Forty, forty-three and fifty
Jack Stevens made field goals from forty, forty-three and fifty yards at Utah State. Washington State’s kicker became the first Cougar since Jason Hanson in 1991 to make three field goals of at least forty yards in one game. His longest kick tied his career best.
Washington State still lost 17–16 on October 9. The kicking performance did not require a correction to become useful. The possessions around it needed more. A one-point result should not turn into a claim that the specialist failed to provide enough when he had just completed one of the program’s rarer kicking afternoons.
The next drive still starts at first down
Max Dean punted seven times, including three punts of at least fifty yards and a career-long sixty-yarder. Those efforts could improve where Utah State began. They could not supply Washington State with another offensive touchdown or prevent every opponent response.
The Cougars should use the special-teams work as a reason to keep the next series organized. A dependable field-goal option can preserve a scoring opportunity after the offense stalls, but the offense still benefits from reaching a shorter and more flexible decision before it does. A well-placed punt can create a defensive advantage, but the coverage and subsequent defense have to protect it. The kicks are part of a connected sequence, not separate events capable of settling the entire game.
Corvallis offers another narrow margin to manage
Washington State, 1–5 overall and 0–2 in the Pac-12, visits Oregon State, 4–2 and 2–0, on October 17 at 6 p.m. Eastern on USA Network. The Cougars enter with a defense allowing 355.3 total yards per game, second in the conference in their game-week notes.
Their next improvement should make the specialist’s successful work harder to waste. A drive extended by an ordinary first down can change the kind of kick eventually required. A clean defensive series can preserve the field a punt just gained. Stevens has already shown that distance alone need not remove a scoring opportunity. Washington State needs more of the surrounding possessions to turn those opportunities into a result.
Sources & reporting
- Washington State Athletics: Oregon State preview, October 14 ↗
- Washington State Athletics: Utah State postgame notes ↗
This article adds independent analysis to publicly available reporting. We did not conduct the interviews or report the game firsthand. Report a factual error.