Gabe Marks caught two second half touchdown passes as the Cougars overcame a 18 point half time deficit in Corvallis, Ore. His second touchdown gave Washington State its first lead of the night.

Marks second touchdown catch had him running down the side line wide open with the safety help just a few steps too late to make a difference on the play. Luke Falk’s pass hit the senior right in the hands, in stride, which led to a fairly easy 28-yard touchdown pass. It was a pretty play that capped off a six play, 73 yard drive to give WSU the lead; the exact opposite of Marks’ first touchdown catch of the night.

The senior’s first touchdown catch came on a very risky pass from Falk as he was covered by three separate defenders. Marks did what he has done throughout his career and bailed his quarterback out with a spectacular leaping grab that cut Oregon State’s lead to three.

Both teams traded punts following that touchdown as neither offense was able to break through after the Cougs took the lead.

On the Beavers first possession of the fourth quarter they went three an out, and punted the ball. Fortunately for OSU, Kaleb Fossum lost the ball in the lights and muffed the punt; the Beavers recovered. Oregon State quickly punched the ball into the end zone on its next play from scrimmage, a three yard touchdown run by Ryan Nall — his second of the night — to give the Beavers a 31-28 lead.

Washington State didn’t wait too long to respond as the Cougars drove eighty yards on 70 plays to reclaim the lead on a one yard touchdown pass to Ryan Lewis. James Williams carried the ball three times for 37 yards on the drive.

Both teams made questionable decisions to go for it on fourth down late in the fourth quarter. Oregon State attempted a fake punt, and it was stopped short; while WSU attempted a post route on 4th and 3 that saw Falk’s pass to River Cracraft sail above the wideouts head. Fortunately for the Cougars, the defense stopped OSU on four straight plays to get the ball back into the hands of their offense.

All of the choas in the second half followed a first half that was absolutely dominated by the Beavers. Nall started off the scoring on an 89-yard touchdown run that saw him pull away from the front seven and turn burn the secondary on his way to the end zone. The sophomore finished the night with 19 carries for 131 yards against one of the Pac-12’s best run defenses.

Washington State’s defense gave up 394 yards in the first half, but only allowed 80 yards in the second half. By completely shutting down OSU’s offense in the second half, the defense gave their offense a chance to win the game.

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