To open Pac-12 Conference play in the 2023 football season, WSU took on the other remaining Pac-12 school Oregon State in what fans affectionately called the ‘Pac-2 Championship.’ Bringing out the signs en masse like many other home games before this one, students called out “College Gameday” for poor comments earlier that day, making fun of the Beavers mascot as usual and more.
WSU got the game going early, with Kyle Williams breaking off for a big 63-yard receiving TD in the first quarter to give the Cougs the lead, a lead they never gave up the rest of the way. After his explosive start, Williams finished the night with seven receptions and 174 yards, with that mark leading the team.
Not to be outshone, fellow receiver Josh Kelly had the more exciting highlights. His one-handed catch set the world on fire as social media outlets across the nation were scrambling to cover his miraculous catch.
Josh Kelly makes a miraculous one-handed catch with a defender grabbing onto his jersey in the first quarter against Oregon State, Sept. 23, in Pullman, Wash.
Kelly and Williams’ big days were especially welcomed as the Cougs leading receiver Lincoln Victor left the game early and returned to the sideline on crutches. Head coach Jake Dickert said postgame that the injury is likely a “high ankle sprain,” but the worry is that he will miss several weeks of action.
Lincoln Victor in crutches on the sideline after getting injured early against Oregon State, Sept. 23, in Pullman, Wash.
The Beavers tried to answer, with DJ Uiagalelei and the rushing duo of Deshaun Fenwick and Damein Martinez keeping Oregon State alive, but it just wasn’t enough. Uiagalelei finished with 198 yards through the air and an additional 61 on the ground, with Fenwick leading the team with 101 rushing yards and Martinez finishing behind at 81.
To end the half, Kelly got his second TD of the game on an 11-yard TD after Ward dazzled in the pocket for an extended period of time. The TD came with just 0:10 on the clock and gave WSU a 28-14 halftime lead, ensuring they had all the momentum they could ever dream of heading into the break.
Josh Kelly scores yet another TD against Oregon State, Sept. 23, in Pullman, Wash.
His third TD came in the third quarter, yet another one-handed grab put six points on the board. Williams could not believe what he saw, collapsing in the endzone as Kelly celebrated yet another fantastic grab.
Kyle Williams falls in disbelief after Josh Kelly makes a one-handed catch for a TD, Sept. 23, in Pullman, Wash.
The defense locked up when it mattered most, forcing several punts in the game and Jaden Hicks was always there to break up a pass, force a runner back into the backfield and just be everywhere the Beavers offense wanted to go.
Late in the game, Djouvensky Schlenbaker perfectly hyped the crowd after it had seemed all but guaranteed the Cougs would win. After clinching the victory, he was seen in the front row of the players when they were singing the “WSU Fight Song,” proof that he is loving every second of this season thus far.
Late in the fourth quarter, Dickert called a timeout to stall out the Beaver’s offense. While it did not work as the team scored on the next play, it made the last minute of the game and the stress of the moment far greater for fans in the stadium anticipating the final whistle so they could run onto the field yet again.
WSU head coach Jake Dickert walks in the endzone after calling a timeout late in the fourth quarter against Oregon State, Sept. 23, in Pullman, Wash.
For the second time in three weeks, the Cougs rushed the field and Dicket led the Cougar Marching Band in the “WSU Fight Song,” a visual unlike any other.
