COMMENTARY: Wazzu ‘reverse Coug’d it’ as it has done all year

The 2024 Washington State Cougars “reverse Coug’d it” on Saturday in San Diego.

They beat San Diego State 29-26 after trailing by 12 with 13 minutes left in the game — their third comeback victory when trailing in the fourth quarter this season.

“I believe that’s why they give you 60 minutes,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said. “You know, it’s the ‘Cardiac Cougs.’ There’s no quit in our football team, there’s a lot of grit, a lot heart, a lot of passion and I can’t give them that. … That comes from within, it comes from the team, it comes from the leaders.

“They came back, they kept believing. We’ve done it before, we’ll do it again.”

Dickert is right. The Cougs have done exactly what they did on Saturday before and it’s that attitude that “they will do it again” which has been precisely the special ingredient a “reverse Coug’d it” season requires.

Credit to my friend Connor French for coining the term “reverse Coug’d it” because it rings true.

The term “Coug’d it” has a soft ban in WSU media circles as it caricatures a rather unfortunate knack the Cougs have had for losing games they have no business losing or otherwise collapsing late after gaining early leads.

Prominent examples of this in recent history include WSU’s 44-41 loss to Oregon in 2022 after leading by 12 with six minutes left and the infamous 21st night of September in 2019 when WSU conceded a 32-point third-quarter lead to UCLA and lost 67-63.

As you well know, the phrase “Coug’d it” is a sour subject.

But the Cougs are quietly reclaiming/rebranding the term with their play this year.

The 2024 WSU football season has shaped up so far to be the antithesis of the 2023 season.

WSU started last year and this year 4-0 and both years fell to 4-1, but the ’23 team lost six straight games and finished one win shy of a bowl game.

WSU essentially “Coug’d” an entire season.

The ’24 team has won four games by one score after having trailed in the fourth quarter in three of them. They have won three games one might think they have no business winning. Call it a “reverse Coug’d it.”

WSU orchestrated a dramatic goal-line stand and game-sealing tackle by sixth-year senior linebacker Kyle Thornton to beat Washington 24-19 on Sept. 14 in the Seattle-hosted Apple Cup.

The following week, Wazzu overcame two separate deficits — of 14 points and then 3 points — to earn the 54-52 victory in double overtime versus San Jose State on Sept. 20.

After failing to score an offensive touchdown for three quarters, redshirt freshman cornerback Ethan O’Connor’s 60-yard go-ahead pick-6 catapulted the Cougs to a 25-17 win at Fresno State on Oct. 12. Before O’Connor’s clutch play, the Cougars had trailed by five points with six-and-a-half minutes left.

WSU’s most recent comeback is a tale of two third-year Cougs rejuvenating Wazzu’s spirits when it seemed like the game was lost and the dreaded “Coug’d it” moment had finally come.

Following 20 consecutive SDSU points, Mateer forged a four-play touchdown drive, finding Williams twice for completions of 9 and 33 yards, then following up a 4-yard Djouvensky Schlenbaker run with a dart to sophomore wide receiver Carlos Hernandez, who shook off a defender and extended his arm over the plane as he fell for the 34-yard touchdown to trim the Aztecs’ lead to 26-21.

The Aztecs reached the red zone yet again on their next drive — looking to regain a two-score, fourth-quarter lead — but third-year sophomore linebacker Buddah Al-Uqdah had other plans, reading the play perfectly and intercepting SDSU QB Danny O’Neil’s pass.

Mateer capitalized on the turnover to lead a seven-play touchdown drive to take the lead, in which he gained 39 of the Cougars’ 63 yards with his legs.

On second-and-11 at the WSU 36, Mateer said he had grass in his face from the snap.

“Before Devin (Kylany) snaps it, there’s grass on the top of the ball,” Mateer said. “Snap it, boom, grass just in my face. So I’m like ‘Oh my gosh.’ Reads not open, have pressure, get out of it. Luckily I was able to get out of it. It’s pretty cool and it was exciting. It just got us going.”

With grass in his face, Mateer stood in the pocket for two seconds, spun out of a near-sack with three Aztecs breathing down his neck and scrambled for 18 yards.

Mateer capped the go-ahead drive with a 2-yard QB draw, bouncing off of the Aztecs like a pinball.

Then WSU completed an unbelievable 2-point conversion. Mateer handed the ball to Williams, who pitched to senior receiver Kris Hutson. Hutson dropped the ball, picked it back up and found Mateer wide open in the end zone for the 2 points which extended WSU’s lead to three.

It’s not cheesy to say that the Cougars’ key to these comeback wins is “belief.” If the Cougars don’t believe in themselves, they won’t win.

Thornton said that what separated this year’s team from last year’s is a stronger sense of belief and a commitment to the actions that back up that belief. In other words, “a belief in the response.”

Mateer said there was not a moment on Saturday when he started to believe again. Rather, he never stopped believing.

“Going through my head is ‘I’ve done this before,’” Mateer said. “I’ve done it in high school, we did it against San Jose, telling the guys that we believe in each other, that we’ve done this before, that we’ve practiced, you know, this and that, and they believe. You can see it in our eyes.”

In a perfect world, the Cougars don’t have to overcome fourth-quarter deficits versus 3-3 Mountain West teams, but the world is far from perfect and the Cougs by and large dug themselves the hole.

“We did a lot of things that would have led to losing,” Dickert said. “Not converting on fourth downs, two special teams where we give away possessions, defense not communicating and giving up some big yardages when we (could have) got some stops.”

WSU is 7-1 for the first time since the late Mike Leach and current NFL quarterback Gardner Minshew led WSU to a magical 11-win 2018 season.

The Cougars’ remaining schedule includes three Mountain West teams with more losses than wins and a 4-4 Oregon State squad. However, it is clear to Dickert that if WSU fails to prepare, they will lose.

“‘We got to have urgency in everything we do,” Dickert said. “There’s times where you see it and you feel it and it shows what we’re capable of doing and there’s times where we don’t have it, so I’ve got to solve that over the next couple of weeks so we play a complete 60 minutes because no one’s going to give us anything, especially on the road.”

The past failures and doubts and even the previous plays do not matter to the 2024 WSU Cougars. They have proved they can win, even when it looks like they may not.

Wazzu will need that same urgency to keep writing this story that any sports fan can get behind.

After losing their conference and being swept to college football’s isle of misfits as the richest programs sail away on their gold-plated ships, this has been the joyful season that Cougar fans deserve.

And if the “Cardiac Cougs” keep believing: “Coug’d it” will lose its emotional toll with every victory formation.

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