SOME OF THE ISSUES that have plagued Washington State's football team have been hidden by winning. Because the tried-and-true solution to covering up the ugliness of some aspects and, sometimes, even forget they exist is solved by finding a way to win games. That wasn't the case on Saturday night in the Treasure Valley.
So many missed tackles, such porous offensive line play that the wordwould-be blockers more resembled turnstiles, some flat out boneheaded unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the fourth quarter shut the lights on any greater than 50 percent chance for the Cougars to make the College Football Playoff in a 45-24 defeat to the 25th-ranked Broncos at a sold out Albertsons Stadium.
Wazzu scored a touchdown on its first offensive possession of the night, signaling the chance for a shootout that involved a team that was one of the highest scoring teams in the nation. The only thing that involved shooting was how often the Cougs shot themselves in the foot with nine penalties and allowing seven sacks on a run-first, pass-second quarterback in John Mateer.
How bad was it? So bad that it was almost predictable to how it all unfolded.
MISCUES OF THE GAME: Where to begin with this bullet point, but the issue of tackling has come up several times with discussing the season-long outlook for the Cougars. Heck even in the season-opener against Portland State, there were times where they struggled to wrap up FCS-level players. Then it occurred again versus Texas Tech, Washington and San Jose State. It reached a boiling point versus the Broncos.
Regardless of how talented Ashton Jeanty is, the inability to wrap up was eye-opening from the first defensive possession of the night. And no matter how many instances where the Cougs seemed to have him stopped for short gains, either a highlight reel hurdle or bouncing off defenders was all too common.
WHAT WILL DRIVE FANS NUTS: How about the unblocked EDGE rushers that the front-five for WSU just let happened not once, not twice, but more than three times. Mateer is a big QB that is not afraid of contact. If he's even close to the first down marker, he will not slide. Still, this is first full season as a starter and his debut time taking full hits over four quarters and then some already.
His health must be a priority. Being succumbed to that many sacks where it could have been avoided by either checking the play at the line of scrimmage or not double teaming interior lineman is a problem. For Wazzu to have it happen with these type of implications for October and November, it raises plenty of red flags.
SOME POSITIVITY TO LEAVE WITH: Even in the doom and gloom of the first loss unfolding, there were a couple bright spots. Mateer seemingly rebounded from a careless interception in the waning seconds of the first half to execute a well-thrown deep ball to Kyle Williams on the first play in the fourth quarter to make it a 24-17 deficit.
It was a simple go route that Williams beat his man and Mateer dropped it right in the bread basket. So while the loss is going to sting heading into the first of two bye weeks for Wazzu, Mateer's continued improvement in deep ball throws might be a building block for games to come.
RUN OF THE GAME: First play from scrimmage for the Cougs was a QB draw by Mateer that ended with a 52-yard scamper. A gaping lane opened up on the right side and Mateer busted through it and picked up the longest play for them all night. That play worked again in the second half that the third-year sophomore hit for 15 yards.
STAT SHEET:Mateer threw for over 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Williams hauled in nine passes on 12 targets for 142 yards while Kris Hutson was targeted 11 times and also reached thew century mark. The running game as a whole was silent as true freshman Wayshawn Parker finished with just 35 yards. Defensively, Apple Cup heroes Kyle Thornton and Andrew Edson combined for 13 total tackles. The staggering numbers of two tackles for loss and no sacks stick out like a sore thumb.
INJURY FRONT: Josh Meredith suffered an ailment in the second half and walked off the field under his own power. Punter Nick Haberer dressed for the second straight week, but did not make his season debut. Hutson and Jackson Lataimua were injured in the first half, but both returned to the field.
UP NEXT: Washington State will have a bye week before heading back on the road on Oct. 12 to face Fresno State. That contest's kickoff time and TV is TBD.
