Offense Disappears as Red Raiders Fall to Cougars

In a game that was supposed to pay tribute to the late Mike Leach, the Red Raiders offense did anything but as the Washington State Cougars beat Texas Tech 37-16 at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium on Saturday night in Pullman, Washington.

It was a comedy of errors by the Red Raiders (1-1) throughout the game that led to the defeat, including four turnovers, four more turnovers on downs and 10 penalties for 81 yards.

Quarterback Behren Morton never looked comfortable in the pocket and routinely threw into double and triple coverage and accounted for two interceptions on the night. He finished the night 34-of-58 for 323 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, including one in the red zone.

On the other side of the field, new Cougars (2-0) quarterback John Mateer had a coming out party, throwing for 115 yards on 9-of-19 passing and one touchdown, but more impressively, 197 yards rushing on 21 carries with a long of 68.

Mateer replaced Cam Ward under center - who is now quarterbacking the Miami Hurricanes - this season. Both could be Heisman Trophy finalists at the end of the season.

His coach, Jake Dickert was impressed with Mateer's play.

"He did a good job staying patient. They did a lot more dropping than we thought. I'm really proud of the way he responded," Dickert said after the game.

The Red Raiders defense allowed 416 yards of Cougars offense Saturday night, a week after giving up 539 to Abilene Christian.

Starting running back Tahj Brooks was out with an injury, so that hurt the offense, but with the poor performance of the offensive line Saturday night, he probably couldn't have helped.

The defense clearly misses linebackers Joseph Adedire and Dylan Spencer, who are both out for the year with injuries. Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire's road record now falls to 3-9 over two-plus seasons in Lubbock.

Related: Turnovers the Story as Red Raiders Lose to Washington State: Live Game Blog

Next up for the Cougars are the Washington Huskies in the Apple Cup at Lumen Field on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT on Peacock.

The Red Raiders now turn their attention to the North Texas Mean Green back at the friendly confines of Jones AT&T Stadium on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on FS1.

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