Washington St. QB Connor Halliday sets passing record in heartbreaking 60-59 loss to Cal

The Pac-12 after-dark is quickly becoming a late-night guilty pleasure.

Cal defeated Washington State 60-59 in a late-night game that saw Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday set the single-game passing yard mark — in a loss.

Halliday completed 49-of-70 passes for 734 yards and six touchdowns. He broke the FBS record of 716 (David Klingler, Houston, 1990) and the Division I record of 730 yards (Taylor Heinicke, Old Dominion, 2012). And he would have had the win had kicker Quentin Breshears been able to covert a 19-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining.

It was a climactic (albeit disappointing) ending to a game that came alive in the second half. After Washington State took a 24-13 halftime lead, the Bears and Cougars came out of their respective locker rooms firing. They combined for 35 points in the first seven-and-a-half minutes and went on to score 56 points in the third quarter alone. Two of Cal’s touchdowns came on back-to-back kickoff returns.

Halliday and Cal quarterback Jared Goff combined to throw for 1,261 yards, which is roughly 0.72 miles. Halliday’s 734 yards is just 39 fewer than Kansas’ season passing total.

Washington State had one player with more than 200 receiving yards, two with more than 100 and one with 96.

Cal knows a little something about crazy finishes in high-scoring games. Two weeks ago — during a late-night Pac-12 game — Arizona defeated the Bears on a Hail Mary. Last week, Cal defeated Colorado in double overtime. Washington State actually rebounded from a 24-7 halftime deficit against Utah during last week’s late-night Pac-12 game to win 28-27.

What does all this teach us? Don’t go to bed early when the Pac-12 is playing.

Cal’s win moves it into first in the Pac-12 North. This after winning just four games in the past two seasons combined.

For more Cal news, visit GoldenBearReport.com.

For more Washington State news, visit WazzouWatch.com.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday

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