The Washington State Cougars improved to 4-2 on the season after a 44-22 win on the road against the California Golden Bears. WSU has beaten teams from California in both of its Pac-12 wins this season.

Quarterback Connor Halliday surpassed 500 passing yards Saturday and spread the ball around to 12 different targets. Halliday managed to play in the game after getting hurt against Stanford last week.

“I thought he did a good job managing the team. There were some sloppy spots on both sides, but I thought he did a pretty good job holding our unit together,” said Head Coach Mike Leach.

Cal saw a balanced offensive attack from WSU. Halliday threw 67 times and had three touchdown passes in the game, but he had plenty of help from the entire team. Senior wide receiver Vince Mayle caught two of those touchdown passes, and junior running back Marcus Mason caught the third. However, Mayle said it doesn’t really matter how the team scores.

“That’s just kind of how we would like to play,” Mayle said. “A quick drive, we can’t really control that. We’re just trying to perfect our offense and get things done and make routine plays.”

Mason wasn’t the only running back to score on Saturday. The other two WSU running backs, sophomore Teondray Caldwell and redshirt sophomore Jeremiah Laufasa, both found the end zone for rushing touchdowns. Laufasa’s score was his fifth of the season.

However, the Golden Bears didn’t go unnoticed on Saturday. Cal had chances on both sides of the ball to make the game much closer than the final score indicated.

Twice the Golden Bears penetrated the Cougars’ 10-yard line, twice the Golden Bears coughed up the ball, and twice redshirt junior Kalafitoni Pole picked it up to end the threat. On the first drive of the game, Cal running back Daniel Lasco lost the ball after the team drove down the field in 11 plays. Cal running back Brendan Bigelow couldn’t punch it in at the WSU 1-yard line and turned the ball over.

“I thought our defense came together and rallied,” Leach said. “Instead of just spiraling down, I thought they rallied well. I thought our offense kept responding until the defense got in sync. Then the defense got some key turnovers, which I thought was really good.”

Cal freshman quarterback Jared Goff tallied 489 passing yards of his own and threw two touchdown passes, including one to Cal wide receiver Chris Harper, who has been one of Goff’s favorite targets all season.

Harper caught the ball 13 times, which amounted to over 200 receiving yards for him alone.

The 89-yard touchdown to Harper came after Halliday threw his only interception of the game, and after what could have been a break for the Cougars. Cal safety Michael Lowe nabbed the pass from Halliday in Cal territory and ran the ball back for the score, flipping into the end zone.

That flip drew an unsportsmanlike conduct flag, resulting in the ball being brought back to the Cal 11-yard line. On the first play after the penalty, Goff connected with Harper.

Goff also threw an interception in the game. Senior safety Deone Bucannon picked it off and returned it 47 yards, but senior kicker Andrew Furney missed the field goal for the Cougars on the ensuing drive. However, the Golden Bears could not capitalize after that, punting the ball away and then allowing Halliday’s 68-yard touchdown pass to Mason.

Freshman cornerback Daquawn Brown overcame early struggles against the Golden Bears’ offense and intercepted his second pass of the year. This one came against backup Cal quarterback Zach Kline.

The loss against Washington State brought Cal’s record to 1-4 and ended the Golden Bears’ eight-game win streak against the Cougars. However, the Golden Bears lost more than just the game. Cal Cornerback Stefan McClure suffered a knee injury and Cal linebacker Jalen Jefferson hurt his head in the game.