WSU QB John Mateer leads fourth-quarter comeback over San Diego State

SAN DIEGO — John Mateer took a swig of water and smiled. He sat on the bench, about half the field away from the San Diego State end zone, where he had just waltzed in for the game-winning touchdown in Washington State’s 29-26 win on Saturday night. Minutes removed from his heroics, escaping pressure for a huge gain and then the winning score, all he could do was laugh.

What more was there to do? Merely half an hour prior, the Cougars faced a two-score deficit in the fourth quarter, their offense sputtering and groaning. Their defense looked porous, their offense slow, and WSU looked destined for its second loss of the season.

Enter Mateer, who saved WSU’s sterling season, preserving what exists of this team’s chances of making the expanded College Football Playoff. All told, he completed 19 of 27 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. Early in the fourth frame, Mateer found a wide-open receiver in Carlos Hernandez, who punched it in for six, helping WSU draw within 26-21.

But Mateer did his finest work on the ground, where late in the fourth quarter, he pulled off the play of his young career. On a second-and-12, he faced a heavy blitz, and two San Diego State blitzers had Mateer in their grasp. Instead, Mateer slipped both tackles, turned upfield and zoomed forward for an 18-yard gain, planting the Cougs inside Aztec territory.

Five plays later, Mateer surged into the end zone from two yards out, and WSU added two points on a trick play that ended up with a reception by — who else — Mateer. The Cougs took a 29-26 lead, the final margin, and Mateer totaled 21 carries for 42 yards and two scores.

Except that wasn’t the end of the drama. With some two minutes to play, WSU produced a stop on defense and got the ball back, only needing to run out the clock. On third down, Mateer took off and went down near the first-down line, close enough to warrant a review and a measurement — which resulted in a first down, all but ending the game.

Washington State (7-1) now enjoys its second bye week of the season. The Cougs will return to action on Nov. 9, hosting Utah State.

The game changed minutes prior, when midway through the fourth quarter, on a long third down, when WSU linebacker Buddah Al-Uqdah disguised his blitz, dropped into coverage and picked off a pass. He returned it 20 yards the other way, setting up his team’s offense in great field position. It was his second interception of the season, and his second in back-to-back games.

The Cougars’ defense had given up touchdowns on each of the Aztecs’ previous two drives, one a trick play on a receiver pass and the other a one-yard leaping score by running back Marquez Cooper, one of the most decorated active running backs in the nation. That one handed SDSU a 26-14 lead with 13 minutes to play.

Earlier in the game, WSU’s defense was equally wobbly, as was its offense. The Cougs took the lead on a trick-play touchdown pass from Mateer to tight end Cooper Mathers, executing a scripted drive well, same as they have all season. Mateer looked in control.

San Diego State turned in back-to-back field goals as a response, whittling the Cougs’ lead to 7-6. The visitors answered with a short rushing touchdown from Mateer, taking a 14-6 lead, but that’s about when things began to go south for WSU.

In the end, though, they went the right way for the Cougs.

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