WSU fails to find a consistent rhythm as they fall for the second week in a row.

After a sluggish start, the Cougars were never able to fully recover, losing to the Nevada Wolf Pack 24-13. WSU had multiple opportunities to score, twice bringing the ball into the red zone, only to let penalties and two missed field goals squander their opportunities. Redshirt senior quarterback Connor Halliday said in an interview on 920 Spokane Radio the biggest issue in their struggles is not playing together.

“Sometimes, you know, I’ll miss reads, sometimes we’ll drop a ball, sometimes we’ll false start, you know, we’re just not all playing with each other right now and hopefully we get that figured out Saturday,” Halliday said.

Head Coach Mike Leach said on the same radio program that he told his team playing together will win games.

“Well, the biggest thing is we have to coach better, and we’ve got to stick together and play together,” Leach said. “Right now it’s just like I say, we splatter plays around, there’s got to be a context to it. I mean, offense plays reasonable last week and defense relaxes the whole day; defense plays well this week, offense will get a play or two and relax. Well, that’s crazy.”

Halliday finished 38 for 57 for 390 yards, but with just one touchdown and two interceptions. Senior wide receiver Isiah Myers led all WSU receivers catching nine passes for 102 yards. Vince Mayle added eight catches for 87 yards and a touchdown.

Nevada senior quarterback Cody Fajardo finished 12 of 21 for just 110 yards, but added an additional 100 yards on the ground. Running backs Don Jackson and James Butler combined for three touchdowns and 124 yards.

The Cougar defense came out ready to play asserting their presence early on. However, a late interception in the first quarter put the Cougars down early and they were unable to recover.

The interception by Halliday proved costly as Nevada cornerback Kendall Johnson returned the interception all the way down to the Cougar 10-yard line, putting WSU’s defense in a difficult position.

Nevada running back Don Jackson finished the short drive off with a one-yard touchdown run giving Nevada a 7-0 lead with 1:18 to play in the first quarter.

Nevada then forced WSU into a three and out, and engineered an impressive 10 play 91- yard scoring drive thanks to a 55-yard run by quarterback Cody Fajardo that brought Nevada to the Cougar eight-yard line.

The drive concluded with running back James Butler pushing his way for a one-yard touchdown, giving Nevada a 14-0 lead with 10:59 left in the second quarter.

Contrast to the Cougar defense, the offense came out shaky in the first quarter, but rebounded nicely in the second quarter scoring ten unanswered points going into halftime.

Halliday found a groove midway through the second quarter and led the Cougars to their first scoring drive, resulting in a 13-yard touchdown pass to Mayle with 7:15 left in the second quarter.

After the Cougars defense continued its strong play, the Cougars engineered another scoring drive, this time resulting in a 25-yard field goal from freshman kicker Erik Powell.

The third quarter was a quarter of defenses as neither offense could put anything together. WSU had an opportunity to score after driving down to the Nevada 24-yard line before Powell missed a 38-yard field goal making it his second miss of the night.

Fireworks didn’t take long to ignite in the fourth quarter as Nevada capped off their drive beginning at the end of the third quarter with a two-yard touchdown run by Jackson, his second of the night. The score gave Nevada a 21-10 lead with 12:15 left in the fourth quarter.

The Cougars were able to drive down to the Nevada 18-yard line, but a false start penalty brought them back to the 23-yard line where they failed to convert a third and 12 situation. WSU was able to salvage a 38-yard field goal from redshirt junior Quentin Breshears.

However, the Cougar defense ran out of gas and the Wolf Pack offense proved too much. Fajardo completed a big third and eight from the WSU 47-yard line down to the Cougar 26-yard line that ultimately put the dagger in WSU’s heart.

The Cougar defense forced Nevada into a field goal opportunity, which the Wolf Pack capitalized on, making it a 24-13 game at the 4:24 mark in the fourth quarter.

The Cougars were unable to mount a comeback after they failed to convert a fourth and three at their own 41-yard line. WSU attempted to catch Nevada off-guard with a running play, but Nevada sniffed it out easily.

The Wolf Pack chewed out the rest of the clock and closed out a 24-13 win against the Cougars.

WSU will return to Pullman for their first game in the newly renovated Martin Stadium next Saturday against Portland State.