Recap and Highlights: Washington State stuffs Washington on the goal line to win Apple Cup 24-19
SEATTLE — The play that will go down in Washington State lore, the sequence that earned the Cougars a 24-19 win over rival Washington Saturday afternoon, came from the linebacker who had been on the wrong end of these results enough for his liking.
Senior Kyle Thornton wrapped up UW running back Jonah Coleman on an option play. He held up his fist. His teammates mobbed him. Wherever the Apple Cup trophy was, it needed a new home.
It’s the Cougars’ first Apple Cup win since 2021, which earned head coach Jake Dickert the full-time job a day later. Quarterback John Mateer totaled three touchdowns, two on his feet and one through the air, which went to receiver Josh Meredith late in the third quarter. Mateer completed 17 of 34 passes for 245 yards, one score and one pick, plus 16 carries for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
Washington State, which returns to action Friday at home against San Jose State, had to hang on in the end. The big play unlocked the Huskies’ final drive. UW QB Will Rogers, who completed 23 of 31 passes for 314 yards and one touchdown, found receiver Giles Jackson for 45 yards, moving to the WSU 29 in the final few minutes.
In the red zone, though, WSU bowed up. Thornton produced the final fourth-down stop.
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Mateer was at his best on his legs for much of the game. In the first frame, he took a quarterback keeper 23 yards into the end zone, eluding a pair of tackles on his gallop to six. To celebrate, he held his arms out to his side, as if to say – who’d have thought?
His second touchdown rush, in the second quarter, came as even more of a shock. On a third-and-20 play, on a design that looked more geared toward giving kicker Dean Janikowski a closer attempt, Mateer worked his magic again. He juked several defenders, cut to the outside and won the race to the pylon, good for another touchdown.
That one gave Washington State a 17-13 lead, countering Washington kicker Grady Gross’ two field goals prior. It was made possible, though, by the Cougars’ defense. Late in the second frame, UW got the ball back with the lead, threatening to add a score — and get the ball back to start the second half.
Instead, WSU’s defense produced a key stop. The Cougs forced a three-and-out, which was critical for the way it kept time on the clock, enough time for Mateer and the WSU offense to march 91 yards in nine plays, punctuated by Mateer’s touchdown rush.
Mateer wasn’t perfect. He threw one interception midway through the fourth quarter, underthrowing receiver Kyle Williams on a deep ball. Moments later, after the Cougs got the ball back, he almost threw another — but after a long review, officials ruled that UW cornerback Ephesians Prysock didn’t complete the catch on his way to the ground.
On several occasions, WSU’s defense forced UW kicker Grady Gross to salvage drives with field goals, but those kept the Huskies in the game. For the game, Gross went 4-for-4 on field goals. His first tied the game at 10-all, his second gave UW a 13-10 lead, his third helped the Huskies draw within 17-16 and with his fourth, Washington clawed back to within 24-19.
Complicating matters for WSU, which was without punter Nick Haberer for the third straight game to open the season, was its problems at kicker. Senior Dean Janikowski opened the game with a 44-yard field goal, but later on, he misfired on a 26-yarder. With that result, he has now made just 3 of his last 9 field goal attempts, dating back to last season.
His 44-yard field goal was his first make from 40-plus yards since WSU’s win over Oregon State last September.
First quarter
15:00 – WSU 0, UW 0: Huskies win the toss and defer to the second half. Cougars will start with the ball. Game time temp of 63 degrees with 8 mph winds.
11:26 – WSU 0, UW 0: Cougars come up with nothing after an impressive opening drive from Mateer. Huskies force a turnover on downs after tackling Parker behind the line at the UW 10.
WSU didn’t have trouble moving the ball though. Mateer is 4 of 6 for 62 yards.
9:49 – WSU 0, UW 0: Cougs defense steps up and forces a 3-and-out. WSU starts at the UW 29 after a 33-yard return from Freeman. Pretty clear late hit out of bounds on the return goes uncalled. WSU with a good start to this one, aside from being stopped on fourth down.
8:58 – WSU 3, UW 0: Janikowski hits a 44-yarder to get WSU on the board. Nothing doing for Mateer on that possession, one short completion and then two incompletions.
7:16 – UW 7, WSU 3: Here come the Huskies. Rogers airs it out for a 31-yard touchdown to Jackson over the top of the WSU defense. Huskies go 75 yards in four plays, all in the pass game with a sequence of screen-jet sweep and two throws over the middle.
4:16 – WSU 10, UW 7: Mateer moves the Cougs right down the field for a touchdown, as he scrambles in 23 yards for the score. WSU QB looking really good early, especially maneuvering in the pocket. He has completed 8 of 12 passes for 95 yards.
Second quarter
14:56 – WSU 10, UW 10: Gross hits a 44-yarder to tie the score. Rogers fumbles a bad snap on third down to stall the drive. Huskies LT Faasolo goes out on the play.
Rogers is 8 of 11 for 112 yards. Huskies just have four carries for 10 yards, haven’t been able to get Coleman going (one carry, 0 yards), who was their offensive leader the first two weeks.
