The 2024 football season is officially underway on the Palouse. WSU looks like a well-oiled machine in week one against Portland State as they cruised to a 70-30 win at home.
Coming into the week, WSU head coach Jake Dickert said the team has great depth, but plenty of inexperience, and it was on full display Saturday as just about everyone who could got some shine in the Pullman sun.
Ten Cougs caught a pass, five carried the ball and both of Wazzu’s quarterbacks got in the game, with starter John Mateer showcasing his athletic skillset in his first career start.
After a three-and-out on the first drive of the game, and quickly falling behind 7-0, Mateer rallied the troops behind an up-tempo offense marching 75 yards on eight plays capping the drive with a 30-yard pass to Oregon transfer Kris Hutson who made a brilliant diving catch for his first touchdown as a Coug.
“Oh my goodness,” WSU wide receiver Kyle Williams said. “I know he makes those routine catches, but when you see it in person, it’s just an eye-opener, a shocker. It’s like, damn, I love him, so I’m happy.”
The Cougar defense quickly responded forcing a three-and-out leading to a six-play, 75-yard drive ending in a 39-yard touchdown pass where Mateer hit Austin Peay transfer receiver Tre Shackelford on an in-breaking slant for his first touchdown as a Coug to take a 14-7 lead.
It was all gas from then on, with Mateer wasting no time on drive number four hitting Williams on the first play of the drive for a 58-yard touchdown, his first of the season. The Cougars capped the drive off with a direct snap to tight end Billy Riviere III for a two-point conversion to make it 22-7 Wazzu.
The Cougs went on a 49-10 run following the 7-0 deficit to finish the first half up 49-17, the most points WSU has scored in a half since 2018. A large reason why: two 50-plus yard touchdowns by true freshman running back Wayshawn Parker on back-to-back drives.
Parker took a carry 54 yards to the house and then followed with a 52-yard catch and score, showing his versatility out of the backfield. Parker would accrue 96 rushing yards on eight carries with 52 receiving, but his success did not come without nerves.
“I didn’t see him at first, he was running out with me, he was like ‘Hey John, hey John,’ It was like he wanted me to know he was there,” Mateer said. “I told him ‘It’s just ball bro,’ and then he ran his explosive run on the first run. It’s exciting to see a super young kid come out here and balling. It’s great for the program.”
After Parker’s hot streak, it was the defense’ turn. After getting to the WSU four-yard line, PSU QB Dante Chachere threw a pass to the end zone that was intercepted by corner and team captain Steve Hall, which he promptly returned 100 yards for a pick-six, the longest in WSU program history.
“Yeah, I was most definitely gassed,” Hall said. “I told a couple of teammates yesterday, ‘I got to get a pick-six,’ because that’s actually my first career pick-six, ever. I actually told [my teammates] afterward, they couldn’t believe it.”
In case WSU could not score any other ways, next it was Mateer’s turn again, as he got to showcase his athleticism, part of what Dickert said helped win him the starting job. Mateer dropped to pass, and upon seeing no options, scrambled up the middle, making a couple of defenders miss en route to a 40-yard touchdown scamper.
Mateer would stay in for two more drives to start the second half, hitting Hudson for a 59-yard gain on a pop pass off a jet sweep motion, with running back Djouvensky Schlenbaker rushing for an 11-yard touchdown on the next play to cap the first drive. On his final drive, Mateer was again able to hit Williams, this time for a 59-yard touchdown strike to cap his day.
Mateer would exit in the third quarter with the Cougs up 63-17. In his first career start, he posted 352 passing yards and five touchdowns on just 17 attempts, also rushing twice for 55 yards and a touchdown.
“I actually woke up before my alarm [this morning],” Mateer said. “I was freakin’ ready to go.”
It was an offensive clinic from the WSU offense, with Williams and Hutson reeling in four catches for 141 and 101 yards respectively, and tight end Trey Leckner getting his first career touchdown catch from backup QB Zevi Eckhaus on a 33-yard catch and run.
The Cougs scored 70 points for the first time since 1997, and the ground game allowed that. WSU averaged 8.3 yards per carry as a team, compared to the 3.0 they averaged in 2023, with three Cougar backs averaging over five yards a carry Saturday.
“When you can run the ball, it’s going to open up lanes for the RPO (run-pass option) game,” Dickert said. “The offensive guys did a tremendous job, I mean everyone ate today.”
Defensively, despite highlight plays like Hall’s pick-six and a sack by defensive tackle Khalil Laufau, they did allow 30 points to an FCS team, in large part due to the 215 yards PSU gained on the ground. The main adjustment is to limit explosive plays, Dickert said, and it starts by winning the line of scrimmage.
“I don’t think we were aggressive enough at the line of scrimmage, and it’ll always start there. There’s some communication issues and some tackling issues,” Dickert said. “Just physicality. I thought we would be more disruptive going into this game. The second level fits, the third-level coverage. You love to see the coverage, go, go get [the ball].”
Despite an offensive onslaught, Mateer pointed out working on staying consistent, especially with a Big 12 opponent in Texas Tech coming to town next week.
The moral of the story is, the Cougs are 1-0, and off to a great start in 2024, but with multiple heavyweight opponents on the horizon, they are still hungry to improve.
“Here’s what I know about this squad, They’re gonna come back to practice with their hair on fire and ready to go,” Dickert said.
