Cameron Ward passed for 327 yards and four touchdowns in one half of action as No. 23 Washington State rolled to a 64-21 victory over FCS program Northern Colorado on Saturday afternoon at Pullman, Wash.
Lincoln Victor caught six passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars (3-0). Josh Kelly had five receptions for 74 yards and a score, and Nakia Watson added a rushing touchdown for Washington State.
Ward completed 20 of 26 passes for Washington State, which outgained the Bears (0-3) 715 to 366. The Cougars had 33 first downs and converted 8 of 10 third-down conversions.
Jacob Sirmon completed 16 of 24 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns for Northern Colorado, which has been outscored 137-39 this season. The Bears’ first two losses were to FCS foes Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word.
Washington State scored 22 first-quarter points and 21 more in the second while taking a 43-7 halftime lead.
Ward’s opening 8-yard scoring run was followed by a two-point conversion. He threw a 37-yard scoring pass to Kyle Williams and a 28-yarder to Victor to make it 22-0 with 3:41 left in the first quarter.
Ward tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Kelly and Watson tacked on a 6-yard scoring run to make it 36-0 with 8:45 left in the half. Ward and Victor teamed up on a 31-yard scoring pass with 3:20 remaining.
Northern Colorado got on the board with 12 seconds left in the half on Sirmon’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Jamarii Robinson.
In the third quarter, Wazzu backup QB Jon Mateer threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Josh Meredith to make it 50-7 with 9:43 left in the period.
After Hank Gibbs scored on a 1-yard run for the Bears, Tsion Nunnally caught a 62-yard touchdown pass from Mateer.
Dylan Paine scored from the 1 to give Washington State a 64-14 lead with 13:46 left in the game. Sirmon tossed a 52-yard scoring pass to Darius Stewart with 11:36 remaining.
The Cougars have scored at least 50 points in two of their three games. They beat Colorado State 50-24 in their opener on Sept. 2.
–Field Level Media
