Hawaii football falls at Washington State

Different week, same story.

The University of Hawaii football team showed fight early, bent in the middle and broke at the end in a 42-10 loss at Washington State on Saturday night.

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Hawaii, which traveled to Pullman to take on the Cougars as part of the Mountain West and Pac-12’s scheduling alliance in 2024, fell to 2-5 overall for the 2024 season. Meanwhile, Washington State improved to 6-1.

After forcing a Washington State turnover on downs in the game’s opening drive, the Rainbow Warriors scored first on a 25-yard Kansei Matsuzawa field goal with 3:54 left in the first quarter.

The lead was short-lived for Hawaii, as a string of devastating events gave Washington State a 21-3 lead at halftime. The Cougars promptly scored on its next possession on a 32-yard Carlos Hernandez reception. Hawaii got in the red zone on its next drive, but Kansei Matsuzawa’s 28-yard field goal from the right hash was wide left.

In the second quarter, a Nick Cencale fumble recovered by Kamehameha-Maui alumnus and Wazzu nickelback Kapena Gushiken set up a 9-yard touchdown from John Mateer to Cooper Mathers. After that, a Brayden Schager interception set up a 9-yard touchdown reception for Kris Hutson.

Although Hawaii began the second half with a seven-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a Tylan Hines touchdown reception, the Cougars responded with a 13-play, 60-yard drive that ended with a John Mateer rush that took 6:45 off the clock.

The final blow to Hawaii’s chances came on a Schager fumble near the end of the third quarter, which Wazzu turned into a 14-yard Mateer keeper, giving the Cougars three scores on three Hawaii turnovers.

Washington State turned the contest into a rout with Leo Pulalasi’s 3-yard rushing score with 10:15 left.

Mateer was masterful for Washington State, completing 23 of his 27 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions, completing 85% of his throws.

For Hawaii, Schager completed 20 of his 30 passes for 196 yards, a touchdown and an interception while taking three sacks.

Defensively, Hawaii had four tackles for loss but no takeaways.

Hawaii returns home to face Mountain West foe Nevada on Oct. 26 at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex.

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