Cougs corralled by Cowboys on senior day

PULLMAN — On third-and-10 in the final minute of the first half, Washington State quarterback John Mateer extended his arm as he fell, gunning for the first down. A Wyoming defender popped the ball onto the grass, another recovered the fumble and the Cowboys gained 60 yards in 42 seconds, kicked a field goal and made it a one-score game at halftime.

Mateer’s mistake preceded a second half in which the defense forced and recovered two fumbles, the offense was shut out and the Cougars led until the final 25 seconds as WSU lost to Wyoming 15-14 on Saturday at Gesa Field.

Wyoming’s game-winning drive spanned 90 yards and sucked any life that was left out of a more than half-empty Gesa Field when Cowboy quarterback Evan Svoboda found tight end John Michael Gyllenborg for an 18-yard strike at the goal line to give the Cowboys their first lead with 25 seconds left on a freezing Pullman night.

“We found ways to lose a game, not ways to win a game,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said.

A costly mistake

With WSU leading 14-3 with just over two minutes remaining in the first half, Cougar cornerback Jamorri Colson caught an early Christmas present wrapped and delivered by the Cowboys’ quarterback to give WSU a chance to score before the half.

Mateer made two quick completions for 31 total yards and the Cougars looked like they might score at least a field goal before the half.

Then, the WSU offense appeared to lose its rhythm as the Cougars gained just 5 yards on the next two rushing plays and center Brock Dieu, making his second career start at the position in relief of an injured Devin Kylany, was charged with a false start penalty, backing Wazzu up to third-and-10 at the Wyoming 43.

On a QB keeper, Mateer bounced off several Cowboys to stay on his feet, attempted to reach for the first down mid-fall, but lost the ball. He was initially ruled down, but upon review, officials determined it to be a fumble and Wyoming had possession.

“There’s no reason for me to reach the ball out like that trying to get extra yards,” Mateer said. “It’s just a bad mistake by me. We were moving the ball well. I just can’t do that.”

The Cowboys traveled 60 yards on five plays but were stalled at the 5-yard line, thanks in part to a heads-up tackle by safety Jackson Lataimua who took out Wyoming running back Sam Scott at the 5-yard line.

The Cowboys settled for a field goal but made it a one-score game at halftime when Wazzu had had the chance to score before the half and receive the second-half kickoff.

WSU offense sputters

The Cougars generated over 200 yards and found the end zone twice in the first half, but gained just 56 yards and were held scoreless in the second half.

Senior wide receiver Kyle Williams caught a screen in the first quarter and sprinted down the right side of the field for the 37-yard score.

The first-quarter touchdown was Williams’ 13th receiving touchdown of the year — the second-most in a single season in WSU history — and saw him eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in 2024.

Williams became the first Coug since Brandon Arconado in 2019 to record a 1,000-yard season.

In two seasons on the Palouse, Williams has caught 19 touchdown passes, tied for the seventh-most in WSU history.

Mateer scored what proved to be the Cougars’ final touchdown on a 2-yard QB keeper in the second quarter.

Apart from those two drives, the Wyoming defense, which puzzled Heisman hopeful Ashton Jeanty and the Boise State Broncos one week ago, also neutralized the Cougars during a freezing regular-season finale.

Jeanty racked up 169 yards and a touchdown in Boise State’s 17-13 win over Wyoming last week, but the Cowboys proved apt at containing his explosive runs, and did the same thing against the Cougars.

WSU generated just two plays of 20-or-more yards, including Williams’ 37-yard screen touchdown. The Cougars’ leading receiver did not touch the ball (in bounds) for each of the final three quarters, although he was Mateer’s target with 12 seconds left in the game on a play that was ruled an incomplete pass when Williams bobbled the ball along the sideline and secured possession when his feet were out of bounds.

Mateer had completed 16-for-17 passes for 182 yards at the 8:09 mark of the third quarter but failed to complete any of his five passing attempts within the final 24 minutes of the game.

Cougar defense generates three turnovers

The Cougar defense kept the Cowboys at bay with three turnovers, including one interception and two fumbles, until they no longer could.

Wyoming did not find the end zone until the final minute of the game but scored three field goals and operated in a one-score game for the entire second half.

WSU sacked Svoboda a season-high six times.

Senior edge Quinn Roff disrupted a five-minute, third-quarter Wyoming drive with a strip sack of Svoboda.

On Wyoming’s next drive, it was edge Nusi Malani who forced a fumble. Sophomore linebacker Buddah Al-Uqdah recovered both fumbles on a day when he paced the Cougar defense with eight tackles (six solo) and 1.5 tackles for loss.

Sophomore defensive tackles Khalil Laufau and Ansel Din-Mbuh recorded two and 1.5 sacks, respectively. It was Din-Mbuh’s third game generating at least 1.5 sacks.

WSU kept the Cowboys out of the end zone until their final drive. The Cowboys helped the Cougars’ cause by dropping several passes, but after allowing 38 points and 41 points to sub-.500 teams in back-to-back weeks, Saturday was an improvement.

“These past two weeks have not gone the way we would like them to go defensively,” Thornton said. “To come out here and really only force them to kick field goals the entire night, until that last two-minute drive. I think (it) really shows something about the resiliency of these guys.”

“Disappointed for our seniors”

Saturday was senior day for WSU, which recognized 16 seniors including Williams, Thornton, left tackle Esa Pole, and kicker Dean Janikowksi. Thornton and Janikiowksi had each been Cougs for six years.

Thornton said that losing his last game at Gesa Field was disappointing

“We got a good group of seniors that really gave everything they had to this program and this team,” Dickert said. “To not send them out the right way when we were very capable of doing that is obviously really disappointing to me.”

Dickert said the team will have a week off to rest before bowl preparation.

As a winner of eight games, WSU has one more game to play and will learn its bowl fate on Dec. 8.

Mateer said he is motivated to play well for his teammates, but that his performance gives him extra motivation for the Cougars’ upcoming bowl game.

“That upset me today, my performance out there,” Mateer said. “And so I’m gonna go out there and give this thing everything I’ve got.”

First Quarter

WSU — Ky.Williams 37 pass from Mateer (D.Janikowski kick), 6:09.

WYO — FG Hoyland 40, :04.

Second Quarter

WSU — Mateer 2 run (D.Janikowski kick), 9:42.

WYO — FG Hoyland 22, :00.

Third Quarter

WYO — FG Hoyland 42, 2:07.

Fourth Quarter

WYO — Gyllenborg 18 pass from Svoboda (run failed), :25.

A — 17,088.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Wyoming, Waylee 12-69, Svoboda 17-33, Ferrell 9-27, Stevenson 1-7, (Team) 1-(minus 2). Washington St., Mateer 18-56, Parker 14-45, Pulalasi 1-2.

PASSING — Wyoming, Svoboda 21-34-1-206. Washington St., Mateer 16-22-1-182.

RECEIVING — Wyoming, Durr 5-57, Gyllenborg 4-61, Sargent 2-32, Pelissier 2-27, Stevenson 2-13, Scott 2-(minus 3), Ferrell 1-9, Olsen 1-4, Harvey 1-3, Waylee 1-3. Washington St., Hutson 5-62, Ky.Williams 4-59, Hernandez 4-47, Parker 2-15, Schlenbaker 1-(minus 1).

MISSED FIELD GOALS — None.

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