⚡ CFB Dashboard

Maxwell Woods was one of very few bright spots in the first half (Photo: Cougfan.com/Whittney Thornton) PULLMAN -- The hope that Washington State would come out and simply steamroll Duquesne has turned out to be a kind of hose, but it's a false hope. The Cougars could pull away in the second half, but the first half was more of the same when it came to offensive incompetence. WSU leads 14-7 at the break, but it was a clunky, brutal path to get there. The first offensive play of the game went over Caden Pinnick's head. The second was an interception.  Eventually, the offense would put up 14 points. Here's how both scores looked fat field level. Video shot by CF.C's Will Kirk. But sandwiched between two touchdown drives was more scuffling and a drive that saw two touchdowns wiped out by penalties and another missed field goal from Jack Stevens, his fourth of the season. And this one was simply pushed wide right.  The telling sign? When with 1:37 to go in the half, WSU ran the ball three times rather than really try to go for the end zone. And then once it did get a first down, then it decided it wanted to try and get points. It was indecisiveness but also, a statement of the confidence in the offense right now. Even the defense, which was thought to be a strength after the Apple Cup was leaky. The rush defense in particular was gashed, giving up 5.9 yards per carry, including a 54-yard dash that set up Duquesne's touchdown. Tackling wasn't crisp, edges weren't set and despite it being obvious Duquesne was running, the box wasn't stacked nearly enough. The Cougars had all of two tackles for loss, a split between Nylan Brown and Josh Wedel and a solo by Matyus McLain. There still hasn't been a sack this season, although Duquesne isn't really throwing much and when it is, it comes on quick plays. Related: 5 keys with CouGreat Mkristo Bruce IF YOU'RE LOOKING for silver linings, Maxwell Woods is a big one. He carried five times for 63 yards in the first half, including a 45-yard run out of Wildcat. He also caught three passes for 20 yards. Kirby Vorhees also ran well, carrying six times for 48 hashes. The Cougars do probably deserve to be leading by more, especially considering the missed field goal and the fact that that one of the touchdowns wiped out by a penalty was a soft call, one of a few that went against WSU. Toward the end of the half, a phantom defensive hold extended a Duquesne drive when WSU should've gotten the ball back with a chance to score again. But ultimately, the Cougars shouldn't need the benefit of calls to beat a bad FCS team. The second half has to be crisper, not just in terms of stats and scores, but in execution. That is killing the Cougars right now. And the defensive line needs to be dominating the line of scrimmage, something that hasn't happened so far. The second half can be better, and should be better. But it will take a lot to change the ever-growing concern about how the team is playing right now. (Photo: statbroadcast.com)