Three weeks ago, WSU had realistic College Football Playoff hopes. Now, Cougar Nation is in a similar place as a year ago.
The now 8-4 Cougs lost to the now 3-9 Wyoming Cowboys Saturday night on Senior night, capping a three-game losing streak to sub .500 opponents to end the 2024 regular season.
WSU was previously undefeated at home this season, and went into the losing streak 8-1, considering Playoff scenarios. The night was defined by a 14-point effort by a Cougar offense averaging 50.5 points per game at home.
The losses to both New Mexico and Oregon State were ugly but on the road. Saturday night those road woes crept onto Gesa Field to tarnish the Cougars’ celebration of their 17 seniors.
“We found ways to lose a game, not win a game,” said WSU head coach Jake Dickert.
The game started chalky, with WSU jumping out to a 14-3 lead thanks to two touchdowns by quarterback John Mateer, one passing, one rushing. WSU would not score again after the 9:42 mark of the second quarter.
The WSU defense that had allowed 38 and 41 in the last two losses stepped up in the offense’s place, holding the Wyoming offense to three field goals into the fourth quarter and coming up with three fumbles and an interception.
“The big thing to learn is even though we were holding them to field goals, even field goals sometimes aren’t enough. You really gotta keep it to zero points. Even three sometimes is too much,” said WSU senior linebacker Kyle Thornton.
With 3:38 left in the game, WSU punted for the fifth time in the game. Wyoming and QB Evan Svoboda would manufacture a 14-play, 90-yard drive to score a go-ahead touchdown and take a 15-14 lead with 24 seconds remaining.
For the third straight week, Mateer and the Cougs had the ball and were down with less than 30 seconds left, trying to manufacture magic. For the third straight week, they came up empty.
On the first play of the drive, Mateer appeared to hit senior wide receiver Kyle Williams for a long pass. After review, the play was called back due to Williams’ foot being out of bounds prior to gaining possession.
Set back on second down from their 25 with 17 seconds, Mateer would get called for intentional grounding, losing the down and four yards. The final Wazzu play came with 10 seconds left as Mateer tried to throw deep but was intercepted by Wyoming’s Tyrecus Davis to cap the Cougar loss.
The Cougs were outscored 9-0 in the second half, ending their six drives with four punts, a turnover on downs and an interception. Overall, Wazzu was out-gained 340-285, being out-rushed and out-gained through the air.
Wyoming possessed the ball for 34:14 to WSU’s 25:46, dominating the possession battle. The biggest struggle for the Cougs was on conversion downs. Wazzu went 1-10 on third down and 0-2 on fourth, while Wyoming went 7-17 in total.
Individually, Cowboy running back Harrison Waylee did the most damage, with 72 rushing yards on 12 carries for an average of 5.8 yards per carry. Wyoming wide receiver John Michael Gyllenborg led the way receiving with four catches for 61 yards, including the 29-yard go-ahead touchdown grab.
Mateer, who came into the game leading NCAA Division I with 42 total touchdowns, threw for 182 yards and a touchdown and ran for 56 yards and a touchdown. However, he also lost a fumble and threw the game-sealing interception.
“I get the ball every play. So you can make excuses here and there, but I think I should have done a better job in different situations and getting us in first downs and positive yards. I didn’t do that,” Mateer said.
WSU averaged just 3.1 yards per carry as a team. The only from the mid-second quarter on, nothing worked offensively for Wazzu.
“Analytically, [Wyoming] wasn’t a very good defense coming in. But they’re extremely good on third down,” Dickert said.
It was a less-than-ideal finish to a season that started with wins over Texas Tech and Washington and had the Cougs ranked as high as 18, square in the CFP picture.
WSU is now 2-6 in November the last two seasons and went 0-4 in October last season. The Cougs have crumbled at the end of each of the last two seasons, but in 2024, the losses came at the hands of lesser competition.
“We’ll evaluate it as the season goes. Everything is different. Last year, three October losses were to ranked teams,” Dickert said.
Now heading into bowl season, uncertainty peeks around the corner. Before the Cougs bowl game two years ago, Dickert faced a mass annex of his roster to the transfer portal or choosing to opt-out.
WSU now faces question marks surrounding who and when it will play in a bowl game, decisions regarding the coaching staff and the potential of a repeat of two years ago with the players.
For the second straight year, WSU fell apart after a strong start to the season. A year ago the Cougs still managed to dominate Colorado on Senior Night at home, before losing a tight Apple Cup. This season, the Cougs are bowl-eligible but ended the regular season with an even worse taste in their mouth.
Despite the rough finish, Dickert’s postgame message was about more than just football.
“I told them I love them. I could’ve went in there and chewed their ass, but it wasn’t the time. There will be a time for that, but I love these kids. They’ve given us everything they have, these 17 seniors are important to me, and it is a wake-up call to the young guys,” Dickert said. Winning isn’t easy. I don’t care who you play, where you play, I don’t care the other team’s record. You have to come to win, and we didn’t do that tonight.”
The disappointment of the 2024 seasons resides with everyone in Cougar Nation, from coaches and players to the fans.
“I’m disappointed with you. You can be upset with me and point it at me. I’m the head coach, I gotta be better. I’ll own that. But these kids don’t quit. These kids give Cougs everything they have. This place means a lot to them. Unfortunately, we’re not where we wanna be, we’re still building a program. These kids we’re gonna sign on Wednesday need to realize that. There are no shortcuts to success, none. We gotta do it the hard way. We gotta be better at practice, we gotta be better coaches, we gotta be better teachers, we gotta put our guys in a better position to win and that starts with me,” Dickert said.
Wazzu has already dealt with the issue of next season’s schedule, and the Pac-12 is nearly rebuilt, but the uncertainty seems to only be beginning with several things set to unravel in the weeks to follow a crushing loss to Wyoming. Every step from now on will be crucial in deciding the future of WSU football.
