Analysis: In close win over Fresno State, WSU shows its offense has some real work to do

FRESNO, Calif. – John Mateer and Tyson Durant were locker neighbors for Washington State’s latest game, a road test against Fresno State.

The quarterback and safety have developed a solid rapport this fall, and as the Cougars came out of the locker room after halftime in Saturday’s game, Durant encouraged his teammate, wanting to see more from him.

“Keep playing free,” Durant told Mateer. “You’re gonna get that ball back. Our defense is gonna do that for you.”

Durant held up his end of the bargain, his unit getting a go-ahead interception return for a touchdown from redshirt freshman cornerback Ethan O’Connor in the fourth quarter.

But even in WSU’s 25-17 win, it might not be fair to say Mateer and the Cougars’ offense held up theirs.

As the Cougars secured the victory to move to 5-1 for the first time since 2018, their offense wobbled and swayed. Mateer threw his sixth interception of the season, robbing his team of a chance to score before halftime for the second straight game, and he coughed up a fumble earlier . No matter what WSU’s offense did, it could not establish anything resembling rhythm.

For the Cougars, Fresno State always figured to be their toughest game for the remainder of the season, and they’re leaving with a win. They were favored to win, and they’ll likely be favored to win the rest of the six games on their regular-season schedule, potentially paving the way for the kind of special season that many teams across the country would want.

Even so, Washington State cannot expect its defense to bail its offense out the way it did against the Bulldogs, no matter the opponent.

The Cougars spent much of the game trailing because after their opening touchdown, head coach Jake Dickert and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle decided to go for the 2-point conversion with a trick play, which went nowhere.

Mateer completed 17 of 34 passes for 172 yards and one interception, connecting on 50% of his passes or worse for the third time this fall. He looked indecisive, Dickert said, and it’s clear opponents are keying on his running ability and limiting the Cougars’ offense in turn.

At the moment, it looks nothing like the Air Raid approach that has defined decades of Washington State offenses.

There’s nothing particularly consistent about WSU’s offense at all, a concerning trend to surface after six games. The one constant might be Mateer’s turnover issues – he’s thrown an interception in every game except the Cougars’ season-opening win over FCS Portland State – and as this season unfolds, it’s possible this unit is falling into the same trap that damaged last year’s WSU offense: becoming one-dimensional.

The Cougs’ offensive line, which seems to have settled on a starting five that includes left guard Christian Hilborn, often gave Mateer plenty of time to throw. He took four sacks, including two on back-to-back occasions in the fourth quarter, but his pockets were much cleaner on Saturday than they were two weeks ago in WSU’s loss to Boise State.

That was partially because the Bulldogs dropped more defenders in coverage, almost daring Mateer to throw the ball downfield. They knew Mateer is a dangerous runner, a sign of respect toward the redshirt sophomore, but they also knew he’s struggled with deep throws. Mateer proved them right with his interception, which he said happened because he didn’t look of Fresno State’s safety.

“Just stared at him and threw it,” Mateer said.

“You gotta learn from it,” Dickert said, “because in a tight ball game swinging one way or another, those are tough situations to handle.”

In some ways, Mateer’s athleticism can be his worst enemy. How many times has he bailed from pockets, avoided defenders, scrambled left, right, back, then somehow burst upfield or found a receiver down the field? He did it in Saturday’s game, eluding pressure, then finding running back Leo Pulalasi, who sprinted for a first down.

But that’s also the same kind of situation that led to a Mateer fumble later in the game. He sensed pressure, evaded a couple of defenders, made a juke – then lost the ball on the move. The Bulldogs couldn’t capitalize on those turnovers – credit the Cougars’ defense in a big way for that – but not every defense will be so forgiving the rest of the season.

“He’s got to be a little bit more decisive when that happens,” Dickert said. “I thought there was a couple throwaway opportunities in tonight’s game. Took a sack instead of just – throw it away. You can’t make all the plays.

“I think early, sometimes you make some of those scramble, run-around plays. You think you can do it every time, and there’s a balance to that. So he’ll see that. But we gotta get more on rhythm on offense.”

To accomplish that might involve a bigger role for true freshman Wayshawn Parker, who capitalized on the only real opportunity he got in Saturday’s game, churning out several big plays late in the fourth quarter when the Cougars were trying to kill the clock. WSU does have a far stronger rushing attack than it did last season, and the Cougars would be wise to capitalize.

The good news for them is their schedule lightens up from here. WSU’s next game is a home matchup with Hawaii in next weekend’s homecoming game. It’s an opportunity for the Cougars to win, and perhaps more important, it’s a chance for them to establish an offense with more rhythm – otherwise the rest of the season might not be the cakewalk it might seem like.

“Some of it’s pressure, some of it’s just being on reads, some of it’s routes,” Dickert said, pointing out some of his offense’s issues. “I mean, it’s everything.

“If it was just one thing, we would just easily fix that. So we gotta look at it. Been going against some pretty good defenses, but it’s our time to start getting back in rhythm and being explosive, and I know we’re capable of doing that.”