The Apple Cup was a back-and-forth duel, with the Huskies and the Cougars trading scoring throughout the first half. But when it mattered most, a defensive stand decided this game.

Washington State stopped the Huskies on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with just over a minute left to close out a momentous 24-19 win Saturday at Lumen Field in Seattle.

The Cougars (3-0) had their most balanced offensive performance yet this season. Even with a turnover in the fourth quarter from redshirt sophomore quarterback John Mateer, the pass game worked when it needed to -- he was 17-of-34 passing for 245 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception -- and Mateer’s legs were useful whey they were needed, as he rushed for 62 yards and 2 TDs.

Washington (2-1) tried to establish the run early with running back Jonah Coleman along with quarterback Will Rogers, but the Huskies struggled to build a rhythm while totaling 16 penalties for 135 yards.

“It’s a party on the Palouse tonight,” Cougars coach Jake Dickert said to open his press conference after the win. “If you can’t be proud to be Cougs right now, I don’t know what to tell you.”

After all the talk this offseason from both fanbases, and during the game from both sides, all that mattered at the end of the day was execution -- for WSU, it was making sure the Apple Cup returned back to Pullman someway, somehow.

Mateer said his team put in the work this past offseason specifically for this moment, to celebrate with everyone and lift the trophy.

“Coach kept saying we worked nine and a half months for this moment. … It wasn’t our best, but we got the job done,” Mateer said.

This win -- the Cougars' first in the Apple Cup series since 2021 --l means just a little more after all the realignment across college football.

“For Cougs everywhere, to come on this neutral field … I want to thank everyone for the support. I hope their proud of this football team," Dickert said.

First quarter

8:58, WSU – Dean Janikowski 44-yard field goal, WSU 3-0

7:16, UW – Giles Jackson 31-yard TD from Will Rogers II (Grady Gross PAT) UW 7-3

4:32, WSU – John Mateer 23-yard run (Dean Janikowski PAT), WSU 10-7

Second quarter

14:56, UW – Grady Gross 45-yard field goal, tied 10-10

9:10, UW – Grady Gross 42-yard field goal, UW 13-10

0:25, WSU – John Mateer 25-yard run (Dean Janikowski PAT) WSU 17-13

Third quarter

9:47, UW – Grady Gross 24-yard field goal, WSU 17-16

5:54, WSU – Josh Meredith 16-yard pass from John Mateer (Dean Janikowski PAT), WSU 24-16

0:01, UW – Grady Gross 43-yard field goal, WSU 24-19

Fourth quarter

No scoring

Quarterback John Mateer.

Even after the late interception midway through the fourth quarter with the Cougars protecting that 5-point lead, Mateer was a difference-maker, rushing for two touchdowns in the first half on broken plays.

His physical run-style provides a real challenge for opposing defenses, as it is usually not what you see with a quarterback, being able to take hard hits and fight for extra yards.

Redshirt junior wide receiver Josh Meredith talked about his quarterback, the connection they developed and how Mateer and him are growing as a duo in the making.

“Me and John have been working together for the past two years. … We always had that connection.” Meredith said.

Mateer wasn’t 100 percent accurate, but he was sound with his decision-making when he needed to be, keeping the ball on certain run-pass-option plays and using his motor to pick up extra yards, which was especially valuable with the running backs struggling to get anything going.

You can say every single player on that fourth-and-goal stand at the 1 deserves to be the defensive player of the game, with redshirt senior linebacker Kyle Thornton leading the charge on that particular play, stopping Jonah Coleman.

The Cougars’ defense, as a whole, made the right plays at the right time, and when it mattered most, WSU got the game-winning stop.

WSU didn’t play pretty defensively, but that final stand for the Cougars is as pretty as can be with everyone converging to the ball, making Will Rogers dish it to his running back and come up empty.

Which brings us to ...

You guessed it ...

The Cougars had one stop for the game, and while the defense bent it did not break.

The Cougars needed to tighten up after giving up a 45-yard completion from Rogers to Giles Jackson and allowing the Huskies to push it further from there to set up first-and-goal from the 9.

But Coleman was stuffed for a loss of 1 on first down by Andrew Edson, Rogers then threw incomplete before connecting for a 9-yard gain to Denzel Boston down to the 1 before the Cougars smothered Coleman for a loss of 2 on that final play.

“Being from Washington, I can’t tell you how much this means to me,” Edson said.

That play will live on in Cougar history -- a goal-line stand in the Apple Cup against the Huskies with the game on the line.

The Cougars are now 3-0 before "conference" play, with their Mountain West schedule alongside a Pac-2 championship appearance against Oregon State in Corvallis later in the season. As for now, WSU will go back to Pullman to welcome San Jose State next Friday night, on short week.

Passing

John Mateer – 17 of 34, 245 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Rushing

John Mateer – 16 carries for 62 yards, 2 TDs

Wayshawn Parker – 10 carries for 49 yards

Kris Hutson – 1 carry for 22 yards

Leo Pulalasi – 1 carry for 4 yards

Djouvensky Schlenbaker – 1 carry for 2 yards

Receiving

Josh Meredith – 7 receptions for 111 yards, 1 TD

Kris Hutson – 4 receptions for 50 yards

Wayshawn Parker – 1 reception for 16 yards

Tony Freeman – 2 receptions for 46 yards

Kyle Williams – 3 catches for 22 yards

Defense

Adrian Wilson -- 7 tackles

Andrew Edson -- 7 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack

Taariq Al-Uqdah -- 6 tackles

Kyle Thornton -- 5 tackles, 1 sack

Raam Stevenson -- 3 tackles, 1 sack