Washington State rides exceptional second quarter to beat Toledo 28-7

PULLMAN — In his second and final season at Washington State, Parker McKenna has blossomed into one of the team’s hardest hitters. At the linebacker spot, he’s delivered a slew of vicious tackles, punishing opponents with crunches over the middle.

By the end of the season, McKenna will have his own highlight reel of ferocious takedowns, a fitting tribute to a key part of the Cougars’ defense. But he may not be able to record a more important play than the one he made on Saturday.

In the fourth quarter of WSU’s 28-7 win over Toledo, McKenna was roving around the right side of the field, when he spotted a Rocket receiver reach out for a pass. No dice. It deflected off his hands and into the chest of McKenna, who didn’t just secure the ball. He prevented Toledo from making things interesting late in the game.

With that, the Cougars (4-4) had few issues ending a two-game slide and putting away the Rockets, thanks in part to McKenna’s interception, WSU’s first of the season. Entering Saturday’s game, the Cougars were one of two teams nationwide without a pick. After McKenna’s play, they erased that trend, putting themselves back in contention for a bowl game.

Washington State scored three touchdowns in the second quarter, all with quarterback Zevi Eckhaus involved. First, he surged five yards into the end zone. Then he connected with receiver Tony Freeman, who leapt for an acrobatic catch. Finally, he lobbed one up for freshman wideout Carter Pabst, who bobbled the ball and caught it in the end zone.

Outside of a fourth-quarter rushing score from running back Kirby Vorhees, that was about all the scoring WSU needed to earn this win, the team’s first in nearly a full month. Much of that credit belongs to the Cougars’ defense, which forced two turnovers on downs, six punts and the one interception, which stopped the Rockets from drawing within one score in the third frame. Toledo totaled only 61 rushing yards on the afternoon.

WSU’s defense made all manner of plays in this one. True freshman linebacker Sullivan Schlimgen, who is earning more playing time by the week, helped break up one fourth-down pass. In the absence of defensive end Isaac Terrell, who was not dressed for undisclosed reasons, DE Buddha Peleti supplied valuable pressure. And the Cougs recorded three tackles for loss altogether.

But WSU’s offense also left much to be desired. Eckhaus may have scored three total touchdowns, but he also tossed two interceptions, giving him four in his last two games. In Saturday’s game, he tossed both in the third quarter, propping open the door for Toledo. In both situations, the visitors took over near midfield. The Rockets had every chance to shave points off the Cougars’ lead.

WSU’s defense deserves praise for shutting that door — safety Tucker Large piled up 12 tackles, and with a depleted defensive line, true freshman Donovan Fitzmaurice and redshirt freshman Malachi Wrice made small splashes up front — but its offense missed plenty of chances to run away with things. In the second half, WSU totaled only 90 yards, including just 14 through the air.

Save for the second quarter, that kind of malaise followed the Cougs for much of this one. In the first quarter, they logged just 23 total yards. In the third, only 31. In the fourth, 57. Eckhaus turned in a team-best 74 rushing yards, and Vorhees followed with 62, leading to 162 total rushing yards, the team’s fourth straight game clearing the century mark on the ground. But the Cougars had trouble keeping that going with any consistency.

WSU will get a chance to turn that around next weekend on the road against Oregon State, which tallied its first win of the season last week. After that, the Cougs get their second and final bye week of the season.