Another week, another set of Washington State highlights that you can watch all day. This week's victim was UCLA, who gave the Cougars a run but couldn't manage to get a stop with three seconds to go. Gabe Marks caught the winning touchdown pass as the Cougars walked into the Rose Bowl and walked back out with a 31-27 win.
First, watch the highlights above from WSU. Just another fantastic highlight package from a great win this week. Then, watch the package from Pac-12 Networks below.
You'll see a few things in the highlight package, and we'll start with the bad. UCLA spent the game head hunting Luke Falk and the Washington State wide receivers. It was dirty, and there are multiple plays in the highlight package alone that should've been flagged or blown dead long before Falk was slammed to the ground. And that's not mentioning the ejection that should've been handed out for a forearm shiver to the head of a sliding quarterback.
The Pac-12 blows calls. We know this. They're bad at replays and generally look lost in quite a few instances each week. Determining whether a ball hit the ground or whether a play is a fumble or not, however, doesn't impact the safety of players. Allowing things to get out of hand, and declaring open season on a quarterback, does. Officials need to protect players, both with the whistle and with the flag. That didn't happen on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl, and UCLA took the opportunity to push the limits of the rules while going for late knockouts.
On the good side, though, look at that Washington State offense go. Falk drawing the defense offside and hitting Gabe Marks, who was aware the whole time, for a touchdown was one of the headier plays you'll see. And, of course, the final play was sublime.
And be sure to check out the scene in the locker room after:
Great feeling in that locker room tonight! #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/Ykly31zdDi
— WSU Cougar Football (@wsucougfb) November 15, 2015