PULLMAN, Wash. — Gardner Minshew completed 39 of 51 pass attempts for 323 yards and four touchdowns, and No. 25 Washington State held on for a 34-20 win over No. 12 Oregon at Martin Stadium on Saturday.
The victory equaled WSU's longest winning streak over the Ducks in school history at four games.
The Cougars, who were picked by ESPN Lee Corso to get the win, started the night with a convincing 27-0 lead at the half. But WSU's steady first-half defense struggled to limit Oregon in the second half, particularly in the third quarter.
Oregon left the first half with only 39 yards, but piled on 289 yards in the second.
The Ducks were effective in keeping the Cougars from getting anywhere near quarterback Justin Herbert in the third. Herbert took his time and connected with Jacob Breelan for a combined 47 yards to get to WSU's 17-yard line.
Brenden Schooler finished the drive with a 14-yard catch in the end zone to get the Ducks on the board and narrow WSU's lead to 27-7.
The Ducks pulled within seven points near the beginning of the fourth field goal with less than 7 minutes left in the game.
Minshew answered with his first scoring drive since the first half. He found Travell Harris down the field for a 37-yard diving catch to pull the Cougs down to Oregon's 38-yard line. Four plays later, Minshew found Harris again for 11 yards to bring the Cougs within 23 yards of the end zone.
Dezmon Patmon put Cougs fans at ease with a catch over Oregon defenders in the center of the end zone, giving WSU a comfortable 34-20 lead with 3:40 on the clock.
James Williams led the Cougars with seven catches and nine carries for a combined 95 yards and a score. Max Borghi followed with 10 carries and seven catches for 82 total yards and one touchdown.
The Ducks forced WSU to two turnovers, but the Cougars' offense dominated the field and outgained Oregon 400-328. The Air Raid offense tallied 323 of those yards, 53 more than Oregon's passing yardage.
The Cougars were 9 for 14 in third-down conversions and averaged 5.3 yards per play.
WSU is back on the road next week and will face Stanford on Oct. 27 at 4 p.m.
Across the Pac-12
(15) Washington 27, Colorado 13
California 49, Oregon State 7
Utah 41, USC 28
