I never realized how much I missed a full schedule of games until I was fighting to stay awake to watch a sad Nevada against New Mexico State game last week that was only on late because of lightning delays alongside Vanderbilt crushing Hawai’i. Settling in to watch four late games this week with the excitement of a fifth added because of weather was more than enough juice to keep me awake all the way through to the end of the Hawai’i test.  

Mississippi State 49, Memphis 23

A weather delay pushed this game into the late slate, but it did not matter much as the Bulldogs smoked the Tigers. After building a 35-3 lead in the third quarter, they eased up for an eventual 49-23 victory. Mississippi State’s Will Rogers put up great numbers with 37 completions on 48 attempts for 450 yards and five touchdowns.

Washington State 24, Idaho 17 

The Cameron Ward era at Washington State got off to a shaky start as former FBS rival Idaho kept it close for most of the game. After missing a short field goal that would have iced the game, the Cougars eventually put the game away with a game-winning interception on a potential Idaho game-tying drive. Ward, the talented FCS transfer, was 25 of 40 passing for 215 yards and three touchdowns. 

Washington 45, Kent State 20

After a few years of watching Washington live in a three yards and a pile of bodies offense, the Huskies under new head coach Kalen DeBoer opened the offense up. It all started when the first play from scrimmage was intercepted by Washington, leading to a 28-yard Wayne Taulapapa touchdown run. He was one of six different Huskies scored a touchdown in their victory over the Golden Flashes. Transfer quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was 26 of 39 for 345 yards and four touchdowns for the new-look offense. 

Oregon State 34, Boise State 17

Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier was benched for Taylen Green, but it didn’t matter much for the Broncos in this game. Green did run for a 74-yard touchdown in the third quarter and put up over 200 yards of total offense, but Oregon State won with a great balanced attack on offense. Do-it-all linebacker Jack Colletto ran for a touchdown for the Beavers (yes, you read that right), and they looked pretty good overall. The biggest storyline from this game will be what appears to be a quarterback battle in Boise between Bachmeier and Green. 

Western Kentucky 49, Hawai’i 17

It was yet another visitor emerging with a victory on the islands as the Hilltoppers came out on top. Western Kentucky QB Austin Reed had another good performance, putting up 271 yards passing on 22 of 31 attempts with three touchdowns to go along with nine rushes for 43 yards and a score. That makes two solid weeks in a row for the former Division II national champion. On the other side, it was yet another game showing that this Hawai’i rebuild is just getting started. The Warriors will continue their losing ways next week when they travel to Michigan for a 2 p.m. HST kickoff.