Washington State football scored their second consecutive vital victory in the PAC-12 North, with a come from behind 41-38 win over Stanford.
Many expected a letdown game for Washington State this week after last week’s “Cougstock” win over Oregon with College Gameday in Pullman for the first time, but Mike Leach’s squad just keeps winning, ignoring the narrative of this being a rebuilding year for the Cougars.
It certainly wasn’t easy, wins over Stanford rarely are, as Washington State had to battle back from a two touchdown deficit in the first half to earn a key road win that puts the Cougars in control of the PAC-12 North race.
Washington State trailed 28-17 at halftime, but battled back and earned a win in a frantic fourth quarter.
Gardner Minshew threw a touchdown pass to Renard Bell with four minutes to play that gave the Cougars a 38-31 lead. Stanford answered back three minutes later with a touchdown pass from K.J. Costello to J.J. Arcega-Whiteside to tie the game.
Minshew engineered a game-winning drive from there, leading his team on a 7-play, 50-yard drive that was capped by a 42-yard field goal from Blake Mazza with 19 seconds to play, which proved to be the game winner.
Washington State has now won five straight games after their three-point road loss to USC, positioning the Cougars for a big finish to the 2018 campaign.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday night’s PAC-12 North battle: