Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday didn’t have the best numbers this week. And he wasn’t mistake-free.
But he was clutch when it counted. With his performance in Washington State’s 24-17 road win over Arizona, the Cougars are on the verge of postseason play for the first time in more than a decade.
Halliday threw for 319 yards and two touchdowns with an interception in Washington State’s win in Tucson. With the score tied at 17-17 in the fourth quarter, he engineered a brilliant 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 25-yard touchdown to Isiah Myers. On that final drive, Halliday went 6-for-6, finding six different receivers for 74 yards and the score.
On the final touchdown, Halliday had to roll to his right before finding Myers at the 8-yard line. Some balance and a nifty spin from Myers took care of the remaining eight yards. Halliday completed 73.6 percent of his throws in an efficient 39 of 53 performance.
“It was a huge game by the offensive line,” Halliday said. “To be able to run the ball for more than 100 yards, and the sacks that we had were coverage sacks. They gave me all day to throw and it’s tough when Arizona is dropping eight, it’s going to take a little while for our guys to get open, so huge ups to the offensive line.”
Based on his line’s play, Halliday said the Cougars were confident their final drive would produce points.
“We got down the field on the last drive and missed the field goal but we moved the ball pretty well there and made big plays,” he said. “I had a feeling that we were going to be able to put something together, and the boys up front really helped out on that."
