It was a defensive coordinator's worst night on Thursday night from CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington as the Washington State Cougars hosted the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The two teams exchanged blows all night in this tightly played contest in which the largest lead was just 11 points early in the second quarter. In the end though it was Rutgers who capitalized on a fumbled punt to score the winning touchdown in a 41-38 shootout in the Emerald City.

The two teams came out with very different approaches as Rutgers played more of a run-oriented game while the Cougars played with Mike Leach's trademark Air Raid offense. Rutgers would strike first on the very first play from scrimmage as senior quarterback Gary Nova connected with junior wide receiver Leonte Carroo on a 78 yard touchdown pass just 16 seconds into the ball game.

Washington State would be very unlucky after a key turnover saw them take over possession at the Rutgers two-yard line. An incomplete pass, sack and completed pass underneath led the Cougars to have to kick a 22-yard field goal late in the first quarter. On the ensuing drive, Nova led the Scarlet Knights on what would be the first of many long drives to end in points. This one spanned 12 plays and 75 yards over six-and-a-half minutes. Sophomore Desmon Peoples and junior Paul James split nine carriers over the drive to increase the Rutgers lead to 14-3.

With the teams exchanging punts on their respective drives, Cougar quarterback Connor Halliday was able to turn the field position back in to Washington State's favor after he hit Dom Williams with a 64-yard pass down to the nine-yard line. Halliday was able to find Isiah Myers for a four-yard score on third down to bring the score back to 14-10 Rutgers with seven minutes remaining in the first half.

Paul James would make quick work of the next Rutgers possession taking the ball to the house on the fourth play for a 56-yard TD run, his second of the night. Halliday responded with an eight-play drive that resulted in a 26-yard TD pass to Vince Mayle. The score was 21-17 Rutgers with 1:34 remaining in the first half.

Both teams would get another possession before the end of the half but Washington State was the only to get a scoring chance out of it. Unfortunately, Erik Powell missed a 50-yard field goal attempt as time expired for halftime.

Connor Halliday came out of the halftime break on fire. The Cougars started with the ball at their own 25 after the kickoff went out for a touchback and the senior from Ferris High School in Spokane, WA showed why he is one of the most skilled pocket-passers in College Football. He completed 6-of-7 passes covering all 75 yards on the drive with culminated in a touchdown pass to River Cracraft.

After Rutgers kicked a field goal to tie the score back up at 24, Halliday had another superb drive with the Washington State offense. This time he completed 7-of-8 passes for 70 yards with a touchdown at the end of the drive to put the Cougars back up seven.

Rutgers was able to counter with their balanced offense using short runs to open up passing lanes. They found themselves in a good position inside the Cougar 10-yard line but could not capitalize on their three scoring chances. Kyle Federico would be forced to kick a 25-yard field goal which was good. Rutgers was trailing 31-27 after the made attempt.

The defense for Rutgers would finally get a big stop holding the Cougars to a three-and-out early in the fourth quarter. It would be the combination of passing from Nova and rushing from Desmon Peoples that would put Rutgers into scoring position; Nova would hit John Tsimis with a 29-yard pass to bring the lead back into the visitor's favor.

Washington State would answer right back as they had for most of the game with a long pass to set up a shorter throw for a touchdown. This time, it was Halliday to Rickey Galvin to return the jubilation back to the crimson-clad supporters. They looked to be in a prime position after they held Rutgers to a three-and-out with 7:20 remaining. A routine punt was fumbled by River Cracraft at the mid-field line and recovered by Rutgers giving them prime field position to work with.

Paul James was called upon once again to do what he does best, move the chains. He carried the ball six times for 27 yards on the game-winning scoring drive which ate up half of the time remaining in the game. James finished the game with 29 carries for 173 yards and 3 touchdowns to earn the VAVEL USA Player of the Game award.

Connor Halliday finished the game completing 40-of-56 passes for 532 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. It looks as though he has been working on his accuracy in the offseason which was one of the biggest problems he faced last season; that and his staggering interception totals. It will be interesting to see if he can keep up his accuracy numbers as the defenses get tougher with the Pac-12 conference schedule looming.

Washington State travels to Reno, Nevada next Friday night for a tricky road test against the Nevada Wolfpack. The game can be seen live on ESPN at 10:30 pm ET. Rutgers will travel home to face the Howard Bison in New Jersey on Saturday, September 6. That game will kick off at Noon Eastern and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.