Wazzu reclaims Apple Cup with a goal-line stand

SEATTLE — The Cougars needed one more play to etch the 116th Apple Cup in the pinnacle of Washington State football history.

It was only right when seniors Andrew Edson and Kyle Thornton, Cougs for a combined 10 seasons, stuffed Washington’s Jonah Coleman behind the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-goal with a minute left — a play that will be replayed in Pullman for decades.

Sealed by a remarkable fourth-down, goal-line stand and forged by yet another stellar start from WSU quarterback John Mateer, the Cougars (3-0) beat the Washington Huskies (2-1) in the 116th Apple Cup, 24-19 on Saturday at Lumen Field in Seattle.

One play to win it all

The Cougs led by five and the Huskies had the ball on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line with 1:12 left in the game.

UW quarterback Will Rogers took a shotgun snap and shovel passed to Coleman, who was greeted by a crusade of Cougars, led by Edson and Thornton who knocked him out of bounds.

“I can’t tell you how much this win means to me,” said Edson, who attended Mt. Si High School 30 miles away from Lumen Field. “I haven’t felt like this since the last time we beat them in ‘21.”

That fourth down would not have been possible if cornerback and team captain Steve Hall had not made, perhaps the most masterful play of his career, staying in lockstep with UW receiver Denzel Boston to knock Rogers’ pass away.

“I wasn’t surprised. He does it all the time to me,” Mateer said. “He’s a very good ball player, and y’all are gonna find out over and over and over.”

The WSU defense was tested by UW coach Jedd Fisch and offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll’s pro style offense. Rogers completed 23-of-41 passes for 314 yards, finding wideout Giles Jackson for a 31-yard TD reception. Other than the Huskies first quarter TD, the Cougs kept UW out of the end zone and forced three three-and-outs.

“Those are two staple guys that you know exactly what you’re going to get,” Dickert said. “Just hell of a job by both those guys.”

Mateer vs. Big Ten

Mateer has done nothing but turn heads since his first start two weeks ago in Pullman. From a 352-yard, six-TD performance versus Portland State to nearly 200 yards rushing versus Texas Tech — a WSU QB record — Mateer swiftly won the hearts of the Cougar faithful, fans of late night college football and after today, perhaps the whole nation.

After a pair of triumphant touchdown runs and a 245-yard passing performance to cement himself in the exclusive club of Cougar QBs to defeat the purple school from the west side of the state, Mateer is emphatically on another level of legendary, just three starts into his career.

Mateer did not just come out of nowhere though. He has been a Coug since 2022, practicing with the No. 2 offense and developing a connection with wide receiver Josh Meredith, who in his fourth year as a Coug, doubled his career production with a 111-yard day on seven catches with one TD.

Meredith said the Cougars’ game plan for the Huskies prioritized the middle of the field, especially with the Huskies’ preferring man coverage for the majority of the game.

“We knew what we were gonna see,” Meredith said. “You don’t man a team like us. So we just took advantage of it.”

After two straight weeks of three-and-outs, Mateer and the WSU offense started fast. The Cougar QB completed 4-of-6 passes for 62 yards on the opening drive, finding his two-year teammate Meredith three times for 47 yards.

In the fourth quarter, Mateer found Meredith at the 9-yard line, setting up the fourth-year Coug to sway through the Dawgs’ defense and dive into end zone, putting the Cougars up 24-16.

“Me and Josh (Meredith) been working together since I got here,” Mateer said. I don’t know why today was the day, but that’s how it is for a lot of these guys. Like (how) we got Kyle (Williams) and Kris (Hutson) on the outside, and any day could be their day. But today, Josh was getting open, and I was much better throwing on the run, and we’re getting protection, and I was able to just connect with him. He’s a good ball player.”

While he made some big time throws, Mateer made his money on the ground, racking up 62 yards on 16 carries, including two 20-plus-yard rushing TDs.

Pass-catchers Williams, Tony Freeman and Meredith provided critical blocks to keep the Huskies leashed and Mateer on his feet.

Through three games, Mateer has 314 rushing yards on 39 attempts.

A place in history

WSU won an Apple Cup rich with storylines and stakes, despite, and directly because of the game’s unprecedented September date.

The 116th Apple Cup was the first in over 60 years in which WSU and UW were not members of the same conference, after UW followed USC, UCLA and Oregon to the Big Ten, leaving WSU and Oregon State to fend for themselves in the Pac-12.

With the game a nonconference contest, the two schools agreed on a Week 3 date and a neutral site, held in the Seattle Seahawks’ NFL stadium, with the two schools splitting the ticket revenue. The schools agreed to return to the campuses for the next four years, starting with Gesa Field in Pullman in 2025.

WSU and OSU gained some clarity as to what their future may hold when the Pac-12 announced the addition of four Mountain West schools Thursday morning.

Whether due to human nature to procrastinate or a measured rise in excitement, the game was about 10,000 short of a sellout.

As of Monday, only 35,000 tickets had been sold. By the time the Cougs and Huskies met on the gridiron, a whopping 57,567 people were rocking Lumen Field. The school right down the road had a clear majority, but a massive showing of crimson decked about half of the stadium, and made plenty of noise when the Dawgs had the ball.

Dickert beat the Huskies in Seattle as interim head coach in 2021 and was named the full-time coach the next day. After two straight Apple Cup losses in which the Cougs fell just short, Dickert’s squad finally delivered amid the most unusual of circumstances.

Dickert shared what team captain Nusi Malani told the team during Friday’s team meeting.

“We’re not going to beat this team because we hate these guys. Want to beat these team because we love each other,” Dickert said. “And that’s exactly what you saw in the fourth quarter. These guys never flinched. They kept swinging. Most importantly, they believed in each other. So just a hell of a win.”

Washington State 24, Washington 19

First Quarter

WSU: FG D.Janikowski 44, 8:58.

WASH: G.Jackson 31 pass from Rogers (Gross kick), 7:16.

WSU: Mateer 23 run (D.Janikowski kick), 4:16.

Second Quarter

WASH: FG Gross 44, 14:56.

WASH: FG Gross 42, 9:10.

WSU: Mateer 25 run (D.Janikowski kick), :21.

Third Quarter

WASH: FG Gross 24, 9:47.

WSU: Meredith 16 pass from Mateer (D.Janikowski kick), 5:54.

WASH: FG Gross 43, :00.

A: 57,567.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Washington St., Mateer 16-62, Parker 10-49, Hutson 1-22, Pulalasi 1-4, Schlenbaker 1-2, (Team) 1-(minus 3). Washington, Coleman 14-75, C.Davis 5-24, D.Williams 3-22, Mohammed 3-16, Rogers 6-(minus 11).

PASSING: Washington St., Mateer 17-34-1-245. Washington, Rogers 23-31-0-314, D.Williams 3-4-0-12.

RECEIVING: Washington St., Meredith 7-111, Hutson 4-50, Ky.Williams 3-22, Freeman 2-46, Parker 1-16. Washington, G.Jackson 8-162, Boston 8-58, Coleman 3-17, Latu 2-32, Hunter 2-21, DeGraaf 1-21, R.Williams 1-8, Reynolds 1-7.

MISSED FIELD GOALS: Washington St., D.Janikowski 26.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.