12:29 – WSU 10, UW 10: Janikowski’s punt goes into the endzone and UW takes over on its 25. WSU’s usual punter is out for the third consecutive week; reason unknown.
Pressure got to the Cougars on third down, bringing in extra rushers up the middle and doing a good job of keeping Mateer contained. Cougs got a big play in the run game early in the drive with a 22-yard reverse to Hutson.
9:10 – UW 13, WSU 10: Gross hits a 42-yarder to give the Huskies the lead. UW drive stalls after going 56 yards, mainly on another deep pass over the top of the WSU defense from Rogers to Jackson.
4:36 – UW 13, WSU 10: Janikowski shanks a 26-yarder and the Cougars drive comes up empty after driving deep into UW territory. Mateer had three straight incompletions inside the UW 10.
Huskies gave up multiple penalties on the drive. They have five for 65 yards so far.
2:02 – UW 13, WSU 10: Cougars defense gets a stop and WSU takes over at its 9 with three timeouts and the 2-minute warning left.
0:21 – WSU 17, UW 13: Mateer takes a designed run on 3rd-and-20 for a 25-yard touchdown to give the Cougars the lead before halftime. Huge play by the Coug QB, who has seven carries for 42 yards and 2 TDs. He’s also 12 of 24 for 182 yards passing.
Halftime
Washington State has a 17-13 lead on Washington at halftime thanks to excellent play from quarterback John Mateer and some timely stops from the Cougars defense.
Mateer has completed 12 of 24 attempts for 182 yards and has two rushing touchdowns for 23 and 25 yards, the second coming right before half.
Not much separating the two teams, though. WSU has an edge on total yards 257-231 and time of possession 16:07-13:53. Cougars could be up a touchdown if not for a missed 26-yard field goal.
Washington will receive the second half kickoff.
Third quarter
13:38 – WSU 17, UW 13: Huskies first play is another fumbled snap, followed later by a false start, but the Huskies still move the chains. Now at the UW 36.
9:47 – WSU 17, UW 16: Cougars defense steps up in the redzone, Gross hits a 24-yarder his third field goal of the game.
Huskies go 67 yards in 11 plays, hurt by penalties on the drive.
5:54 – WSU 24, UW 16: Mateer hits Meredith for a 16-yard touchdown to extend WSU’s lead. Meredith is WSU’s leading receiver with six catches for 90 yards.
Cougars got bailed out on a defensive holding penalty after a sack on 3rd-and-18. They then took advantage with a 37-yard run from Parker to spark the 77-yard drive.
0:00 – WSU 24, UW 19: Gross converts from 43 yards, his fourth field goal of the game. Huskies go 50 yards in 12 plays, but the Cougars defense comes up with another big stop. Onto the fourth quarter.
Fourth quarter
12:26 – WSU 24, UW 19: Cougars get one 3rd down conversion, but not two in a row and are forced to punt. The Huskies start at their 22.
10:08 – WSU 24, UW 19: Big sack by Stevenson keys a three-and-out by the WSU defense. Cougars start at their 27 after a penalty for a blindside block. Things getting late here for UW, especially if WSU can come up with points on this drive.
8:14 – WSU 24, UW 19: Mateer underthrows a vertical route down the sideline and its intercepted by Dixon, who runs it to the UW 39. Ill-timed mistake by the Cougars QB, his first of the game.
Cougars were moving the ball with runs from Mateer before the interception, trying to chew some clock. Probably should have kept that going.
6:00 – WSU 24, UW 19: Cougars get another stop, take over on their 12 after a punt. Huskies were lining up to go for it on fourth down in WSU territory, but they were backed up by a false start, their 12th penalty of the game. Cougs can really start to ice it with a few first downs.
3:40 – WSU 24, UW 19: Huskies get the stop they need on an incompletion on 3rd-and-10. UW needs a touchdown and starts at its 31 after a short punt.
Huskies nearly had an interception on the drive, but the call was overturned after the ball hit the ground on the play. Really tough call to determine.
1:07 – WSU 24, UW 19: Cougars get what could be a game-winning stop on the goaline. Huskies waste time in the redzone and come up short. Strange play call to go for a speed option on fourth down. UW still with two timeouts.
0:00 – WSU 24, UW 19: More penalties from UW seal it for the Cougars. Huskies had 16 penalties on the day. Second Apple Cup victory for Jake Dickert, who improves to 2-2 in the game.
Pregame
The year of change in college football has brought forth the feeling of another unusual Saturday.
Today even more for fans of Washington State and Washington, as the Cougars and Huskies are set to kickoff the 116th Apple Cup as nonconference opponents in the third week of the season. The game begins at 12:30 p.m. and will stream exclusively on Peacock.
Follow this thread throughout the game for live updates and highlights.
Series history
The Huskies hold a 76-33-6 all-time lead in the series dating back to 1900. Washington has won the last two meetings since the Cougars won 40-13 in 2021, their largest margin of victory over the Huskies. That was WSU’s first win in the series since 2012.
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