The 2018 Alamo Bowl between Iowa State and Washington State was an absolute thriller.
Of course the Pac-12 broke its bowl win drought in a wild, strange game
Washington State posts its highest-ever win total, thanks to a thriller of a bowl game.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
With 4:02 left, Iowa State scored a touchdown to make it 28-26 Wazzu, but Cyclone quarterback Brock Purdy couldn’t connect on the two-point conversion, which gave Wazzu the ball back.
In typical Mike Leach fashion, Wazzu kept passing. Cougs quarterback Gardner Minshew, who finished with 299 yards and three total touchdowns, found Tay Martin for an 18 yards and first down to give his team the win:
Despite Wazzu taking a 21-7 lead late in the second quarter, the Cyclones scored 10 unanswered points to make it 21-20 with 1:04 left in the third off of a Connor Assalley 23-yard field goal.
However, throughout the game, the dominant story line was the questionable officiating, something fans of both the Pac-12 and Big 12 are quite accustomed to.
First, there was the taunting penalty that negated a Wazzu pick-six that would have been the first score of the game:
The blatant false start before a Wazzu touchdown in the second quarter:
And this Iowa State targeting penalty, that got Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell so fired up he was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct (technically, this ruling was correct, even if this is very hard for a player to avoid):
And [fast forwarding through like nine other controversial calls] late in the second half, this was ruled an incomplete pass, even though Campbell challenged this and lost, costing him his last timeout of the ball game.
The play would have given Iowa State a crucial first down.
The common sentiment about this game:
No, the game’s final play didn’t necessarily come down to a bad call by the refs. But these guys can definitely do better, and who knows how this game would have gone if some of these calls went ISU’s way.
And with all that, you have the Pac-12’s first bowl win since Utah’s 369 days ago.
The conference had the worst postseason by any power league ever in 2017, then got off to an 0-2 start this time around, so the embattled commissioner’s office is surely breathing easier, thanks to Wazzu.
Tip your cap to Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell regardless. This marks the second straight eight-win season in Ames, something that hasn’t been done since Earle Bruce in the mid-1970s.
For Washington State, the 11-2 record marks the highest total for a team in Wazzu history. This was a magical season in Pullman, one that will certainly be enjoyed by Wazzu fans for a while.
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