It should have been a win for Steve Gleason, who spoke to the team and was inducted into Washington State’s hall of fame before the game. It should have been a win for Connor Halliday, who walked on crutches out of the tunnel to be recognized on senior night. But then again, the entire 2014 season was a series of ‘should have been’s.’

The 107th Apple Cup did not veer from the road of disappointment that the Cougars (3-9) had been steadily following all season, and the Huskies were the ones dancing on the Cougar logo as the clock wound down on a frigid Saturday night in Pullman.

The defense was unable to make up for a lack of offense and allowed the Huskies (8-5) to rout the Cougars 31-13 on their home turf.

“It was really tough,” said redshirt freshman quarterback Luke Falk. “Every loss is tough, especially when you are trying to send the seniors off in a positive way and you can’t get it done. It’s frustrating and you kind of look at yourself to start with. This one hurts.”

It was the first time in the last six Apple Cups played in Pullman that the game was decided by more than seven points. It was the first time in their last 26 games that the Cougars were shutout in the first half— they erased the zero on the scoreboard with less than 10 minutes left in the game.

“I think we can coach better and we can play better,” said Head Coach Mike Leach. “I thought that we didn’t get into much of a rhythm on offense early, marched the ball up and down the field then didn’t put it in. Then we went through a series where we dropped a bunch of balls, which that is concentration.”

The problems originated with the offense that Leach said was trying to play perfect. Falk struggled against the pressure brought by UW’s defensive line. Their defensive line was ranked second in the nation for sacks prior to the game and tallied four more against the Cougars. UW was able to pressure Falk with just their four downed lineman which allowed the Huskies to drop into coverage and lockdown Falk’s targets. Falk threw for 355 yards, two touchdowns on 27 of 49 passing but threw two interceptions.

“I just need to read the field better and do my job better to give us a chance to win,” Falk said. “I thought the defense played good enough today to give us that opportunity we just have to finish. It’s the same situation we had last week, we just need to finish drives.”

Leach attributed Falk’s lack of efficiency against the Huskies to trying to do more than he needed to.

“He was a little off,” Leach said. “I thought he started out pretty good, then I thought he tried to make too much happen. I thought he was a little late on reads and tried to be too perfect.”

The turnovers and dropped balls crippled the already struggling offense as the game was defined by the inability to capitalize on opportunities. Redshirt senior wide receiver Vince Mayle fumbled the ball late in the second quarter on WSU’s 27, setting up a UW score. The Cougars went 1-10 on third down conversions. They couldn’t convert on fourth downs either, turning the ball over on downs at the Huskies’ 42, 19, and 32 on their first three possessions. Falk was able to find redshirt junior wide receiver Dom Williams for what seemed like a touchdown pass before the Huskies broke it up.

“The balls we dropped were devastating,” Leach said. “They converted third downs, one was a score, that type of deal. So the timing of it was worse than just a drop. The timing was horse (expletive).”

While the normally potent Air Raid sputtered, the defense had its fair share of troubles stopping the Huskies balanced offense as well. UW was allowed 188 rushing yards and 249 passing yards, and although those numbers aren’t particularly stellar, they were able to make big plays. It took the Huskies two plays on offense to score a touchdown to start each half, the first on a 51 yard run by sophomore running back Dwayne Washington in the first half and the second on a 60 yard run by Washington to start the second half.

“Their offense was stellar all night,” redshirt freshman linebacker Peyton Pelluer said. “We were having trouble, issues with a lack of communication on the defensive side of the ball. Being out of gaps and stuff, and they were playing sound. They were playing like we knew they were going to play, everything that was on film was out there on the field and they played a solid game. We weren’t able to match it.”

The Cougars defense spent 78 plays on the field, giving them little time to catch their breath on the sidelines.

“It’s tough on any defense to be out there for so many plays and just not getting the results and not executing how we would like. But we the defense need to make the stops no matter what,” sophomore cornerback Daquawn Brown said.

Despite their struggles, the defense was able to come up with their first interception since Sept. 13 against Portland State. Senior linebacker Cyrus Coen grabbed the interception but the offense was unable to convert it to a score.

The areas in need of improvement are vast and apparent for the Cougars who laid their 2014 season to rest on Saturday, but despite the heartbreak and disappointment surrounding the season, the young Cougar squad heads into the off-season with plenty to improve on.

“Basically just said starting tomorrow we are focusing on the first opponent of the 2015 season,” Pelluer said. “We can’t dwell on anything, it is what it is. We came out, we played and now there is no time for moping. It’s just we have to put our heads down and work. It came early this year but we are just going to put our heads down and get after it for the 2015 season.”