Cougars ran out of magic, but the story is not over

Following Washington State’s 12-point fourth-quarter comeback to beat San Diego State on Oct. 26 in San Diego, I wrote that, “Wazzu ‘reverse Coug’d it’ as it has done all year.”

Deep in my soul, I knew there was a chance that WSU’s tight-rope walk wouldn’t last and that I would have to write the “reverse” of that column and say that Wazzu did something that starts with a “Coug” and ends with an “it.”

The dreaded day transpired on Saturday when the Cougars conceded a 14-point halftime lead, regained a four-point fourth-quarter advantage on John Mateer’s third touchdown pass to Kyle Williams, but allowed New Mexico to get the final score in a 38-35 loss to the Lobos in Albuquerque, N.M.

A bend-don’t-break defense that can’t stop the run can only bend for so long before it breaks and an offense that freezes in the third quarter cannot effectively shut the door.

After San Jose State, Fresno State and San Diego State nearly pulled it off, New Mexico became the first Mountain West team to upset WSU.

The Cougars’ 29-26 win over San Diego State was their third fourth-quarter comeback and the fourth one-score win of the season.

It came on the heels of a 25-17 win over Fresno State on Oct. 12 in Fresno, Calif., when redshirt freshman cornerback Ethan O’Connor’s fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown lifted the Cougars to victory.

Three weeks prior to that, WSU also lost a 14-point lead to San Jose State before going on to win in double overtime on Sept. 20 in Pullman.

The week before that, WSU protected its five-point lead over Washington in an effort capped by team captain Kyle Thornton’s game-sealing tackle on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. WSU beat UW 24-19 to win the Apple Cup on Sept. 14 at Lumen Field in Seattle.

The Cougars were “battle tested” as coach Jake Dickert often said. The players spoke of a different energy among the team this year than there was last year when WSU lost six straight games following a 4-0 start to fall one game shy of a bowl eligibility.

“The belief and then the belief in the response,” Thornton said after WSU’s 45-24 loss to Boise State on Sept. 28 when WSU dropped to 4-1. “As a team this year, everything’s been about belief.”

In Dickert’s first two seasons as head coach, the Cougs had not won a game in which they trailed in the fourth quarter. This year, they have won three such games.

Thornton’s faith in the belief of the Cougars was proving to be true as WSU stacked wins and rose as high as No. 18 in the College Football Playoff rankings last week.

What the wins may have masked though were recurring issues that put the Cougars in precarious situations to begin with.

WSU has allowed an average of 178 rushing yards per game. While a contest versus Ashton Jeanty — Boise State’s record-chasing Heisman candidate — does not help, allowing New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier to rack up 193 rushing yards on 28 attempts does not help either.

In case the extent of WSU’s run-defending problems was not clear, the Lobos’ sophomore signal-caller did not complete a pass in his 11-play, 75-yard game-winning touchdown drive.

Instead, the 1,000-yard rusher ran eight times for 34 yards and the score within the final three minutes of the game. New Mexico running back Eli Sanders darted for 33 yards on the third play of the drive.

Was the hype around playing for a shot at the College Football Playoff a distraction for the Cougars?

Dickert does not think it was.

“I thought we handled that really well. I do,” Dickert said of his team handling the distractions. “I thought we went down there with a good energy. I thought we came out of half ... with good energy. Now, did we relax? Did we think it was just going to happen again? You know, I don’t believe that.

“Biggest thing (is) I believe in this team. This is a big setback, and I’ll own this. Our players own this.”

The Cougars struggled with the same things they have been strugling with all year. The difference this time was they could not find the one or two clutch plays that have bailed them out before.

WSU played brilliantly in the first half, at least on offense. Mateer completed each of his first 11 passes for over 200 yards. He had three touchdown passes and a touchdown run in the first half.

Then, the Cougars dropped some passes, couldn’t gain the yards they needed and put the ball back in Dampier’s hands where WSU’s run prevention problems presented themselves.

Can the Cougs improve these things? Yes. There are plenty of lessons the players and coaches can take away from this loss.

While an outside shot at the CFP is gone, the 2024 Cougs still have a chance to win 10 games in a season for what would be just the seventh time in school history. They will also play in a bowl game in December like the Alamo Bowl or Holiday Bowl.

WSU will visit its lone remaining Pac-12 rival Oregon State at 4 p.m. Saturday (The CW) in Corvallis, Ore.

The Cougs have a lot to play for. The only question is will they continue to show up and fight for it?

“Ask me tomorrow morning after practice,” Dickert said of his players’ willingness to continue to compete. “If you’re an ultimate competitor, hell, you show up ready to be on fire tomorrow.”

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