Ward throws 4 TDs, Washington St beats Colorado St 38-7

Updated Sep. 17, 2022 8:30 p.m. ET

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PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Cameron Ward threw for 292 yards and four touchdowns Saturday as Washington State pounded Colorado State 38-7.

Washington State (3-0) scored on its first four possessions to put this game away early.

Ward completed 26 of 36 passes and was intercepted once. Donovan Ollie and De'Zhaun Stribling each caught two touchdown passes.

Freshman quarterback Clay Millen completed 24 of 34 passes for 211 yards for Colorado State (0-3), which has lost eight consecutive games dating to last season.

Washington State sacked Millen seven times and limited Colorado State to 37 rushing yards on 30 carries.

The Cougars marched 46 yards in four plays on their first possession, with Ward throwing a 17-yard touchdown pass to Ollie for a 7-0 lead.

The Cougars took over at midfield again on their second series and Ward fired a 13-yard touchdown pass to Stribling for a 14-0 lead just five minutes into the game.

Cayden Camper missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt for Colorado State and WSU marched 73 yards, with Ward hitting Stribling for a 19-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead with more than 3 minutes left in the first quarter.

Ward found Ollie for a 2-yard touchdown pass to cap an 82-yard drive that gave WSU to a 28-0 lead at halftime.

Washington State went into the locker room with a 255-82 advantage in yards gained, along with four sacks and eight tackles for loss. Colorado State rushed 18 times in the first half, for just 4 net yards.

The Rams did not score until the fourth quarter, on a 14-yard pass from Millen to Justus Ross-Simmons.

The teams have only played once before, when the Rams staged a huge comeback to defeat Washington State 48-45 in the 2013 New Mexico Bowl.

Jake Dickert became the first Washington State head coach to start his first full season with three consecutive victories since Mike Price in 1989. Dickert was named interim coach midway through last season when Nick Rolovich was fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.

BIG PICTURE

Washington State: The Cougars were coming off an impressive 17-14 nonconference win at Wisconsin that knocked the Badgers out of the Top 25. This victory could lift the Cougars into the Top 25 for the first time since 2019.

Colorado State: The Rams, a 16-point underdog, remain winless under new coach Jay Norvell, who was hired from Nevada. The Rams' offense is struggling to score.

UP NEXT

Colorado State: The Rams host Sacramento State next Saturday.

Washington State: The Cougars open Pac-12 play by hosting No. 25 Oregon next Saturday.

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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25

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