John Mateer threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more, helping Washington State come back to win 29-26 against San Diego State on Saturday night.
Washington State (7-1), which has now won three games in a row, was ahead by two points at halftime. However, San Diego State scored 20 points in a row to take a 26-14 lead with 13:39 left in the game.
Mateer quickly responded by throwing a 34-yard touchdown pass to Carlos Hernandez just four plays later, making the score 26-21 with 12:08 remaining.
San Diego State (3-4) moved the ball all the way to the Cougars’ 14-yard line, but Taariq Al-Uqdah intercepted a pass from Danny O’Neil and returned it 20 yards to the WSU 37.
Mateer finished a seven-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, and a successful two-point conversion gave the Cougars a three-point lead with 5:03 left. From that point on, the Aztecs couldn’t mount a comeback.
Washington State took the lead early in the game when Mateer connected with Cooper Mathers for a 26-yard touchdown on the Cougars’ fifth play. San Diego State responded with two field goals by Gabriel Plascencia, making it 7-6 after the first quarter.
The Cougars extended their lead to 14-6 with a 1-yard touchdown run by Mateer midway through the second quarter. San Diego State managed to score a touchdown just before halftime with a 7-yard run by Marquez Cooper, but their two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving them down by two points.
In the third quarter, San Diego State scored the only points with a 27-yard touchdown pass from freshman wide receiver Jordan Napier to Nate Bennett. This score came just after Tony Freeman dropped a punt, which Jelani Whitmore recovered at the Cougars’ 43-yard line.
