When Washington State quarterback John Mateer was a junior at Little Elm High School, he knew he had to find an advantage somewhere, anywhere, to compete against the stiff competition that Texas 6A high school provides. He had to get faster and that brought him to the hill.
"I'd walk to it every day and really just run it constantly," Mateer told CBS Sports. "I learned more, Instagram and YouTube were great tools on just learning how to get faster."
It was perfect, right in his neighborhood and walking distance from his house in cleats. This was at the height of the pandemic -- when most gyms were closed -- but that was no excuse to put his football career on hold. Instead, Mateer kept coming back to that hill, running it over and over again.
Washington State is in the midst of one of the weirdest seasons in college football. The Cougars are technically competing as an FBS Independent. The schedule is a hodge podge of Mountain West powers, Power Four nonconference games and Oregon State. There's no conference championship or all-conference awards to strive for. Instead, Washington State's is littered with self-motivated underdogs who just want to win.
"I think we did a good job painting a realistic picture of what it would look like," Washington State coach Jake Dickert told CBS Sports. "There's seven at-large College Football Playoff spots. That's what everyone is chasing. We painted a picture of what we would need to do to put ourselves in that conversation."
Several top players understandably decided that the future was just a little too murky and transferred from the program, but plenty bought into Dickert's message and stuck around. For the ones who stayed, the first four weeks at Washington State have been nothing short of incredible.
In Week 2, Washington State obliterated Texas Tech 37-16 behind 197 yards and a touchdown from Mateer. On the other sideline was former top receiver Josh Kelly, who transferred from Washington State to Texas Tech.
"He came out for the captain's meeting for the game and I talked some smack," Mateer said. "But it was cool, it was fun. I'm glad to see him succeed so much."
The next week, it was a battle against Washington in the Apple Cup. Former Wazzu athletic director Pat Chun defected to the Huskies before the season. This time, it was senior linebacker Kyle Thornton who made a game-winning tackle at the goal line to take home a 24-19 victory over the reigning national runner-up. Dickert celebrated with a cigar at the postgame press conference (and as a non-smoker, nursed a sore throat the next day).
Mateer squared off against former backup Emmett Brown when Washington State played San Jose State the next week. Brown and Mateer traded blows, ultimately combining for 765 yards and eight touchdowns through the air. Washington State was able to get a stop to preserve a magical 4-0 record. The Cougars were the last team left out of this week's AP Top 25 poll, one spot behind No. 25 Boise State -- which just so happens to be this week's opponent.
"There's stuff we can't control, especially me as a player, but we all know we're just trying to do our best and create the best record," Mateer said. "We're going to be noticed if we're good, right? But we want to be good every year. I don't think there's a whole extra, like, we need to be good because we need to prove this and that. Coach Dickert does a great job of making it all about us and what we do and how hard we work."
Mateer unfortunately has yet to find a hill in Pullman, Washington. So he's settled for running from defenders instead. Through four games, Mateer ranks No. 14 nationally with 425 yards rushing. He ranks No. 3 nationally in total offense, one spot behind former Wazzu transfer Cameron Ward.
At the end of the season, Washington State will not be eligible for any conference awards. The program won't play for a conference championship. Dickert feels bad that players won't get that recognition. Ask Mateer, though: the players don't care. They just want to run up that hill. They want to win for each other.
On Saturday, Washington State travels to play No. 25 Boise State in its highest-ranked game of the season. A win could push the Cougs into the rankings for the second straight season under Dickert's watch. The plan is coming to fruition. Washington State isn't going anywhere.
"I don't care what anybody says, we're playing at the highest level," Dickert said. "That's where our players' mindsets are at and that's what we're coaching to. We just take every week as it comes and heck, in college football, you never know what's happening tomorrow.
"You just take what comes, live day-by day and enjoy the time that we're having with this football team. I think that's what we're doing."
