WA COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Cougars travel to San Diego State Saturday

PULLMAN – Winners of two straight games, the Washington State Cougars are preparing for yet another trip to The Golden State, taking on the San Diego State Aztecs Friday night on the road.  

WSU’s most recent win came last Saturday at home against Hawaii, winning 42-10. 

“We’ve accepted it; we won, we washed it and we’re on to a really good football team that’s had two weeks to prepare for us,” WSU Head Coach Jake Dickert said at a press conference Monday. “The challenge is real. Going on the road and beating anybody in college football is hard to do.” 

SDSU (3-3) is coming off a bye, having won each of its previous two games before being off last week; the Aztecs defeated Hawaii on Oct. 5 and Wyoming on Oct. 12, both by scores of 27-24. 

Aztec edge Trey White is tied for the lead for the most sacks in the country, taking down opposing quarterbacks 11 times through SDSU’s first six games. As a unit, the San Diego State defense has posted 25 sacks this season, tied for the third-most in the country. 

“They allow those guys to get off the ball a lot,” Dickert said. “They’re a little bit pass rush first, react to the run at times, especially against offenses like ours. I think schematically on third down they’re great.” 

Dickert noted that the Aztecs bring a variety of options on the offensive side of the ball; running back Marquez Cooper has rushed for 670 yards and six touchdowns on 151 carries this season. 

“It’s very challenging, schematically,” Dickert said. “You’ve got to stop the run ... they’ve got good space receivers to get the ball to, I think their offensive line is getting better and better. It’s a unique challenge schematically of where you’re going to fit your extra numbers and how they scheme to have an answer every time you do it.” 

In the win over Hawaii, WSU quarterback John Mateer completed 23-of-27 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns while adding another two touchdowns and 34 yards on the ground.  

“I think he was just confident in the week of practice that he had,” WSU Offensive Coordinator Ben Arbuckle said at a press conference Wednesday. “Trusting his footwork, his eyes and that his guys were going to be in the right place at the right time and all he had to do was deliver the ball. He did a really great job of that all week and a great job in the game.” 

The win over the Rainbow Warriors also gave the Cougars their sixth win of the season, making them bowl-eligible. 

“It’s huge, we get a few more weeks to be a team,” WSU edge Syrus Webster said at a press conference Tuesday. “That’s the biggest thing – you don’t take these days, these weeks, these months lightly. To get more opportunities to be together as one and to be a team is a blessing.” 

Kickoff between the Cougars and Aztecs is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. 

Regional College Football Action

Eastern Washington (2-5, 1-2 Big Sky) at Idaho (5-3, 2-2 Big Sky) 

The Eagles are coming off a loss to No. 6 UC Davis last week, and now make the short trip to Moscow, Idaho for a bout with the No. 11/12 Vandals.  

Idaho won the previous matchup of these two teams, defeating Eastern 44-36 in Cheney last season.  

Kickoff between the Eagles and Vandals is at 6 p.m. Saturday. 

Central Washington (5-2, 4-1 LSC) vs Midwestern State (3-4, 2-3 LSC) 

The Wildcats continue conference play on Saturday with a matchup against the Midwestern State Mustangs, who are coming off a 44-7 loss to Angelo State last week. On the other hand, CWU defeated Texas A&M-Kingsville 31-0 on the road last week. 

Last season’s game between the Wildcats and Mustangs ended with a 10-7 win for Central; the Wildcats scored on a touchdown catch by Darius Morrison in the third quarter to take a lead, holding on for the win. 

Kickoff is at 6 p.m. Saturday in Ellensburg. 

    Central Washington hosts Midwestern State at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Wildcats enter Saturday’s game at 5-2 this season and 4-1 in the Lone Star Conference.