Gardner Minshew was on hand to watch Anthony Gordon break his Washington State record for touchdowns thrown in a game on Saturday — a feat which, in retrospect, turned out to be one of the more mundane aspects of the night.
Minshew was treated to peak #Pac12AfterDark on Saturday, as Washington State (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) coughed up a 32-point lead, turned the ball over at the worst times and eventually lost 67-63 to previously winless UCLA (1-3, 1-0) in Pullman.
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High-scoring, defense-optional games like this one happen regularly across the country, but what makes Bruins-Cougars stand out are these startling stats:
— 1,377 combined yards of total offense
Washington State racked up 720 yards on 82 total plays (8.78 yards per play). UCLA had 657 on 75 snaps (8.76 ypp).
— 1,077 combined passing yards
Gordon threw for 570 yards, while UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw for 507. In all, they combined for 66-of-99 passing (66.7 percent).
— 130 combined points
This final score was over twice the listed over/under total of 60, which both teams eclipsed by themselves. UCLA also scored more points than in their first three games combined (42).
— 56 combined first downs
Each team recorded 28 first downs, which seems right considering how close the game was.
— 50 second-half points by UCLA
How impressive was UCLA's comeback? The Bruins needed 50 points in the second half alone to squeak out a one-possession victory.
— 32-point UCLA comeback
Gordon's seventh passing touchdown of the game gave Washington State a 49-17 lead with 6:52 remaining in the third quarter — a 32-point deficit for the visiting Bruins to overcome (which, of course, they did).
— 29 straight UCLA points
UCLA kick-started its huge comeback with 29 straight points over the third and fourth quarters. They came off a 1-yard Thompson-Robinson run; a 37-yard pass to Chase Cota; a 94-yard pass to Demetric Felton; and a 7-yard pass to Devin Asiasi (followed by a 2-point conversion).
— 18 total touchdowns
Each team scored nine total touchdowns, although UCLA's were more balanced than Wazzu's. The Bruins put up five through the air, two on the ground (both by Thompson-Robinson) and two on special teams (one on a kickoff return, the other on a punt return).
— 14 combined touchdown passes
As mentioned, Gordon had nine passing touchdown in the loss, beating Minshew's record of seven, set just last year. Gordon's seventh, eighth and ninth touchdown passes went for 6, 33 and 65 yards to Dezmon Patmon, Easop Winston Jr. and Max Borghi, respectively. Combined with Thompson-Robinson's five passing touchdowns, the two quarterbacks combined for 14 on the night.
— 6 lead changes
That may seem like a small number considering the ridiculous score, but that does include three over the final 7:31 of play.
— 6 Washington State turnovers
The Cougars committed six total turnovers — including four fumbles — off which the Bruins scored 28 points. The penultimate turnover was by Winston, which occurred with 2:27 left to play and right after UCLA failed on a fourth-down conversion attempt. The Cougars' final turnover came in their final drive of the game with UCLA up 67-63. Keisean Lucier-South strip-sacked Gordon, and Josh Woods recovered, sealing the improbable win for the Bruins.
