Washington State returned to Martin Stadium for a homecoming battle against Hawai’i on Saturday, and the Cougars returned on the right foot. They controlled the matchup from from the opening kickoff to the final knee, ending in a 42-10 rout.

WSU (6-1) has now reached bowl eligibility after just missing out with a 5-7 record last season. Redshirt sophomore quarterback John Mateer led the Cougars in the dominant win as he was able to get into a rhythm from the opening snap.

WSU’s offensive production was too much for Hawai’i (2-5) throughout the entirety of the game with Mateer throwing for 295 yards and three touchdowns in the air and a couple more on the ground.

The Rainbow Warriors had early success with their offense driving down the field, but could only come up with three points after a missed field goal on their second drive. Senior quarterback Brayden Schager faced pressure all afternoon, taking three sacks and tossing an interception.

WSU controlled the line of scrimmage offensively in the second half allowing a functioning rushing attack to drain the clock and control the game, which was positive after a chaotic game against San Jose State the last time the Cougars faced a similar offense.

Washington State head coach Jake Dickert was pleased with the success of his offense on Saturday as he felt it was a complete performance for all four quarters. In part, WSU had success by limiting the playbook to what Mateer excels at.

“We kind of narrowed the menu down a little bit to things he’s confident in,” Dickert said.

The Cougars were able to find a decent balance offensively with a nice showing from the ground game in the second half after only having 10 rushing yards through the first 30 minutes while still managing to have a 21-3 lead.

“We had some runs on tape that we looked at half and said they’re there,” Dickert said. “When we can run the ball, we’re very dangerous on offense.”

The Cougars now reach bowl eligibility and look to expand on top of that as they reach 6-1 for the first time since the 2018 season.

Reaching that mark wasn’t where the focus was for WSU this week, but it is an important milestone for the Cougs.

“We didn’t talk about it one ounce coming into this game,” Dickert said. “The guys are aware of it, but this win did come with a prize.”

After a couple of weeks when the offense had instances of “stalling” out and not maintaining a consistent rhythm, Mateer and that WSU offense put all that noise to bed by having one of the most complete games this year on that side of the ball.

Senior tight end Cooper Mathers gave credit to his quarterback after a bounce-back performance offensively at home.

“He’s making guys miss here and there,” Mathers said. “He’s just a good player so it’s good to see him doing his thing.”

The Cougars consistently found success both in the air and on the ground, and Mateer captaining the offense pushed it to the level Dickert expects it to be at every week.

The WSU quarterback accounted for five of the seven offensive scores and had just four incompletions on the day.

Mateer was able to add two rushing touchdowns in Saturday’s win after struggling the past couple of weeks on the ground.

Like the offense, the defense played a very complete game despite some early pressure from Hawai’i to make this game close. The Cougars’ “bend don’t break” mentality prevailed, and intensity increased leading to a productive day for the group.

WSU accounted for three turnovers off of Schager, having two interceptions and adding a forced fumble, to take Hawai’i out of the game early.

As a unit, the defense performed as well as in its home game against Texas Tech a month ago when it limited a high-powered offense to minimal points on the road.

Both redshirt sophomore linebacker Taariq ‘Buddah’ Al-Uqdah and senior defensive back Kapena Gushiken both had big turnovers to really shift momentum into the Cougars’ favor and lock the game down.

The Cougars’ defense also did not allow Hawai’i to convert a single third down (0-8) over the course of the afternoon as it forced all kinds of pressure with disguised reads at the line.

Al-Uqdah said WSU wanted to start fast and not allow Hawai’i to get into a rhythm offensively.

“We talk a lot about not getting in the bucket from the jump,” Al-Uqdah said. “When we go out there, we know we got to play team defense.”

The first interception that landed in the hands of Al-Uqdah, which he then turned up-field for extra yards on the return to set the Cougars up in great field position, ultimately changed the momentum of the game.

Hawai’i kept itself in the game early with some big plays downfield and big passes from Schager, but the ability for Al-Uqdah to rip away a potential completion for the Rainbow Warriors turned this game.

Al-Uqdah talked about the interception and what he saw from Schager leading to the ball landing perfectly in his hands.

“It was pretty easy. … Everything fell into place.” Al-Uqdah said. “When the opportunity presented itself, I took it and caught the ball.”

The Cougars never looked back from that moment, resulting in another score for WSU and then defensive pressure just kept coming for that offensive front.

This was the best-looking game for the Cougars, especially defensively as they didn’t allow too many explosive plays for Hawai’i. And then, offensively, being able to add and stack on top of the lead behind another strong showing for Mateer.

Against Boise State, the offense had a lull during the second and third quarters and wasn’t able to sustain drives, but the defense couldn’t keep itself in the game.

Against Fresno State, even with a stalling offense, the defensive performance from the Cougars kept them in that contest resulting in a road win.

And now at home, the pieces all came together with the Cougars having good, long drives that end in six points along with a defense that forced pressure on the quarterback and forced turnovers in the back end as well.

The last time the Cougars had this complete of a performance was back against Texas Tech at home, which was a 20-point victory for WSU.

The Cougars will hop back on a plane to go back on the road next week to face San Diego State on Saturday night before their second bye week of the season.

WSU will only have two more road games after next week’s matchup in Southern California before wrapping the regular season up at home.

Passing

John Mateer – 23 of 27 passes, 295 yards, 3 TDs

Jaxon Potter – 2 of 2 passes, 26 yards

Rushing

John Mateer – 8 carries for 34 yards, 2 TDs

Leo Pulalasi – 9 carries for 22 yards, 1 TD

Djouvensky Schlenbaker – 8 carries for 48 yards

Wayshawn Parker – 9 carries for 25 yards

Kyle Williams – 1 carry for -2 yards

Receiving

Kris Hutson – 7 receptions for 90 yards, 1 TD

Carlos Hernandez – 4 receptions for 55 yards, 1 TD

Cooper Mathers – 4 receptions for 53 yards, 1 TD

Kyle Williams – 4 receptions for 59 yards

Josh Meredith – 2 receptions for 31 yards

Branden Ganashamoorthy – 2 receptions for 26 yards

Tre Shackelford – 1 reception for 7 yards

Tony Freeman – 1 reception for 0 yards

Defense

Taariq ‘Buddah’ Al-Uqdah – 5 tackles (1 solo), 1 INT, 1 pass deflection

Ansel Din-Mbuh – 4 tackles (2 solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks

Parker McKenna – 2 solo tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack

Kapena Gushiken – 3 tackles (2 solo), 1 pass deflection, 1 fumble recovery

Andrew Edson – 4 tackles (2 solo), 0.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks

Syrus Webster – 3 solo tackles, 1 tackle for loss

Tanner Moku – 2 tackles (1 solo), 1 pass deflection

Bryce Lamb – 1 solo tackle, 1 fumble recovery

Kyle Thornton – 5 tackles (3 solo)