WSU vs. Stanford final score: Cougs lose nightmare game to Cardinal, 55-17

The Stanford Cardinal defeated the Washington State Cougars, 55-17, in CenturyLink Field on Saturday night. The Cardinal put up more than 550 yards of total offense behind 286 yards passing and three touchdowns from quarterback Kevin Hogan, who played just three quarters before being pulled in mop-up time.

After WSU tied the game at 3-3 on its first drive, Stanford scored 45 consecutive points. The run finally ended when Gabe Marks caught a third-down pass and made a couple nifty moves on the way to a 47-yard touchdown.

The blowout loss wasn't the only bad news for WSU, as starting QB Connor Halliday left the game in the third quarter after taking a big blow while tossing an interception that was eventually returned for a TD. Halliday returned for the first play of the next series, but appeared to further strain the injury to his hip area.

Halliday had a solid, but certainly not explosive, game going before the injury. He finished 24 of 36 for 184 yards.

Austin Apodaca came in and looked to sustain an injury on the next series. Fortunately, he was able to complete the game and there was no need to burn true freshman Tyler Bruggman's redshirt. Apodaca faced some softer coverages late and was able to lead the Cougs to a pair of nice touchdown drives.

The offense couldn't get much going downfield with either quarterback, with just one big play (while the game was within reach) coming on a 43-yard pass from Halliday to Kristoff Williams right before the end of the first half. Even that ended poorly for WSU, with Andrew Furney missing a field goal for the first time this season.

Washington State's defense was the story coming in, but the secondary was exposed while facing a competent quarterback for the first time all season. The Cardinal burned WSU multiple times on long passes, including two touchdowns to tight end Devon Cajuste. Safety Taylor Taliulu and cornerback Nolan Washington had especially tough nights. Washington was pulled in favor of freshman Daquawn Brown in the first half.

However, it wasn't all bad. This happened in the fourth quarter:

The Cougs head to Cal next week. The Golden Bears will be coming off their own embarrassing loss to the Oregon Ducks.