Cougars destroy Vandals at Martin Stadium

Washington State played its first game in the great city of Pullman, and shellacked the Idaho Vandals 45-28. Alex Brink had another huge day at Quarterback, throwing for 307 yards and four touchdowns. This was the 90th meeting of these two teams from the Palouse, and the Cougars have controlled the series, going 70-17-3.

Along with Brink's big day, Running Back Dwight Tardy was able to eclipse the 100 yard mark once again, while scoring 2 rushing TD's. Micheal Bumpus lead all wide receivers with 8 catches for 118 yards and 2 scores.

This game was close for a half, as the Vandals actually jumped out to 14-7 lead, and the game was tied at 21. However the Cougars scored 10 straight to end the first half, and the game was never in doubt during the second half. Much of this can be accredited to the Cougar defense, who intercepted 4 passes and recovered a fumble.

The attendance for the game of two rivals who call their home a mere eight miles apart was 32,048. Not quite a sellout, but very close to capacity in Martin Stadium. The Cougars have not lost to the Vandals in a while, and that streak seems likely to continue. The series goes on an indefinite break starting next year.

Player of the Game: Alex Brink, who became the Cougars all-time leader in pass completions with 624. He passed Coug great Jason gesser, who held the record before with 611.

So far this season the Cougars offense has been quite prolific, with many players in the top 30 in the country in many stats. Here is a list of some of their current standings:

Alex Brink: 10th in passing yards, 8th in passes completed, 5th in completion percentage, t-8th in td's, and 12th in quarterback rating

Brandon Gibson: 25th in receiving yards and t-5th for recieving touchdowns

Micheal Bumpus: 29th in receiving yards

Dwight Tardy: 30th in rushing yards and t-17th in rushing touchdowns

Also the Cougar offense is tied for 26th in points per game, averaging 37

The Cougars offense will need to continue to play like for the rest of the season if they hope to make a bowl game.

WSU Beats Down San Diego State

Seattle, WA- The Cougars decided that they didn't want to start their season off 2-0, and overcame a sluggish start to beat the Aztecs 45-17. Quarterback Alex Brink had a huge game, throwing for over 400 yards and setting a school record with 38 completions. He also threw for 5 touchdowns with only 1 interception. The game looked like it might be close in the first quarter, as San Diego State was able to move the ball throughout the first quarter and actually held a 10-7 lead. However, the COugar defense stiffened after this, and the offense took over. Brink was virtually unstppable throughout the game, other than one underthrown pass that got picked off near the endzone near the end of the first half. Also, Brink set a school record was his fourth game throwing for over 400 yards, and his 469 yards were the 3rd most ever by a Cougar, trailing only his 500 yard against Oregon State a few years ago, and a performance by Drew Bledsoe in the 90's. Some other Cougars had big days, as 4 different recievers caught touchdown passes, with Brandon Gibson catching two. Also, the Cougars had three receivers, Gibson, Micheal Bumpus and Charles Dillon all go over 100 yards receiving. This was first time the Cougars had done this since the 2003 season. Another positive note for the Cougar Wr's was the emergence of true freshgman Jeshua Anderson, who flew by the Aztec defensive for a 39 yard touchdown in the first half. Anderson set a national high school record last year in the 300 meter hurdles. The Cougar coaching staff believes he may be the fastest Wr they have ever coached. The Cougars were also able to run the ball, finishing with 185 yards on 35 carries. They were led by Dwight Tardy who had 16 carries for 99 and a touchdown. Christian Ivory and Kevin McCall were also successful running the ball. On Defense, the Cougars did not play well in the first quarter. In the end, they gave up nearly 300 yards passing and a touchdown. However, they were able to intercept one of Aztec quarterbacks Kevin O'Connell passes. They were able to hold them to only 114 yards rushing. The Aztec offense was praticularly ineffective during the 2nd and 3rd quarters, where the Cougars were able to shut them out. Play of the Game: Cougar WR Jeshua Anderson sprinted past the Aztec defense and ran under a perfectly thrown Alex Brink for a 39 yard touchdown that put the COugars comfortably ahead during the second quarter. It was Anderson's first career catch. Players of the Game: WSU WR's/TE's- Combined for 5 td's and made many extraordinary catches. Next up for the Cougars is a game Saturday vs. Idaho at 7pm in Pullman. This weekend was not only good for the Cougars, but for almost all of the Pac-10. THe conference went 7-1, with Oregon State being the only team to lose. These wins included a huge upset by the University of Washington over 22nd ranked Boise State. Huskies fan have hope for the first time in years, thanks to freshman sensation quarterback Jake Locker. Also, the Seattle Seahawks won their season opener in Seattle against the Tampa Bay Bucaneers. The final score was 20-6, and the Buc's were unable to score after the first quarter. The Seahawks were led by Shaun Alexander who had 27 carries for 105 yards and a TD>