WSU handles Hawai’i 42-10, secures bowl eligibility

A homecoming W.

After missing a bowl game last season, the Washington State Cougars will be bowl-bound in 2024 with their sixth win of the season, defeating the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors 42-10.

Excluding 2020, WSU (6-1) has been bowl eligible in eight of the past nine seasons. Their best stretch in a nine year span before that was just five bowl games between 1994 and 2003.

WSU’s opening drive was highlighted by a great grab by Kris Hutson to convert a 3rd and 16 from their own 14, but stalled out at the Hawai’i 37 as Leo Pulalasi fell a yard short of the first down marker on 4th and 2. The Rainbow Warriors put the pressure on the Cougar defense with 12-yard catch and run from Jonah Panoke and another big play from Tylan Hines four plays later to set Hawai’i up inside the WSU 15. WSU’s defense bent, but didn’t break, holding Hawai’i to a field goal.

The Cougars answered quick with a 16-yard catch and run from Hutson to convert a 3rd and 7. John Mateer kept things rolling with a 14-yard reception to Kyle Williams and a 10-yarder to Carlos Hernandez to set WSU up at the Hawai’i 32. Hernandez reeled in the next pass at the 20, bounced off a Hawai’i tackler and beat everybody to the outside for his first collegiate touchdown.

As the scoreboard rolled over to the second quarter, Hawai’i put together another drive that tested the resiliency of the Cougar defense with chunk passing plays to put the Rainbow Warriors inside the red-zone again. Yet again, WSU bent but didn’t break, holding Hawai’i out of the end-zone and forcing a tight angle 28-yard field goal try that was pushed wide left.

WSU couldn’t take advantage for the missed field goal, quickly punting it back to the Rainbow Warriors. On a 3rd and 10, Hawai’i’s Brayden Schager stood strong in the pocket and delivered a strike to Nick Cenacle that he carried across the first down marker after breaking off a tackle. But before he fell to the ground, Jamorri Colson delivered a big hit that jarred the ball free for Kapena Gushiken to jump on.

The Cougar offense didn’t waste time capitalizing on the turnover with Williams hauling in a 35-yard toss from Mateer to set up a nine-yard touchdown reception for Cooper Mathers.

On the ensuing drive, the Rainbow Warriors put together yet another promising drive getting to midfield. Facing a 3rd and 10, Schager rolled to the right and tried to fit a pass through a tight window to Panoke but instead found Buddah Al-Uqdah who jumped the pass for WSU’s second straight takeaway.

In an episode of deja vu, WSU hit a big play, then scored a nine-yard touchdown a few plays later. This time around, it was Josh Meredith on the big play reception and Hutson on the nine-yard touchdown via an end around to give WSU a three possession lead into halftime.

Hawai’i’s halftime adjustments paid off immediately, using a trio of 10+ yard plays on a seven play, 75-yard drive to pull within 11.

Now needing to answer to prevent a big swing of momentum, WSU’s offense put together a grind of an answer drive. 13 plays, 60 yards and using 6:45 off the clock that ended with Mateer taking a keeper into the end-zone. It wasn’t a pretty drive by any means, but it was the answer WSU needed to deliver.

Now in need of an answer of their own to keep things close, Hawai’i needed just three plays to get into WSU territory. On a 2nd and 10, Parker McKenna flew right past the Hawai’i offensive line and got a clear shot on Schager who fumbled the ball and pouncing on it was Bryson Lamb.

Last week the night before WSU’s game against Fresno State, Lamb, a walk-on, was surprised by his team as they announced he was being awarded a scholarship. Now, in his second game as a scholarship player, he recorded his first career stat: a fumble recovery.

Mateer and Pulalasi tacked on two more touchdowns early in the fourth quarter to officially put WSU’s homecoming game on ice.

With their six wins already in the bag, WSU has checked off an important yet expected box on their to-do list this season. Last year’s 4-0 start that ended in a 1-7 finish snapped WSU’s longest bowl-eligible season streak in program history. It felt like a bit of a failure to not get to a .500 record, regardless of how the season started. This year’s schedule is much easier than it has been in years past, and missing another bowl game would be disastrous.

Now that they are back to bowl eligibility, they can set their eyes on a bigger prize. The College Football Playoff might be out of reach with not a ton of eye-popping wins on the schedule, and their one opportunity was against Boise State, their only loss all year. Yet you win out; who knows? College football is an odd sport.

Even if you don’t make the playoffs, a double-digit record would still rank among the best seasons in WSU history. It has already been reported that Oregon State and WSU, along with the other 10 schools who left the Pac-12, will still be partnered with the same bowl games and be picked by overall wins.

This means the best bowl available to OSU and WSU outside of the CFP is the Alamo Bowl. Oregon is currently a solid bet to make the CFP, and of the other 11 schools, WSU has the easiest path to 10+ wins.

But enough of the future and bowl season, WSU now turns their attention to sunny San Diego, California, and a date with the San Diego Aztecs on October 26th.