WSU football returned to Pullman for the homecoming game against the University of Colorado Buffaloes, resulting in a 41-10 win for the Cougars.

The Cougars (4-3, 1-3) finished the game with 497 yards of total offense. The Buffaloes (3-4, 1-3) returned to Boulder with 320 yards of total offense.

Colorado’s senior quarterback Steven Montez threw an early interception to redshirt junior safety Skyler Thomas. This led to redshirt senior quarterback Anthony Gordon throwing a 22-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Dezmon Patmon to extend the lead to 14-0 in the first.

Head coach Mike Leach said even with the three turnovers, the defense is still emerging.

“Honestly, I think defensively, some of our best football is ahead of us,” Leach said.

With 8:43 left in the game, Gordon threw an interception to junior safety Derrion Rakestraw. Two plays later, redshirt freshman quarterback Blake Stenstrom threw an interception to senior cornerback Marcus Strong.

Willie Taylor III, redshirt sophomore rush linebacker, said the improvement on defense stems from the hard work put in during practice.

“Everybody seems to be on the same page now,” Taylor said.

After WSU failed to convert on a fourth-and-two, Montez went down into the Cougar redzone and threw his second interception of the game to junior cornerback George Hicks III, giving WSU the ball back at its own 25-yard line.

On offense, sophomore running back Max Borghi finished with 106 rushing yards for his third 100-yard rushing game of the season. Borghi is the first Cougar to have three 100-yard rushing games in a season since Jerome Harrison had eight in 2005.

Borghi broke three tackles on his way to a 47-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds left in the first quarter to extend the Cougar lead to 21-3. Borghi’s touchdown run was the longest by a Cougar since 2011 when Rickey Galvin ran 48 yards to score against UNLV.

Borghi said the weather is more of a mental effect rather than a physical effect on his gameplay.

“We’ve dealt with weather like this all the time,” Borghi said. “Spring ball, it’s pouring rain, and it’s horrible and Pullman is flooded after one practice.”

Gordon threw a 44-yard passing touchdown to Brandon Arconado, graduate student wide receiver, with 2:16 left in the third to extend the lead to 31-10. Arconado has three 100-yard receiving games and caught his second touchdown of the season.

Gordon finished completing 35 of 51 passes for 365 yards with one interception and four passing touchdowns. Arconado finished the game leading the team with 109 receiving yards.

Gordon said the offensive line deserves a lot of the credit for protecting him and Borghi.

“Sometimes, I’m back there, patting the ball, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe I have this much time,’” Gordon said. “Goes to show how hard the O-line works.”

The next game for the Cougars is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Autzen Stadium against the No. 11 Oregon Ducks. The game can be seen live on ESPN.