Cougar QB is Player of Week, and then some

PULLMAN - In the heady moments after his 494-yard passing display, Washington State freshman Connor Halliday told a television reporter, "When you believe in yourself ... you expect things like that are going to happen."

Perhaps he expected also to be named Pac-12 Player of the Week.

Unsurprisingly, that was the honor bestowed Monday on the quarterback from Spokane, who set a conference freshman record for single-game yardage Saturday night in the Cougars' 37-27 upset of Arizona State.

Cougars coach Paul Wulff also announced Monday night that Halliday will get his first career start Saturday when the Cougars play host to Utah for a conference game at 2 p.m. at Pullman.

If Halliday truly expected something along the lines of his 27-for-36 passing show last week, for four touchdowns and no interceptions, it was at least vaguely surprising to virtually everyone else. His yardage total, the highest ever in a Cougar victory, came on a cold, intermittently snowy night at Martin Stadium, in an ostensible relief performance, the QB's first significant stretch of playing time as a collegian.

"He's got a great knack," Wulff said during postgame interviews. "It's one game. I'm not going to anoint him a lot yet, because that's not my style. He's got a lot of growing to do. But he did a lot of great things. It looked comfortable out there, didn't it?"

The 494-yard total is the 10th-best in Pac-12 history and second on the all-time WSU list behind Alex Brink's 531 yards against Oregon State in 2005. And that was a Cougar loss.

This performance, on the other hand, jolted the Cougars (4-6, 2-5) out of a five-game losing streak and resuscitated their hopes for a bowl berth. They need to beat Utah and rival Washington in their final two games to meet the six-win minimum for bowl-eligibility.

"Our whole football team was focused," Wulff said. "Sometimes certain people give you more confidence the way they play. A running back makes a great play; a receiver makes a great play. Sometimes that confidence grows, and I think Connor obviously gave us that tonight with some early throws."

Since arriving on campus in 2010, the loose-limbed 6-foot-4, 179-pound Halliday has shown both arm strength and a deft passing touch. But it was anyone's guess how well he would read defenses, respond to a Pac-12 pass-rush and endure repeated hits.

After redshirting last year, he dueled Lobbestael for the backup role during 2011 preseason camp, and the race was so tight that coaches never officially declared a winner.

On the first day of the season, though, starter Jeff Tuel was hit with both illness and a broken collarbone, and the replacement role went to the senior Lobbestael over the gangly freshman. Lobbestael played superbly early in the season, and Halliday was left with mop-up duty for the first two games before going seven contests without a snap.

But with Lobbestael and the entire offense hitting a late-season tailspin, the Cougars headed into the ASU game with a plan of inserting Halliday for the third possession. The rookie immediately staked a compelling claim for the job, connecting with a wide-open Marquess Wilson for an 85-yard touchdown on Halliday's first play.

The Halliday-Wilson collaboration was spectacular all night, culminating in a stunning 29-yard strike to the 1-yard line to set up the clinching touchdown with 1:50 left.

"It was not the ideal look: a one-man route into a cover-2 shell," offensive coordinator Todd Sturdy said of ASU's defensive alignment. "... Marquess stuttered a little bit, and it held the safety just enough, and he got down the sideline. The only shot we had was a side-pocket throw. The ball had to be driven. Connor had a great sense of anticipation on it, and the safety didn't get there."

Wilson reacted quickly and leapt high for the catch, narrowly landing inbounds.

"I just threw it as hard as I could to the back shoulder and hoped Marquess would make a play for me," Halliday said. "And he made one heckuva catch. Man, that was one of the best catches I've seen."

Halliday, for the most part, also reacted well to blitzes, scampering out of trouble and throwing on the run, sometimes hitting the hot receiver. Inevitably, he also missed a few protection calls and absorbed a few hits. But he was sacked only once.

"One thing about Connor is he's a tough kid," Sturdy said. "I think the second series, he comes over with a fat lip and blood coming out of his mouth. It didn't faze him, and he just kept making plays. He kept telling me, 'Sorry, coach, I keep missing those blitzes. I don't see them.' But that's part of the growth process."

The opponent had some significance for Halliday. After he had commited to the Cougars a few months before his senior season at Ferris High in Spokane, he said he drew some interest from ASU coach Dennis Erickson.

"I went down there in June of my recruiting process and threw for coach Erickson," he said, "and they told me they had another guy they wanted to offer. He ended up decommitting ... and they kind of came back after me. But I'm not going to go somewhere where I'm not their first option.

"And I think that just goes to show you," he said. "Maybe Mr. Erickson made a mistake."

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Grummert may be contacted at daleg@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2290.