The day after 0-1

From the HCA on Thursday:

The seasoned Cougar fan in me tells me it can never be that easy. It's Cougar football. It's the Seattle game. It can never be that easy. Instead, the game is a mix of up-and-down. Good Connor Halliday shows up. Bad Connor Halliday shows up. The defense has issues that lead us to think "how is Gary (expletive) Nova shredding us?" The Cougars have a one-possession lead late in the fourth quarter and give the ball back to Rutgers. We all know how well late one-possession leads turn out.

Yup.

WSU vs. Rutgers recaps and more:

WSU football and Connor Halliday: Another season of wild games in store | Larry Stone | The Seattle Times
It doesn’t look like the Washington State blueprint has changed much at all, and you know what that means.

Jacob Thorpe’s keys to the game: WSU vs. Rutgers - Spokesman.com - Aug. 29, 2014
Washington State’s front seven was supposed to be the strength of the defense, but it was never able to prevent the Scarlet Knights running game from putting together long, successful drives. As a team Rutgers averaged five yards per rush on 43 carries. The Cougars were without starting Sam linebacker Cyrus Coen.

Cougars see red, fall to Scarlet Knights in Seattle - Spokesman.com - Aug. 29, 2014
Washington State played to its strengths on offense in its season opener against Rutgers and that alone would have been more than enough to win. But the Cougars were unable to keep the visitors out of the end zone and when the game was up for grabs in the final minutes it was the Scarlet Knights who emerged with a 41-38 victory in front of 30,927 fans at CenturyLink Field.

Yakima Herald Republic | Rutgers rallies past WSU
Washington State took a meager gathering of fans on a thrill ride at CenturyLink Field Thursday night, and ultimately, it ended disastrously for the Cougars, who lost their 2014 season football opener to Rutgers, 41-38.

Washington State Cougars crumble in fourth quarter against Rutgers - ESPN
Washington State had the lead over Rutgers and a key fourth-quarter defensive stop. All it needed to do was to close the deal with poise. It didn't.

Rutgers runs all over Cougars | Cougar Football | The Seattle Times

The way Paul James ran Thursday night, the Rutgers running back reminded many fans at CenturyLink Field of a Seattle Seahawks running back with the nickname Beast Mode.

Cougars Fall in Back-And-Forth Opener, 41-38 - Washington State University Official Athletic Site

Paul James ran for 173 yards and scored his third touchdown with 3:24 left to give Rutgers a wild 41-38 victory over Washington State on Thursday night in the Scarlet Knights' first game as a member of the Big Ten.