John Mateer (5 TDs) leads No. 21 Washington St. past Utah St.

John Mateer threw four touchdowns and ran for the fifth time Saturday night as No. 21 Washington State extended its hopes of a College Football Playoff berth with a 49-28 win over Utah State in Pullman, Wash. maintained.

Mateer completed 18 of 24 passes for 179 yards while rushing for 38 yards on 12 carries. But he had plenty of help as freshman Wayshawn Parker added a game-high 149 rushing yards on just 11 attempts.

The Cougars (8-1) were the last team to break through the Aggies' porous run defense, accumulating 286 yards on the ground and finishing the game with 465 total yards. It was the fourth time this year that they scored at least 42 points in a game.

Spencer Petrus completed 28 of 45 throws for 208 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for Utah State (2-7). The Aggies hurt themselves with errors, turning the ball over twice and committing nine penalties for 79 yards.

Mateer got Washington State off to a good start by firing a 17-yard scoring strike to Kyle Williams just over 4 1/2 minutes into the game. Utah State responded as Petrus capped a nearly 5 1/2 minute drive by throwing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jack Hestera.

The Cougars took the lead for good on Parker's 1-yard scoring run on the first play of the second quarter. Mateer made it 21-7 when he capped a 75-yard drive with 7:17 left before halftime by hitting Williams for a 14-yard touchdown.

Washington State made a splash when Parker ran for a 75-yard touchdown and Mateer's 1-yard run made it a 35-7 lead with 5:52 left in the third quarter. Bryson Barnes scored on a 2-yard run for the Aggies at 2:02 of the period.

Williams' third touchdown catch, a 5-yarder, came 11 seconds into the fourth quarter. Mateer capped his big night by throwing a 3-yard strike to Cooper Mathers with just over a minute left.

–Field level media