Washington State returned to Martin Stadium for a homecoming battle against Hawaiāi 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.
WSUās offensive production was too much for Hawaiāi (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.
āWe kind of narrowed the menu down a little bit to things heās confident in,ā 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.
āWe had some runs on tape that we looked at half and said theyāre there,ā Dickert said. āWhen we can run the ball, weāre very dangerous on offense.ā
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 wasnāt where the focus was for WSU this week, but it is an important milestone for the Cougs.
āWe didnāt talk about it one ounce coming into this game,ā Dickert said. āThe guys are aware of it, but this win did come with a prize.ā
WSU offensive player of the game
After a couple of weeks when the offense had instances of āstallingā 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.
āHeās making guys miss here and there,ā Mathers said. āHeās just a good player so itās good to see him doing his thing.ā
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 Saturdayās win after struggling the past couple of weeks on the ground.
WSU defensive player of the game
Like the offense, the defense played a very complete game despite some early pressure from Hawaiāi to make this game close. The Cougarsā ābend donāt breakā 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 Hawaiāi 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 āBuddahā Al-Uqdah and senior defensive back Kapena Gushiken both had big turnovers to really shift momentum into the Cougarsā favor and lock the game down.
The Cougarsā defense also did not allow Hawaiāi 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 Hawaiāi to get into a rhythm offensively.
āWe talk a lot about not getting in the bucket from the jump,ā Al-Uqdah said. āWhen we go out there, we know we got to play team defense.ā
Cougars play of the game
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.
Hawaiāi 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.
āIt was pretty easy. ā¦ Everything fell into place.ā Al-Uqdah said. āWhen the opportunity presented itself, I took it and caught the ball.ā
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.
Finally, a complete game on both sides
This was the best-looking game for the Cougars, especially defensively as they didnāt allow too many explosive plays for Hawaiāi. 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 wasnāt able to sustain drives, but the defense couldnāt 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.
What's next 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 weekās matchup in Southern California before wrapping the regular season up at home.
More highlights
Stats
Passing
John Mateer ā 23 of 27 passes, 295 yards, 3 TDs
Jaxon Potter ā 2 of 2 passes, 26 yards
Rushing
John Mateer ā 8 carries for 34 yards, 2 TDs
Leo Pulalasi ā 9 carries for 22 yards, 1 TD
Djouvensky Schlenbaker ā 8 carries for 48 yards
Wayshawn Parker ā 9 carries for 25 yards
Kyle Williams ā 1 carry for -2 yards
Receiving
Kris Hutson ā 7 receptions for 90 yards, 1 TD
Carlos Hernandez ā 4 receptions for 55 yards, 1 TD
Cooper Mathers ā 4 receptions for 53 yards, 1 TD
Kyle Williams ā 4 receptions for 59 yards
Josh Meredith ā 2 receptions for 31 yards
Branden Ganashamoorthy ā 2 receptions for 26 yards
Tre Shackelford ā 1 reception for 7 yards
Tony Freeman ā 1 reception for 0 yards
Defense
Taariq āBuddahā Al-Uqdah ā 5 tackles (1 solo), 1 INT, 1 pass deflection
Ansel Din-Mbuh ā 4 tackles (2 solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks
Parker McKenna ā 2 solo tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack
Kapena Gushiken ā 3 tackles (2 solo), 1 pass deflection, 1 fumble recovery
Andrew Edson ā 4 tackles (2 solo), 0.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks
Syrus Webster ā 3 solo tackles, 1 tackle for loss
Tanner Moku ā 2 tackles (1 solo), 1 pass deflection
Bryce Lamb ā 1 solo tackle, 1 fumble recovery
Kyle Thornton ā 5 tackles (3 solo)
- OLB
- WR
- RB
- WR
- CB
- S
- ATH
- CB
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- DUAL