Analysis: With sharp rushing attack in win over Texas Tech, John Mateer and WSU might be transforming before our eyes

PULLMAN — Before the onslaught began, before Washington State started dismantling Texas Tech in a three-score blowout on Saturday night, Jake Dickert recognized the defense his offense would be facing.

For Dickert and WSU fans watching, it probably registered as familiar for all the wrong reasons. The Red Raiders came out in a drop-eight and rush-three defense, the same look that flustered last year’s Cougars, the same scheme that cratered their season. WSU’s opponents acknowledged the blueprint and applied it over and over and over, until the Cougs had dropped six straight and beating them was about as simple as following a recipe in a cookbook.

“I don’t think you can drop eight on us anymore,” WSU quarterback John Mateer said. “We’re just too versatile.”

Mateer and the Cougs drove that point home in spades in this 37-16 win, the program’s third straight over a nonconference power-conference opponent. Washington State totaled 301 rushing yards, including 197 from Mateer alone, the most ever by a WSU QB. It was just the sixth time since 2000 that the Cougs had churned out more than 300 rushing yards in a single game.

In that way, this WSU win looked nothing like any of last year’s victories, unlike any of the Air Raid performances this program is known for. Mateer completed 9 of 19 passes for 115 yards, one interception and one touchdown, which went to senior receiver Kyle Williams on a deflected catch. It’s the fewest pass completions in a WSU win since a 2003 victory over UCLA.

In short: The Cougs were better on the ground than they were through the air. How often does that happen around here?

It was easy to notice. True freshman Wayshawn Parker broke free for a 43-yard touchdown rush, part of his 69-yard outing. Power back Djouvensky Schlenbaker surged in for a pair of scores on his way to 27 yards on the ground. Then there was Mateer, rumbling for big chunks just about whenever he felt like it.

At the heart of the effort was the Cougs’ offensive line, which had a big hand in the rushing struggles that defined last year’s season. By now, we know what went wrong: They couldn’t run-block well enough to sustain a credible rushing attack, which prompted defenses to back off the line of scrimmage and drop into coverage, snowballing into an issue the team didn’t have the horses to solve.

Is that changing with this group? This WSU season is young. After the game, Dickert played it safe, saying it’s only a step in the right direction. But take a look around at these Cougs. Do they look the same?

Their quarterback is a guy who would rather lower his shoulder than slide. Their running back has a gear of speed few can match. Their offensive line has two new faces, left guard Rod Tialavea and center Devin Kylany, with help on the way when right tackle Fa’alili Fa’amoe returns from injury. They have a stable of running backs they trust, too, which can ease the pressure on Parker.

It may be too early in the season to draw any giant conclusions, to declare this WSU team tough enough to kick the bad habits of teams in recent memory. The Cougs will always air it out. That is woven into the fabric of this program, in the halls of the football complex, where the memories of the WSU Hall of Famers who built this program — the late Mike Leach, quarterbacks Drew Bledsoe and Ryan Leaf — live on the walls.

That’s why, for WSU, it isn’t about suddenly turning into an offense that will run all over the place. It’s about turning into an offense that can — and galloping to 300 rushing yards against a Big 12 team isn’t a bad start. 

“I thought we did a good job kinda staying ahead of it,” Dickert said of the drop-eight look. “And then you saw the runs start to rip. Wayshawn had a big one. John obviously had a couple big ones, scrambling around, doing a bunch of different things. We’ll see the film. There’ll be some critique there. We can get better, and we left some out there. But really proud of those guys.”

“I’ve been a Coug fan for awhile,” Kylany said. “I can’t remember the last time we’ve had almost triple rushing yards than we did passing yards.”

The part that shouldn’t go understated is that Mateer has the attention of this WSU team, which has unlocked this version of the Cougs’ offense. During fall camp, when Mateer was battling Bryant transfer Zevi Eckhaus for the starting role, coaches paid close attention to which guy was the more natural leader, which quarterback commanded teammates with more ease, more natural gravity.

In that sense, it’s becoming clear the answer was always Mateer. WSU’s offensive line, Kylany says, operates by a saying: Sacrifice the body, glorify the soul, all in the name of points.

“On the O-line,” Kylany said, “we like to say, sacrifice the body, glorify the soul, all in the name of John Mateer.”

Mateer is the leader Washington State needs, not only for this offense, but for this transitional time in program history. It’s a key reason Dickert selected him for the starting job. He knows the profile the Cougs’ starting quarterback has when he takes the job, all the media attention and spotlight that comes with it, and Mateer was right for the gig.

Two games into his tenure as WSU’s starter, Mateer is making Dickert look like a genius. But it’s not because he’s throwing for a zillion yards or making acrobatic throws. It’s because he’s fostering energy among his teammates, prompting them to give a level of effort that is transforming the idea of what a Washington State offense can look like.

“We’re with him every day, so we get to see how special he is, not just physically but just like with his work ethic and his consistency,” Kylany said. “When you have a leader like that, it takes big pride to want to protect him, and I’m really mad about the 20-yard sack.”

That may have been the only blight on the WSU offensive line’s resume, the way on one occasion that unit freed up Texas Tech rushers to get to Mateer and force him back off the goal line, far enough to bring him back under 200 yards rushing. Mateer was humble enough to accept responsibility, but he was running for his life for a reason.

Those are the kinds of sequences that remind us to pump the brakes a tad, to not get too carried away. WSU looked incredible on the ground, but this was a win over a Texas Tech team one week removed from going toe-to-toe with FCS Abilene Christian, which racked up more than 500 yards passing. That week, the Cougs beat an FCS program picked to finish 10th in its conference.

That’s the thing about good teams, though. They handle business. They do what they’re supposed to. The interesting part about this WSU team is that idea — what they’re supposed to do — might look different than it ever has.

“You stop dropping eight, and we’ll start throwing it around,” Mateer said. “I’m very confident in this offense.”