WSU’s Cougars return home to face Hawaii

PULLMAN — With last week's 25-17 road win over Fresno State, the Washington State Cougars sit at 5-1 at the midway point of the 2024 season, with the Cougars now set to welcome Hawaii to Pullman on Saturday. 

“It’s a great team win,” WSU Head Coach Jake Dickert said of the win over the Bulldogs. “We’ve won a lot of close games; we are really battle-tested as a team.” 

While Washington State was able to hold on for the win against Fresno State, the Cougars were held to a season-low in total yards on Saturday, amassing a total of 295 – their previous season-low came in the Apple Cup against Washington, where they had 381 yards.  

Quarterback John Mateer completed 17-of-35 passes for 172 yards with no passing touchdowns and an interception. Mateer ran for 46 yards and a score on 18 carries, also losing a fumble.  

There’s a lot that goes into running an offense beyond just quarterback play, Dickert said Monday. 

“Good quarterback play is good offensive play, it’s good together play, it’s team play,” Dickert said. “There’s things that’ we’ve all got to do to help the quarterback, and John owns when he misses or when he makes a bad play. It was just one thing or another, we weren’t all in sync all 11 (players) as an offense. We found a way to win a game; I think that says a lot about a mature team.” 

Tight end Cooper Mathers noted the team’s execution on Saturday against the Bulldogs. 

“It’s really just executing,” Mathers said at a press conference Tuesday. “Comes down to it, just little things. Watching the film from last week, little things were the difference between a big play versus a five-yard play, versus a drop or bad throw. Small things causing us not to execute, which we’ve got to fix and do better.” 

Now, the Cougars are preparing a Hawaii defense that has allowed 332.8 yards per game and 20.5 points per game, among the best marks in the Mountain West besides the 2-4 start to the season for the Rainbow Warriors. 

“It’s one of those things where it’s a maturity test; you can look at the record, or you can look at the film – what do you want to do?” Dickert said. “Defensively, really every step of the way, they’ve been on it. They’ve been fast, they’ve been aggressive. They’re a little bit undersized, but their team speed is above average. And I think they play physical.” 

Over their past two games, the Cougars have allowed a 100-plus yard rusher against Boise State (Ashton Jeanty, 259 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries) and Fresno State (Elijah Gilliam, 120 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.) WSU has also allowed at least 116 yards rushing in every game this season. 

A lot goes into stopping the run of an opposing offense. 

“Keeping our gap integrity – if we know we have a gap, then (don’t) try to do more than you have to,” defensive back Kapena Gushiken said at a press conference Tuesday. “Just do your job.” 

“Never assuming that someone’s down, I think that’s something that we harped on big after the Boise State game,” linebacker Keith Brown said at a press conference Tuesday. “Never assume it, because sometimes you see a guy wrapped up and you say, ‘He’s going to get tackled.’ That’s not always the case.” 

A win on Saturday would secure bowl eligibility for the Cougars this season. Kickoff between WSU and Hawaii is at 12:30 p.m. 

“You’ve got to make sure you’re boiling it down to every minute detail and keep working the process,” Dickert said. “Sometimes you get halfway through a season, and you’ve got 120 guys – you've got guys that are all 100% bought in and focused, and you’ve got scout team guys and homesick guys and guys that are worried about their econ test. Every moment you walk in this building, be present with that you’re doing and be attentive with that work. I think that’s what leads to a lot of success.” 

Regional College Football Action 

Eastern Washington (2-4, 1-1 Big Sky) vs No. 6 UC Davis (6-1, 3-0 Big Sky) 

Fresh off an upset win over Sacramento State on the road last week, the Eagles come back to Cheney to match up against yet another ranked opponent, taking on the UC Davis Aggies. 

UC Davis's last outing was a 56-10 win at home against Cal Poly; the Aggies have won six straight games since their season-opening loss on the road against California.  

Eastern has never lost to UC Davis, holding an 11-0 record over the Aggies. The Eagles won 27-24 when they met last season in Davis, California. 

Kickoff is at 4 p.m. Saturday. 

Central Washington (4-2, 3-1 LSC) at Texas A&M-Kingsville (4-2, 3-1 LSC) 

After taking their first conference loss of the season last week in a 14-13 loss to UT Permian Basin, the Wildcats are looking to get back into the win column with a road trip to Texas to face the Javelinas. 

Central won last season’s matchup against TAMUK, winning 21-17 off a late touchdown run by Kennedy McGill. The Wildcats mounted a 10-points comeback in the fourth quarter. 

Kickoff is at 5 p.m. Saturday. 

    Coming off an upset over Sacramento State, Eastern Washington returns to Cheney to No. 6 UC Davis on Saturday.