First-year Cougars coach said the first month of the season was the time to learn from hard lessons, and apply them in Pac-12 play, which started Saturday at Gesa Field in Martin Stadium.<\/p>\n
Up until a late-half spark after speeding up their playing tempo, the Cougars\u2019 offense was caught in neutral, gaining just 65 yards with less than two minutes remaining in the opening half.<\/p>\n
And it wasn\u2019t the type of 65 yards where WSU never saw the football. It just wasn\u2019t doing anything at all with it.<\/p>\n
On WSU\u2019s second play from scrimmage on offense, quarterback Caden Pinnick\u2019s pass near the left numbers was way behind wide receiver Brendan Ganashamoorthy for an incompletion.<\/p>\n
Pinnick\u2019s next pass to Ganashamoorthy was even worse. It was so wide of the mark along the right sideline that it sailed into the Fresno State bench.<\/p>\n
On WSU\u2019s second series, Pinnick had an open passing crease, but hesitated – and was brought down by Loyal Mouzon for a sack.<\/p>\n
It was an uninspiring half of football, to say the least. Pinnick had a third-down scramble and ran right into a group of defenders.<\/p>\n
Also trying to cut a run outside, Maxwell Woods began backtracking – and was tackled for a 3-yard loss.<\/p>\n
The only unexpected saving grace, given his slow start to the season, was WSU kicker Jack Stevens drilling both field-goal attempts – first a 32-yarder with nearly 9 1\/2 minutes remaining in the first half, and then a 50-yarder on the final play to tie the game at 6-6.<\/p>\n
WSU had one lone highlight – Kirby Voorhees\u2019 hop-over-a-defender 14-yard run that drew a rise out of the home crowd for \u201cParents Weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cougars finished the first half with 116 yards. Pinnick\u2019s numbers on the surface were fine – 11-for-16 for 82 yards – but the quality of play was as bad as it\u2019s been for a half this season.<\/p>\n
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