The day after Stanford

"I got out of the pocket and got lit up pretty hard by some dude."

That was Austin Apodaca's comment on the first hit he took, but it also sums up WSU's game against Stanford. The Cougars simply got lit up. Stanford's offensive line stonewalled the Cougars, giving Kevin Hogan plenty of time to pick apart WSU's secondary.

Offensively the Cougars struggled to get anything going downfield and the Cardinal were able to keep the ball in front of them and tee off on the Cougar quarterbacks. There is no question Stanford is an excellent team, they don't have that No. 5 ranking next to their name for no reason. Still, that was a bit demoralizing.

Thinking an upset was possible was likely looking through optimistic glasses, but the 55-17 pounding the Cougars took felt like a step backward. The focus now shifts to Cal and whether WSU can rebound. At the end of the year, one loss will still be one loss, no matter what the final margin was. WSU's season and bowl changes, now hinge on the response.

Football:

Cougars licking wounds - Spokesman.com - Sept. 29, 2013
Washington State will return to Pullman early this morning with a handful of nicks and bruises to tend to.

When it rains it pours on Cougs - Spokesman.com - Sept. 29, 2013
Talk of an upset had already subsided by the time Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday trudged to the CenturyLink Field locker room, favoring his left leg, trainers helping him walk, more than eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Tale of the tape: Stanford 55, WSU 17 - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Sept. 29, 2013
The ugliest game of Washington State's season is over. Stanford dominated every way possible in a 55-17 blowout, and we parse the details below with our usual tale of the tape.

WSU football falls to No. 5 Stanford, 55-17 - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Kevin Hogan picked apart Washington State, throwing for 286 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 5 Stanford won its 12th straight with a 55-17 rout of the Cougars on Saturday night.

SEATTLE: Wash. St. suprised by No. 5 Stanford's air attack | WSU Cougars | The Bellingham Herald
Washington State's defense was expecting Stanford to line up and try to run it down the middle. They weren't prepared for the air assault the No. 5 Cardinal threw at them.

Stanford rolls past Washington State 55-17 - SFGate
On the same CenturyLink Field where the 49ers were clobbered by the Seahawks two weeks ago before a raucous crowd, Stanford silenced the place Saturday night.

SFGate College Sports News | NCAA, College Football, Track, Volleyball, Golf — San Francisco Bay Area College Teams
It was a year ago this weekend that things came apart for a 3-0 Stanford team with a top-10 ranking against an unranked opponent in the state of Washington.

Stanford batters Washington State, 55-17 | Cougar Football | The Seattle Times
Washington State’s football season took a sobering turn Saturday night at CenturyLink Field, where No. 5-ranked Stanford not only schooled the Cougars but battered them, 55-17.