels up 17-14.

The answer? Just a little less than what was needed. And Ole Miss did just enough. The WSU defense, which had been on the field for 58 snaps through three quarters, held up for one more possession. But two empty Cougar ones led to the Rebels’ decisive four-play, 60-yard scoring drive. The coffin nail? A 35-yard throw from Chambliss to Cayden Lee, who made two WSU defenders miss in the red zone.

• Zevi Eckhaus almost pried the lid off though, leading a 75-yard scoring drive in 4 minutes. But his 19-yard touchdown throw to Tony Freeman left just 2:43 to play. It was close to being enough, partly due to the WSU defense and partly due to a 15-yard sideline penalty.

The Cougars got the ball back with a little more than a minute left. But no time outs. A run, a deflected pass and a sack almost ended it. But a pass to Freeman garnered a first down. And Eckhaus’ long pass toward Kapena Gushiken, a former Cougar, earned a pass interference penalty. With 3 seconds left. Just time enough for a 27-yard, two-lateral pass play that ran out the clock. And left the crew impressed.

“This game was much more of a battle than anyone anticipated,” Stinchcomb said as the broadcast ended.

What we saw

• To paraphrase a Shakespearian paraphrase, if you come for the fourth-ranked team in the nation, even if it is in their half-full house, you better not miss.

Despite leading much the game, the Cougars missed too often.

Missed a couple of drive-extending first-half passes, drops by Freeman and Max Woods of for-sure or possible first downs.

Missed an interception, although safety Tucker Large actually did steal Chambliss’ off-target throw, giving the Cougars the ball at their 24 with a 7-0 first quarter lead. But corner Jamorri Colson was flagged for defensive holding, even though he was away from the play – on the Ole Miss sideline – and Chambliss did not even look in that direction. It was the type of did-not-impact-the-play contact Pac-12 officials were criticized for by others, say SEC coaches, for decades.

The Rebels had already missed a long field goal – something WSU’s Jack Stevens did as well – and they missed on the penalty-aided scoring opportunity too. Isaac Terrell sacked Chambliss at the WSU 37, stripping the ball away in the process. The fumble, which had to be made by the replay booth, killed Ole Miss’ third consecutive drive into the Coug red zone.

When Cale Reeder just missed getting a hand on Chambliss’ 2-yard pass to Dae’Quan Wright, the Rebels had finally scored. With 31 seconds left in the first half.

WSU got the ball to start the second half and had a chance for a first down deep in Ole Miss territory on a Freeman catch. But it was negated by an iffy illegal formation penalty. Instead, three plays later Eckhaus gave the ball to Vorhees. He took it through a huge hole on the right side and finished it 46 yards later for a 14-10 lead.

• Washington State traveled more than 2,000 miles to play. So did a decent contingent of Cougar fans, who impressed the broadcast crew with their late-night revelry Friday.

The Square, where the Ole Miss faithful gather, according to Zarzour and Stinchcomb was the province of crimson-wearing fans. And, despite an announced attendance of 66,392 which included large swaths of empty seats, their voices could be heard throughout the first three quarters.