In a matchup of two teams looking to keep their bowl hopes alive, Washington State scored by land, air and defense in handing Stanford a 33-17 loss in Pullman, Wash. on Saturday. The Cardinal will miss out on a bowl game for the sixth consecutive year after falling to 3-7 on the year (2-6 in the Pac-10) against the Cougars.

Washington State quarterback Alex Brink led an offensive barrage that rolled up 561 yards. Redshirt sophomore Cardinal gunslinger Tavita Pritchard threw for a career-high 263 yards, but Stanford played worse than its often mistake-prone opponent, blowing several key opportunities in its first loss at Martin Stadium since WSU’s Rose Bowl season in 1997.

Senior wideout Mark Bradford grabbed a career-high 12 balls for 141 yards, showing good health in place of suspended go-to receiver Richard Sherman, who was suspended for the game by coach Jim Harbaugh. Stanford continued to get production from a depleted stable of running backs, with freshmen Tyrone McGraw and Jeremy Stewart combining for 36 carries and 133 yards. It was the second straight game that the Cardinal gained more than 100 rushing yards from the tailback position.

Stanford was countered by Cougar receiver Brandon Gibson, who tore through the Cardinal secondary with seven catches for 153 yards, and Chris Ivory, who rushed for 109 yards in his first career start.

Led by the most experienced quarterback in the Pacific-10 Conference — Brink made his 38th straight start Saturday — the Cougars’ offense exploited seams in Stanford’s zone defense. The secondary, playing without its most productive cornerback in Nick Sanchez, was outplayed by WSU’s three-receiver sets. The Cardinal blitz package was nullified by throws to tight end Jed Collins behind the pressure; Collins caught 10 passes for 123 yards.

Pritchard finished 22 of 40 with two interceptions. It was a homecoming of sorts for the Cardinal quarterback, whose father played center for the Cougars in the early 1980s and whose uncle, Jack Thompson, has his number 14 retired as the first of many great WSU quarterbacks.

Pritchard was routinely harassed (four sacks and a lost fumble) by a ferocious Cougar pass rush from both the defensive line and linebackers, but made some impressive throws from the pocket. The best was a pump-fake 23-yard vertical pattern to Bradford that put the ball at the WSU six-yard line late in the third quarter. The bang-bang sideline catch was reviewed and upheld, and Stewart scored a touchdown two plays later to cut the Cougar lead to 20-17.

In contrast to Pritchard’s scrambling heroics in his first start in October, in his sixth start the Washington native was largely stifled when chased out of the pocket.

Washington State opened up a 13-0 third-quarter lead, but could have had more were it not for impressive stops by the Stanford defense inside its own 25-yard line. WSU fumbled the ball away at the Stanford six and again at the 24, and was stopped on downs twice in the first half. After Brink found Ben Woodard all alone for a 12-yard touchdown, true freshman Doug Baldwin took the ensuing kickoff to the WSU 41. Pritchard converted two fourth downs on the 11-play drive, setting up Tyrone McGraw’s 4-yard touchdown run.

However, Stanford couldn’t take the lead on a gift-wrapped turnover, as WSU fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Cardinal’s Nate Wilcox-Fogel recovered at the WSU five-yard line. After two would-be interceptions were dropped by Cougar defensive backs, Derek Belch kicked a 24-yard field goal, his first make after two first-half kicks went wide right.

Washington State got its bearings after that, scoring on a 12-yard touchdown run by Kevin McCall on the next drive, and stayed in control the rest of the game. The Cougars never trailed in the contest.

The Cardinal’s focus appeared to dissolve in a critical fourth-quarter drive that started at the Stanford 45. Trailing by six, the table appeared to be set for another Pritchard special — a one-point nail-biting comeback win on the road — but the opportunity was undone by mental mistakes.

Stanford used two timeouts on the drive to avoid illegal substitution and delay of game penalties. After a third-and-2 run gained only one yard, Stanford took a delay of game penalty while lining up for a 52-yard field goal.

Harbaugh said of the penalty: “For some reason the offensive line ran off the field. I don’t know why they ran off the field as the field goal unit was coming on. Then we had to get them back out there and I thought we were going to get it off but it didn’t get snapped in time.”

Now faced with fourth-and-6 from the Cougar 40, the Cardinal elected to punt. A Stanford player was called for fair-catch interference, placing the ball at the WSU 31. The Cougars then ended a four-minute drive with a 32-yard field goal that all but put the game away at 26-17. Husain Abdullah intercepted Pritchard on the next play, going 55 yards for the final score.

NOTES

— Brink and WSU receiver Michael Bumpus both broke school records in the game. Brink’s touchdown pass to Ben Woodard broke Jason Gesser’s career touchdown pass record of 70, and Bumpus’ first catch broke Hugh Campbell’s school record of 176 career receptions.

— Alex Brink extended his school-record career passing yardage to 10,200. He is the eighth Pac-10 quarterback to cross the 10,000-yard mark. Brink’s first start came about after Stanford knocked Cougar quarterback Josh Swogger out for the season in 2004.

— Tavita Pritchard’s father and uncle attended the game along with over 20 relatives, part of a large network that owes itself to Pritchard’s grandfather, a patriarch of Samoan immigration and integration in the Seattle area. Pritchard’s cousin, Tony Thompson, is a long snapper for Washington State.

— Mark Bradford’s career totals stand at 157 catches for 2,236 yards. He is now in the top 10 in Stanford history in both categories.