Washington State Scores 41 Straight to Bury Duquesne 48-7
Two punt returns for touchdowns in the last six minutes are the kind of thing that turns a rout into a punchline. Washington State took a 35-7 lead into the fourth quarter, then Jaylen Thomas returned a punt 47 yards and Tank Hawkins Jr. brought one back 65 to finish it at 48-7.
It did not start as a rout. Kirby Vorhees ran in from eight yards to put the Cougars up 7-0, and Carson Camp answered for Duquesne with a one-yard run with 4:16 left in the first quarter to tie it at 7. That was Duquesne's last point. Washington State then scored six more times, 41 points in all without a reply.
Caden Pinnick ran in from 19 yards late in the second quarter, then threw an 11-yard touchdown to Jack Pedersen and a 10-yard one to Branden Ganashamoorthy in the third. Vorhees added a 58-yard run as the third quarter expired. Thomas's score came with 5:32 left (the extra point missed), and Hawkins's with 3:05 left.
The Cougars ran 40 times for 316 yards and threw for 196, for 512 total yards, and gave it away once (a Pinnick interception). Take away the two punt-return touchdowns, 13 points, and it is still 35-7, which is not a close game by any measure. The Cougars had two sacks on defense, too. Washington State moves to 1-2. Duquesne is 0-2. For fantasy, Pinnick, Vorhees and Ganashamoorthy all had their best game of the season here, which is a nice side effect of beating up on somebody.