WSU Cougars take three-game win streak into bye

PULLMAN – Riding a three-game winning streak, the No. 22 Washington State Cougars will have their second bye week of the season in Week 10. 

WSU is coming off a come-from-behind win over San Diego State, defeating the Aztecs 29-26 after trailing by 12 early in the fourth quarter. 

“Proud of the win – found another way to win in the fourth quarter, obviously it’s been a big point of emphasis this season,” WSU Head Coach Jake Dickert said at a press conference Monday. “We’ve just got to do more things to win and have that urgency for four quarters.” 

Following a 26-yard touchdown catch by Cooper Mathers on WSU’s opening drive, the Cougars led the game until midway through the third quarter, where SDSU took a 19-14 lead on a 27-yard touchdown pass. The Aztecs extended the lead on their next offensive drive, scoring on an 18-yard touchdown pass to go up 26-14. 

WSU quickly marched down the field on a four-play, 80-yard scoring drive capped with a 34-yard touchdown grab by receiver Carlos Hernandez. Cougar linebacker Taariq Al-Uqdah intercepted a pass on San Diego State’s next drive, setting up another scoring drive where quarterback John Mateer gave WSU the lead back on a two-yard run. 

The Cougar defense forced another stop, while the offense was able to run down the clock to secure the comeback win. 

“We did losing things at times, but at the end of the day, our guys found a way to (win) and I’m proud of them for it,” Dickert said.  

This is WSU’s second bye week of the season; the previous week off came in Week 6 following the loss to Boise State. Since that loss, the Cougars have defeated Fresno State 25-17, Hawaii 42-10 and now SDSU. The Cougars are now 7-1 this season and ranked No. 22 in the AP Top 25. 

“To break through in the middle of October and have some success is huge,” Dickert said. “We took a team meeting (Tuesday) and pressed pause to look at the big picture for a second because I think it’s good to create a vision and really drive home the purpose of what we’re doing. We have a chance to have a special season and make some lifelong memories for this football team.” 

The closeness of WSU’s wins this season hasn’t been a concern, defensive lineman Ansel Din-Mbuh said.  

“We could beat a team 70-0, we could beat a team 29-26 – it's still going to say 1-0,” Din-Mbuh said. 

Defensive communication was the focus during WSU’s Week 6 bye – Dickert said with those issues persisting, it comes down to decisions on the staff. The head coach also said the Cougars will focus on “playing incredibly fast” over the upcoming four-game stretch. 

“This late in the season, in the bye after eight games, you know what our team is, and if we haven’t gotten it corrected by now, we’re going to have to make a personnel change or a schematic (change),” Dickert said.  

Following the bye, WSU will host Utah State on Nov. 9. 

“Different schedule for us, but we’re going to attack it with the same mindset,” Fa’amoe said. “Same plan’s been working, so I don’t see the need to change anything.” 

Finishing the regular season strong will rely on the Cougars keeping an aggressive mindset, Dickert said. 

“We are now the hunted, we are,” Dickert said. “You see people faking punts and kicking onside kicks trying to beat us. In the old Pac-12, we were always the hunter. We’ve still got to keep that hunter mentality and stay aggressive.” 

Regional College Football Action 

Eastern Washington (2-6, 1-3 Big Sky) vs No. 2 Montana State (8-0, 4-0 Big Sky) 

After losing on the road 38-28 against No. 11/12 Idaho, Eastern Washington will take on its fifth consecutive ranked opponent on Saturday, welcoming the No. 2 Montana State Bobcats to Cheney. 

Montana State enters Saturday’s game coming off a bye, having defeated Portland State 44-14 the week prior. After a three-point win against New Mexico in Week 0, the Bobcats have won each of their games by at least 17 points since. 

Eastern has dropped each of the last three matchups against MSU, including last season’s 57-14 loss in Bozeman and 2022’s 38-35 loss in Cheney.  

Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Saturday. 

Central Washington (6-2, 5-1 LSC) at Angelo State (6-2, 6-0 LSC) 

Saturday’s matchup between the Wildcats and Rams has major implications in the Lone Star Conference standings; Central posts a 5-1 mark in conference games this season, while the Rams are unbeaten at 6-0. 

CWU is coming off a 42-21 win over Midwestern State last week, while Angelo State defeated Sul Ross State 57-10 at home.  

Central Washington won last season’s matchup against Angelo State, defeating the Rams 27-24 in Ellensburg. Kickoff of this year’s game is at 4 p.m. Saturday. 

    Eastern Washington welcomes No. 2 Montana State to Cheney on Saturday. The Bobcats have won each of the three previous games against EWU.
  

    Central Washington travels to Angelo State Saturday for a matchup against the 6-2 Rams.