WSU Pulls Off Upset in an Instant Classic - NoDakHusker's Dynasty

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WSU Pulls Off Upset in an Instant Classic Stuck

Posted on July 19, 2010 at 02:11 AM.

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STANFORD, CA - It was a cool, rainy day in Stanford, CA, as Washington State came in with a four game losing streak. The Cardinal were heavily favored to win this one. Within two minutes, they scored and it appeared it was going to be another thrashing for WSU.
However, things took a turn for the better when WSU forced several turnovers, and never once turned the ball over themselves. Jeff Tuel had the game of his career, leading a WSU offense we had not yet seen this season. WSU took a 21-14 lead heading into the half.
Things really turned interesting going into the fourth, with the Cougars sitting on top of a 24-14 lead. All looked well until Andrew Luck hit his WR for a 41 yard TD pass, sending the stadium into a state of euphoria. WSU struggled to get anything going and gave the ball back to Stanford, unwillingly via a punt, of course. With 3:25 to go, Andrew Luck finds yet another hole in the defense, hitting the same receiver again, this time for 62 yards.
Stanford looked like they might escape this one, leading 28-24. The pressure was on, with just over 3 minutes to go. Jeff Tuel found Daniel Blackledge on back to back passes that set WSU up in Stanford territory. Tuel then found Isiah Barton on second down at the 36, running a deep post over the middle of the field. Barton snagged the ball out of the air, plowed forward, stopped just short of the goalline. The fans grew quiet, WSU had only one yard to go, and they had just over 2 minutes to do so.
On first down, right away they hand it to the fullback, Bosch, who finds a gaping hole to run through, untouched! Touchdown Cougars! WSU takes a 31-28 lead, with 1:55 to go.
Too much time remained, though, and Andrew Luck, minus a couple of untimely interceptions, had torn this defense apart with his precision accuracy. It appeared no different this time around. He marched his men down to around the 40 in WSU territory, with :39 to go. Several plays later, a 4th and 10. They go to the air, finding who else but Whalen right over the middle, uncovered. This setup first and ten at the 28. First down, incomplete pass to the flats. Second down, run the ball up the middle for a 6 yard gain. 3rd down came, they call a timeout, :18 remain at the 22 yard line.
Andrew Luck sets up in the shotgun. A wet ball is snapped high, he snags it, secures it in his hands. The offensive line holds up any pressure from the WSU defense. Luck, plenty of time to throw, heaves one in the corner of the endzone...Cory Burk is there in coverage...Burk INTERCEPTS IT, taking it just inches from the Stanford wide out! Burk runs out of the endzone, down the sideline..pushed out at the 14! It's OVER! They have done it!
Washington State pulls off an improbable upset at Stanford, 31-28. This game was dubbed an ESPN Instant Classic, given a classic score of 1167. WSU gets their much deserved second win of the year, and first conference win of the year as well.
Jeff Tuel earned Player of the Game honors, throwing for close to 400 yards, no interceptions. The Sophomore QB has really grown into the role in the past few weeks. Cory Burk intercepted the Stanford QB twice, and for the first time this season, WSU did not turn the ball over, and kept the turnover differential positive.

NCAA Scoreboard - Washington State Cougars (2-5) at Stanford Cardinal (4-3)

October 16, 2010	1	2	3	4	F
Washington State Cougars	7	14	3	7	31
Stanford Cardinal	7	7	0	14	28

Top Performers

Washington State Cougars - Stats

J. Tuel - 20/30, 385 yards, 2 TD

Stanford Cardinal - Stats

R. Whalen - 6 rec, 177 yards, 2 TD

Team Stats Comparison

	WSU	STAN
First Downs	22	18
3rd Down Efficiency	6-11	5-10
4th Down Efficiency	0-0	1-1
Total Yards	460	475
Passing Yards	385	359
Rushing Yards	75	116
Penalties-Penalty Yards	3-35	6-55
Turnovers	0	4
Time of Possession	20:56	16:26

Scoring Summary

First Quarter			WSU	STAN
STAN	6:24	TD STAN: J. Stewart, 13 yard run(N. Whitaker kick)	0	7
WSU	1:25	TD WSU: I. Barton, 10 yard pass from J. Tuel(N. Grasu kick)	7	7
Second Quarter			WSU	STAN
WSU	7:19	TD WSU: J. Montgomery, 2 yard run(N. Grasu kick)	14	7
STAN	3:09	TD STAN: S. Taylor, 54 yard run(N. Whitaker kick)	14	14
WSU	1:11	TD WSU: J. Solomon, 7 yard pass from J. Tuel(N.Grasu kick)	21	14
Third Quarter			WSU	STAN
WSU	5:33	FG WSU: N. Grasu, 27 yard FG	24	14
Fourth Quarter			WSU	STAN
STAN	7:13	TD STAN: R. Whalen, 41 yard pass from A. Luck(N. Whitaker kick)	24	21
STAN	3:19	TD STAN: R. Whalen, 62 yard pass from A. Luck(N. Whitaker kick)	24	28
WSU	1:55	TD WSU: E. Bosch, 1 yard run(N. Grasu kick)	31	28

Washington State Cougars

Passing	C/ATT	YDS	TD	INT
J. Tuel	20/30	385	2	0
Rushing	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD
J. Montgomery	18	75	4.1	1
C. Winston	7	12	1.7	0
E. Bosch	1	1	1.0	1
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
I. Barton	7	151	21.5	1
D. Blackledge	6	102	17.0	0
J. Solomon	3	79	26.3	1
J. Montgomery	2	36	18.0	0
G. Simone	2	17	8.5	0
Defense	TKL	SACK	INT	TD
Z. Enyeart	5	1	0	0
A. Justin	4	1	0	0
J. Matthews	4	0	1	0
C. Burk	3	0	2	0
B. Wolfgramm	2	1	0	0
Kick Returning	NO.	YDS	TD	LONG
J. Solomon	3	66	0	26
J. Montgomery	2	30	0	15
Kicking	FGM/A	XPM/A	PTS	LONG
N. Grasu	1/3	4/4	7	28
Punting	NO.	YDS	AVG	IN 20
R. Forrest	2	78	39.0	0

Stanford Cardinal

Passing	C/ATT	YDS	TD	INT
A. Luck	22/38	359	2	3
Rushing	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD
J. Stewart	17	85	5.0	1
S. Taylor	1	54	54.0	1
A. Luck	3	-23	-7.6	0
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
R. Whalen	6	177	29.5	2
G. Whalen	5	63	12.6	0
L. Toilolo	4	56	14.0	0
C. Owusu	3	42	14.0	0
J. Stewart	3	18	6.0	0
Defense	TKL	SACK	INT	TD
RE #90	8	1	0	0
SS #26	7	0	0	0
MLB #43	8	0	0	0
CB #2	6	0	0	0
Kick Returning	NO.	YDS	TD	LONG
C. Owusu	3	54	0	21
D. Baldwin	3	55	0	20
Punt Returning	NO.	YDS	TD	LONG
D. Terrell	2	5	0	4
Kicking	FGM/A	XPM/A	PTS	LONG
N. Whitaker	0/1	4/4	4
Punting	NO.	YDS	AVG	IN 20
D. Green	1	39	39.0	0