No. 19 Cougars travel to New Mexico

PULLMAN — After taking down Utah State 49-28 at home last weekend, the No. 19 Washington State Cougars will travel to Albuquerque to take on the New Mexico State Lobos, a team that has won four of its last six games after an 0-4 start to the season. 

“This is a team on the rise, I would say there is no doubt about it,” Head Coach Jake Dickert said at a press conference Monday. “Coach (Bronco) Mendenhall is well-respected not just by me, but in our profession ... you can see that he’s building something. When you build something, it takes a little while to see the fruits of your labor. Those early games were setting the foundation.” 

WSU ran for 303 yards against the Aggies last Saturday, two more yards than their previous season-high against Texas Tech on Sept. 7. Running back Wayshawn Parker led the way with 149 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries, including a 75-yard run to open the second half. 

“A lot of positive things to take there – nine games are over, and we’re on to the next one,” Dickert said.  

Up next for the Cougars are the New Mexico Lobos, who have turned the season around after an 0-4 start; after defeating New Mexico State 50-40 on Sept. 28, the Lobos have won over Air Force (52-37), Utah State (50-45) and San Diego State (21-16) last week. During that stretch, New Mexico suffered losses to Colorado State (17-6) and Wyoming (49-45). 

The Lobos are second in the Mountain West with an average 479.8 yards of total offense per game and third in points per game with 33.4. Under center for New Mexico is quarterback Devon Dampier, who has thrown for 2,418 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on top of leading the team in rushing with 872 yards and 13 touchdowns. 

“The quarterback is a problem – he has more yards from scrimmage than John (Mateer) does,” Dickert said. “Hopefully that wakes everybody up; he’s real. He’s shorter, he’s super-fast. He has one of the highest explosive play rates in the country.” 

New Mexico has had its fair share of allowing scores this season, allowing just over 38 points per game, but the Lobos have also held Colorado State to 17 points and San Diego State to 16 points this season; Dickert noted the Lobos have had a defensive turnaround after making a change to their alignment. 

“They started this 4-2-5 train to start and it didn’t go very well, and they went back to the 3-3; I feel like it fits their personnel, their schematics,” Dickert said at a press conference Wednesday. “... They’ve been really good against the spread (offense)." 

Kickoff between the Cougars (8-1) and Lobos (4-6) is Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. 

“They want to play for a bowl game – they know what’s on the line, and we know what’s on the line,” Dickert said. “It’s going to be a hell of a game down there.” 

Regional College Football Action 

Central Washington (7-3, 6-2 LSC) vs Western Oregon (6-4, 6-2 LSC)  

Having defeated Sul Ross State 66-0 last week, the Central Washington Wildcats play host Western Oregon on Saturday afternoon, wrapping up the regular season with a home matchup.  

Central scored 35 points in the first quarter against Sul Ross State last week, including opening the game with an 83-yard touchdown catch by Marcus Cook.  

The Wolves lost 38-16 to Angelo State last week, who defeated the Wildcats 17-16 two weeks ago. Kickoff between Western Oregon and Central Washington is at 1 p.m. in Ellensburg. 

Eastern Washington (3-7, 2-4 Big Sky) vs Idaho State (5-5, 3-3 Big Sky) 

Eastern got back in the win column with last week’s 43-15 road win over Northern Colorado, snapping a three-game losing streak for the Eagles. Quarterback Kekoa Visperas threw for 179 yards, three touchdowns and an interception while completing 13 of 20 passes in the win over the Bears, while running back Malik Dotson rushed for 125 yards on 17 carries. 

Idaho State defeated Weber State 43-35 last week to even both their overall and conference records this season.  

The last time the Bengals and Eagles met, Idaho State overcame a 31-14 halftime deficit to come back and defeat Eastern 42-31 last season. EWU holds a 30-10 record against Idaho State. 

Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Saturday. 

    New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier drops back to pass during a game against Utah State on Oct. 19. Dampier leads the Lobos in rushing, with 872 yards and 13 touchdowns.
  

    After defeating Northern Colorado last week, the Eastern Washington Eagles will host Idaho State in a Big Sky matchup Saturday.