Washington State vs Portland State: Earning their Claws, Bruising their Paws

Sep 13, 2014; Pullman, WA, USA; Washington State Cougars wide receiver Dom Williams (80) makes a catch that would turn into a touchdown against the Portland State Vikings during the second half at Martin Stadium. The Cougar beat Vikings 59-21. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

EARNED THEIR CLAWS

Connor Halliday/Isiah Myers

The Halliday to Myers combo was simply sensational Saturday night, combining for 227 yards and three second-half touchdowns. People will remember the catches along the sidelines, especially the one in which Myers made the catch on the fade and managed to not only get a foot down, but stay in bounds and hurdle his defender on the way to the end zone. Myers was named to the Bilitnikoff Award Watch List after his second 100 yard performance in a row and recorded the second-most receiving yards in a single-game this season (233 by Keevan Lucas of Tulsa).

Halliday put his touchdown total to 70 for his career, which ties for 13th all-time and 2nd in WSU history. With six more he will be tied for first in school history. Also, his 544 yards were the second-most so far this this NCAA season, behind the 567 of Western Kentucky’s Brandon Doughty. Through three games he’s thrown for 1,465 yards and 12 touchdowns, with 5 interceptions.

Dominique Williams

Dom went for 112 yards on four catches and two touchdowns, which gave him the game he needed after struggling mightily in the first couple. It’s nice to see his confidence back.

Cyrus Coen

Coen recorded a career-high 12 tackles on Saturday and is becoming more and more a part of the offensive play as his career unfolds. While Darryl Monroe gets all the pub, Coen quietly goes about his business and honestly is in the better position to make routine plays routinely (as Leach would say). It’s nice to see him taking advantage and after missing week one we are seeing a big difference in his impact.

Jamal Morrow

On 14 overall touches Morrow went for 111 total yards on the night. This is big in WSU’s attempt to get the ball in the hands of the backs more often. Morrow displays some nifty move and soft hands constantly and will continue to grow into his role as the starting guy back there next to Halliday.

Luke Falk

Not much to talk about here, but Falk made two beautiful throws on his way to a 2-2 86 yard, one touchdown night. A great confidence booster for the backup quarterback and the team, should they need him to fill in at any point this season.

Daquawn Brown

Last but not least on our list, Mr. Brown had one heck of a game on Saturday and really is having quite the start to his sophomore season. (More on Brown later this morning).