The Cougars stepped onto the blue turf in a Saturday night showdown, but left empty handed as No. 25 Boise State dominated on both sides of the ball resulting in a 45-24 rout at home for the Broncos over Washington State.

Things never really clicked for the WSU offense in the Week 5 matchup after one successful drive in the first quarter when quarterback John Mateer exploded for a 52-yard run. The offense for the Cougars (4-1) would find itself behind the chains more often than not for the remainder of the night.

Boise State (3-1) controlled the game with its ground game, which was expected behind star running back Ashton Jeanty. But,defensively, collecting seven sacks in the game proved to be the main difference maker as it prevented Mateer from running in open space and escaping when the pocket collapsed.

This is the first loss of the season for the Cougars after getting ‘punched in the mouth’ by Jeanty, who continues to build his Heisman candidacy after another electric performance on the ground.

WSU couldn’t find a way to tackle Jeanty, who broke numerous defensive tackles in open space, en route to a stellar 259 yards rushing performance. The Boise State running back also scored four rushing touchdowns.

WSU head coach Jake Dickert was clear in his postgame press conference about just how things played out Saturday for his squad.

“We got beat in all three phases, pretty decisively.” Dickert said. “There’s not a single person in [the locker room] that can point fingers.”

While Dickert pointed to the amount of errors the Cougars made, he made sure not to leave out the praise for Jeanty after his monstrous performance.

“[Jeanty] is incredible.” Dickert said. “Ten yards a carry. … I thought obviously, you got to allow less than that to win a football game.”

The Cougars couldn’t figure out how to get themselves in front of the chains, offensively, and slow the run defensively. The positive news for WSU is that it has a whole week to practice and get healthy for its next matchup.

First quarter

12:52, BSU – Jeanty 64-yard run (Jonah Dalmas PAT) BSU 7-0

11:23, WSU – Cooper Mathers 14-yard pass from Mateer (Dean Janikowski PAT) Tied 7-7

Second quarter

14:11, BSU – Jonah Dalmas 29-yard field goal, BSU 10-7

8:25, WSU – Dean Janikowski 35-yard field goal, Tied 10-10

3:19, BSU – Jeanty 14-yard run (Jonah Dalmas PAT) BSU 17-10

Third quarter

1:22, BSU – Matt Lauter 22-yard pass from Madsen (Jonah Dalmas PAT) BSU 24-10

Fourth quarter

14:52, WSU – Kyle Williams 33-yard pass from Mateer (Dean Janikowski PAT) BSU 24-17

13:17, BSU – Jeanty 59-yard run (Jonah Dalmas PAT) BSU 31-17

9:38, BSU – Jeanty 2-yard run (Jonah Dalmas PAT) BSU 38-17

4:16, BSU – Lauter 34-yard pass from Madsen (Jonah Dalmas PAT) BSU 45-17

0:19, WSU – Leo Pulalasi 1-yard run (Dean Janikowski PAT) BSU 45-24

Even though the box score doesn’t reflect how the game went for Washington State, offensively, both seniors receiver Kyle Williams and Kris Hutson had over 100 yards receiving.

Hutson matched his career high in receiving yards with 126 on nine catches as a consistent target opposite of Williams for Mateer. Williams set a season high with nine receptions and 142 yards receiving while also logging his 42 consecutive game with a catch.

Mateer definitely struggled in the loss. Whether it was him being sacked or the pressure he was receiving, Boise State was living in the Cougars’ backfield racking up sack after sack.

He struggled trying to read what the defense was giving him while also trying to make a play, and the pressure was a lot to have to absorb. However, the WSU quarterback didn’t want to make excuses for his play.

“I definitely could’ve checked the protections,” he said. “They were bringing it, a lot, especially in that second half.”

Williams made this game interesting at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a great catch for 33 yards, but the offense couldn’t find any rhythm to move itself ahead of the chains.

Senior defensive back Tyson Durant has been a big target to watch defensively while tracking his productivity for the Cougars.

Durant has looked good at times, and bad at others, but Saturday he really made some big plays for this defense, which mostly struggled to just stop Jeanty.

The redshirt senior defensive back held his own in pass coverage on the evening, even landing himself an interception off a deflected ball that he tipped to himself.

The Cougars struggled to hit the strike zone with their tackling Saturday in the quest to stop Jeanty on the ground making it a long, exhausting night for the defense.

The Cougars really struggled to protect Mateer with Boise State finding its way in the backfield many times throughout the evening preventing Mateer from using his legs on designed quarterback draws.

Maybe it’s better Boise State, maybe it’s worse Washington State, but the battle in the trenches was a challenge for the Cougars in Saturday’s game.

That is where the Cougars lost. Defensively, they lost at the line, but what really hindered their performance was the effort in trying to stop Jeanty. The Broncos’ running back continually found ways to escape tackles in the game.

Dickert’s team has fought all year to extinguish the tackling issue on defense, which seems to be a main focus behind the scenes.

“Anytime you’re in the middle of the season and you have a tackling issue, it’s hard to just remedy in the middle of the deal,” Dickert said.

Offensively, the Cougars allowed the most sacks they’ve allowed in a very long time. It meant Mateer was often behind the chains in what felt like the first game where the offensive line really struggled to protect him.

WSU will go into its first bye week after a tough road loss hoping to get healthier after the week off. The Cougars will try to reset their minds after what was an embarrassing game offensively, and just figure out how to stop the big plays defensively.

The Cougars face Fresno State on the road after their bye week, which is expected to bring some impactful returns on both sides of the ball for WSU.

Passing

John Mateer – 26 of 37 passes, 327 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT

Rushing

John Mateer – 20 carries for 28 yards

Leo Pulalasi – 7 carries for 22 yards, 1 TD

Wayshawn Parker – 11 carries for 35 yards

Kyle Williams – 1 carry for 4 yards

Receiving

Kyle Williams – 9 receptions for 146 yards, 1 TD

Kris Hutson – 9 receptions for 126 yards

Josh Meredith – 5 receptions for 32 yards

Cooper Mathers – 1 reception for 14 yards, 1 TD

Tony Freeman – 1 reception for 12 yards

Tre Shackelford – 1 reception for 1 yard

Defense

Tyson Durant – 1 solo tackle, 1 INT

Kyle Thornton - 7 tackles (3 solo), 0.5 TFL

Taariq ‘Buddah’ Al-Uqdah – 2 solo tackles, 1 pass deflection

Andrew Edson – 6 tackles (2 solo), 1 forced fumble

Issac Terrell – 1 tackle for loss

David Gusta – 2 tackles, 1 pass deflection

Nusi Malani – 4 tackles (2 solo), 0.5 TFL