In what I thought would be their most dangerous game left on the schedule the Cougars got it done. Up by just two points at the half, 14-to-12, and then held scoreless in the 3rd Qtr while San Diego State went up 19-14, Washington State outscored the Aztecs 15-to-7 in the final period to take the win 29-26 on the road. Boy the Cougars sure have had some great QB’s in the recent past. Before the late Mike Leach left he had Gardner Minshew under center in his final year of eligibility where he set the PAC-12 Conference season records for passing yards and completions—winning the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award given annually to the nation’s top upperclassman quarterback. Then you’ve got Cam Ward, now at the University of Miami and topping the Heisman Watch leaderboard who in his 2023 season at Washington State threw for 3,732 yards and 25 TD’s while also rushing for eight more.
And now there’s John Mateer who will throw for over 3,000 yards this season—currently averaging 269 passing yards a game—has thrown 18 TD’s and run for ten more. Even in their sole loss to Boise State where the Bronco’s defense recorded 8 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and 3 pass disruptions, Mateer still completed 70% of his passes for 327 yards and 2 TD’s. He’s just a Sophomore but he definitely has a “refuse to lose” mentality and in this one he connected on 19-of-27 for 257 yards, 2 TD’s and no interceptions while also rushing 21 times with two of those carries going right into the end zone. Connecting with seven different receivers on the day it was Sophomore WR Carlos Hernandez and Senior TE Cooper Mathers who came down with the two TD passes. On the ground the Cougars rushed 40 times for 114 yards with Mateer their biggest gainer and only scorer. On the other side of the ball and doing a good job of disrupting the Aztec offense Washington State recorded 4 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, and 2 pass disruptions.
San Diego State’s starting Freshman QB, Danny O’Neil connected on 22-of-34 for 195 yards and 1 interception with backup Javanese Tupou’ata-Johnson 4-of-5 for 41 yards. The only score they got in the air was thrown by their Freshman WR Jordan Napier in the 3rd Qtr who connected with Nate Bennett for a 27 yard TD to put the Aztecs up 19-14 at the time. Leading the way for San Diego State on the ground was Senior RB Marquez Cooper who rushed 18 times for 78 of the team’s 130 yards as well as both of their TD’s. As you can imagine by the score the game stats were really close with the Cougars only ahead by one in first downs, 22-to-21; trailed by 43 in total yards of offense, 414-371; had the ball just one minute longer; had half as many penalties and converted third downs slightly more efficiently.
Greg Woods, in his article regarding the game for The Seattle Times describes Mateers’ heroics in their win against the Aztec’s like this: “Mateer did his finest work on the ground, where late in the fourth quarter, he pulled off the play of his young career. On a second-and-12, he faced a heavy blitz, and two San Diego State blitzers had Mateer in their grasp. Instead, Mateer slipped both tackles, turned upfield and zoomed forward for an 18-yard gain, planting the Cougs inside Aztec territory. Five plays later, Mateer surged into the end zone from two yards out, and WSU added two points on a trick play that ended up with a reception by — who else — Mateer. The Cougs took a 29-26 lead, the final margin, [with] Mateer [totaling] 21 carries for 42 yards and two scores.”