SAN ANTONIO — Golden Tate scored two touchdowns, including a spectacular grab of a desperation heave at the end of the first half, and No. 25 Notre Dame got it's first easy win in almost two months by clobbering Washington State 40-14 on Saturday night.

The previous six games for Notre Dame (6-2) were nerve-wrackers decided in the final seconds. But Washington State (1-7) was buried by halftime.

Robert Hughes ran for 131 yards on 24 carries and had a touchdown, delighting a Texas crowd that was overwhelmingly filled with Fighting Irish fans. The Alamodome blowout debuted Notre Dame's plan to play one offsite home game a year.

Jimmy Clausen was 22 of 27 for 268 yards and two touchdowns, including the 50-yarder that Tate somehow pulled down between three defenders.