Between two road games and a bye week, it had been nearly a full month since the Cougars beat San Jose State in their dramatic overtime win in Pullman. Wazzu returned to a packed stadium full of loyal fans and alumni on homecoming weekend, ready to welcome home the 5-1 Cougars for their matchup with the 2-4 Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors.
The Cougs returned the favor to their fans, winning by a resounding 42-10 final score, and punching their ticket to a bowl game after failing to do so a year ago.
Hawai’i won the coin toss and deferred, giving the Cougs the ball to start the game. The offense was slow to start, and even a 17-yard gain on third-and-16 was not enough to earn the Cougs points. They went 44 yards in 12 plays but failed to convert a fourth-and-two.
The Cougars trusted their defense to hold their own against the Rainbow Warriors’ offense based off their decision to gamble early on. The defense held their own and although Hawai’i ran the ball well and moved the ball 56 yards down the field, they had to settle for a field goal after quarterback Brayden Schager was sacked on third down.
Hawai’i’s early 3-0 lead was its only lead of the afternoon. WSU got the ball back and immediately moved down the field with ease. Facing third-and-seven, quarterback John Mateer found wide receiver Kris Hutson for a 12-yard strike. That was followed by three first downs in a row, and on the sixth play of the drive, Mateer found WR Carlos Hernandez for his first collegiate touchdown grab.
Hernandez, who missed the first five games of the season with an injury, went on to have the best game of his Wazzu career so far, finishing the game with four receptions for 55 yards.
“I’m really proud of him,” Mateer said.
After falling behind, Schager and the Rainbow Warriors’ offense moved the ball quickly, completing four first downs in a row and moving into the red zone with ease. The Cougars once again played bend-don’t-break defense and forced a fourth down. Hawai’i attempted another field foal, but this time kicker Kansei Matsuzawa’s attempt was no good.
WSU punted the ball back to Hawai’i, which continued to play with urgency. Their fast-paced attack got the best of them on a third-and-ten play. Schager found WR Nick Cenacle for a first down, but Cenacle, in an attempt to gain a few extra yards, was hit by WSU cornerback Jamorri Colson, forcing a fumble. Nickel corner Kapena Gushikan recovered, and the Cougs regained possession.
The offense came out of the gate hot, with Mateer taking a deep shot to WR Kyle Williams for 35 yards. Two plays later on second-and-goal, he fired a bullet to tight end Cooper Mathers for a nine-yard touchdown, giving the Cougars a 14-3 lead.
The Cougar defense was not done making plays. They came up huge again the next drive, as Buddah Al-Uqdah picked off Schager at midfield setting up the Cougs to take advantage of another short field.
Mateer again went for the deep shot on the first play after the turnover, and again it was a success, this time finding WR Josh Meredith for a 23-yard gain. A few plays later, he found Hutson for a nine-yard touchdown on a shuffle pass, and the Cougs extended their lead to 21-3, which they carried into the half.
Hawai’i came out of halftime with new energy, moving the ball 75 yards in seven plays, with Schager capping off the drive with a touchdown pass to Tylan Hines. For a minute, it looked like the Cougars would be in for a more difficult battle the rest of the way.
It was smooth surfing from there for the Cougs. They began to lean on the run game, putting together a 13-play scoring drive. Mateer connected with Mathers for the catch of the drive, a 27-yard completion to move the Cougs into the red zone. For Mathers, who had four receptions for 53 yards on the day, it marked his first non-touchdown reception of the season.
A few plays later, Mateer took it himself for an eight-yard touchdown rush to extend the lead. The Cougs got the ball back quickly again after Parker McKenna sacked Schager, forcing a fumble. For the second straight offensive series Mateer ran it in, this time for 14 yards. His second rushing touchdown of the day put the Cougs up 35-10.
Hawaii’s next play ended at midfield with a turnover on downs, as the Rainbow Warriors, down by four scores in the fourth quarter, needed to find momentum. Mateer found Hutson for a 33-yard gain, which set up the Cougs sixth touchdown of the day. This time it was running back Leo Pulalasi.
After another punt from Hawai’i, the Cougs brought out the second-team offense, including redshirt freshman Jaxon Potter at QB. Potter completed both of his throws for 26 yards and the Cougs held onto the ball for the final five minutes, running the clock down to win the game 42-10.
WSU’s win makes them bowl-eligible, and will likely earn them recognition on some AP top 25 ballots. WSU received the 30th most votes after their win over Fresno State, but with the 24th, 27th, 28th and 29th schools all losing, the Cougars are primed to make a leap.
“It means a lot for the season,” said head coach Jake Dickert. “But every man in there is not satisfied…We have big goals.”
Dickert offered praise of Mateer, who completed 23-of-27 throws for 205 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 45 yards and two scores.
“He was in control…we kind of narrowed down the menu a bit to things he’s really confident in,” Dickert said.
Mateer, meanwhile, focused his praises on his teammates.
“I don’t score those two touchdowns if Kris Hutson doesn’t block,” Mateer said.
Hutson, who also led the team with 90 yards and seven receptions, affected the game in more ways than one.
Although the Cougs struggled initially to run the ball, they finished with 123 yards on the ground. RB Djouvensky Schlenbaker led the way with 48 yards on eight carries.
“When we can run the ball we’re dangerous on offense,” Dickert said.
He admitted the run game still has work to do, but felt good about it during the second half. Mateer highlighted the team’s success with RPOs (run-pass options), as he felt they should be counted as rushing stats.
“I was taking a lot of RPOs, we got 170 yards from RPOs,” Mateer said.
The win sets the Cougars up in good position for the final five games on their schedule. They next travel to San Diego State University, where they duel the Aztecs at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 24 in a future Pac-12 preview.
