Washington State scored first on a 3-yard touchdown run by running back Shaumbe Wright-Fair, then junior quarterback Drew Bledsoe fired an 87-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Phillip Bobo, increasing the lead to 14–0. Bledsoe would finish the game 30-for-46 passing for 476 yards. Wright-Fair scored on a 3-yard touchdown run for a 21–0 Cougar advantage at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Utah's Frank Dolce threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Shaun Williams, and Keith Williams scored on a 25-yard touchdown run to make the score 21–14. Bledsoe found Bobo for a 48-yard touchdown pass as Washington State led 28–14 at halftime. In a planned move by WSU head coach Mike Price, Bledsoe was briefly replaced by backup Mike Pattinson in the second quarter.[3]
In the third quarter, Dolce threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Henry Lusk, and Pierre Jones' 8-yard touchdown run tied the game at 28. The only fourth quarter score was a field goal: Aaron Price, the son of the head coach, converted from 22 yards out with less than six minutes left and the favored Cougars escaped with a 31–28 victory,[7][8][9] and climbed to fifteenth in the final rankings.
This was the final collegiate game for the 20-year-old Bledsoe; he was the first overall pick of the 1993 NFL Draft.[10][11][12]
Statistics
Statistics
Utah
WSU
First Downs
20
28
Rushes-yards
39-179
41-144
Passing yards
316
492
Passes, Comp-Att-Int
21-40-0
32-48-1
Return yards
27
(-2)
Punts-average
6-43
6-37
Fumbles-lost
3-1
4-2
Penalties-yards
7-55
18-136
Time of Possession
30:08
29:52
Attendance
40,876†
Source:[13]
† The official website lists game attendance as 40,826.[14]