Arizona Wildcats fans rushed to Arizona Stadium after an upset win against the No. 19 UCLA Bruins.

THIS YEAR’S DEFENSIVE UNIT for Washington State has been sharpened by the phrase “bend, but don’t break.” Time and time again, it has been able to bend for quite a bit before snapping in half. That certainly wasn’t the case against Stanford on Saturday night.

The Cougars didn’t bend in the first half inside Martin Stadium and definitely didn’t break. In a much-needed pick-me-up type of game, their defense put together arguably their best first-half performance of the season.

WSU LIMITED STANFORD had just 48 total yards of offense and was never truly threatened en route to a 7-0 lead on a rainy night, attempting to break a four-game losing streak and get ever so close to clinching a bowl game berth.

Coverage by cornerbacks Stephen Hall and Cam Lampkin was nearly perfect. Kyle Thornton took a massive step forward in stopping the run and the pass, never looking off of the eyes of the Cardinal’s quarterback. The front-four generated enough inside pressure to keep the run game to a minimal four yards and perhaps the biggest relief was a sack for the first time in two games.

EDGE Ron Stone Jr. was unblocked on the right side and that allowed fellow edge defender Brennan Jackson to come up in the middle to bring down Stanford’s QB for the first sack since the Arizona game. Even when the Cardinals deployed both their quarterbacks and a trick play or two, the Cougars were all over it. In the second quarter alone, the Cardinals netted 12 total yards

TWICE Stanford had a yard to gain inside the WSU red zone and both times, the Cougars stuffed them for a turnover on downs. Nickel Jackson Lataimua kept driving to tackle Stanford’s backup QB and after initially being given a first down, an official review overturned the call. Then, out of the same formation, DT/EDGE Nusi Malani and Jackson met the Cardinal at the line of scrimmage for no gain.