The Cougars breezed past the Spartans 31-0 behind three passing and one rushing touchdowns from Gardner Minshew and the defense held the Spartans to 109 total yards on a night the school honored deceased quarterback Tyler Hilinski.
PULLMAN — Gardner Minshew’s touchdown-to-interception ratio may have been a concerning statistic some other night, but on Saturday, against an opponent like San Jose State that didn’t seem to care for the quarterback’s gifts, the WSU signal-caller could probably afford to give a few.
Both of Minshew’s interceptions came when this was still just a two-touchdown game, but the graduate transfer’s defense did him more than a few favors in the home opener, conceding just 109 yards to preserve a 31-0 shutout against the offensively inept Spartans in front of an announced crowd of 26,141 at Martin Stadium.