Cougars meet Miami, seek first bowl victory since 2003

Washington State was led by quarterback Luke Falk who tossed a pair of touchdown passes to lead the Cougars past a vigilant Miami Hurricanes, 20-14, to win the 2015 Sun Bowl in a surprisingly snowy environment.

Miami and Washington State both enter this game 8-4 on the season looking to end their season with a bowl victory. But instead of kicking the field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 4, the Hurricanes went for the conversion and came up big with Stacy Coley catching a 4-yard pass from Brad Kaaya to tie the score at 7-7.

Miami Hurricanes scored 28.9 points compared to allowed 28.8 points with point differential of 0.1.

Even more disheartening; another showdown where three plays cost Miami three touchdowns in a six-point loss. The Bulldog family apparently wasn’t up to winning nine games per season under Richt, now Miami will be able to have a coach that can get them back into national prominence. It was also the first postseason bowl win for WSU since the Holiday Bowl over a decade ago in 2003.

Weather: The forecast in south Texas calls for rain showers throughout the game with temperatures in the mid-forties.

Washington State arrived at the Sun Bowl with the No. 1 passing offense in the nation, but it was the Cougars’ 93rd-ranked defense that saved the day against Miami. Defensive back Peyton Pelluer picked off Kaaya’s pass inside the Cougars’ 15-yard line and WSU took advantage of a poor punt and two Miami personal fouls in the final minute of the half to extend its lead.

And then, over the next three months, Washington State put on a show.

After being shut out in the second and third quarters and trailing 20-7, Miami (8-5) finally got its offense going in the fourth.

Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts. He’s one of just three players nationally to throw for at least 3,000 yards with 10 or more TDs and four or fewer interceptions, and he’s one of just three QBs in Miami history to record consecutive 3,000-yard seasons. Sophomore receiver Braxton Berrios broke an inside handoff 60 yards – Miami’s longest run of the season – down the right sideline to set the Canes up at the five-yard line.

“Plays were there to be made”, Kaaya said. “They made plays down there”.

The Hurricanes surprised the Cougars by going to the Wildcat formation and having Yearby take a direct snap. Two players later, Washington State’s Marcellus Pippins recovered Walton’s fumble at the 5 to end the threat. The Hurricanes have hired former Georgia coach Mark Richt as head coach for next season. A play later, Walton punched in the five-yard touchdown and it was a 20-14 ballgame with a mini-blizzard underway in El Paso. Im happy that, my senior year, we still fought to try to make this the best season possible.”Washington States road has been different.

So to make sure fans are ready for the battle that lies ahead, Miami released this awesome hype video for the big game.

For those keeping score, the Canes haven’t won a bowl game since “surviving” Nevada in the lowly Micron PC Bowl back in 2006-the final game of the Larry Coker era.