Washington State junior quarterback Connor Halliday has set the bar high for other quarterbacks during the postseason. It's just too bad for Halliday he did it in a loss.
Halliday's second pass of the day was an interception, but he rebounded to throw for 410 yards and six touchdowns -- to six receivers. However, Washington State improbably blew a 15-point lead in the final three minutes and lost 48-45 to Colorado State in the New Mexico Bowl.
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Washington State fumbled the last two times it touched the ball. The first set up Colorado State's game-tying touchdown. The second came on the ensuing kickoff and set up a last-play game-winning field goal.
Halliday went into the game tied for third in the Pac-12 with 28 touchdown passes, a figure that also ranked 13th nationally. Alas, he also entered the game with 21 interceptions, five more than anyone else in the nation. That's the issue with Halliday: While he is a productive passer, throwing for 4,597 yards this season, a figure that should be enough for him to finish third nationally in that category, he makes a ton of careless throws.
At 6-foot-4, Halliday has good size, but he weighs just 190 pounds and needs to put on some weight. Yes, he plays for Mike Leach and is a system quarterback, but he has enough of a skill-set to head into his senior season as a potential third-day pick. He won't realize that potential, however, unless he cuts down -- way down -- on his mistakes.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.