BECU Cougar Player of the Week: John ‘Crazylegs’ Mateer wins again
PULLMAN — BECU is the Official Credit Union of Cougfan.com and for the second-straight year, we’ll be selecting a BECU Cougar Player of the Week every week during the Washington State football season. Just two weeks in, we already have a repeat winner. And he accomplished the feat in very different ways.
John “Crazylegs” Mateer broke an 82-year old record for rushing yards by a quarterback on Saturday, exploding for 197 yards in WSU’s 37-16 romp over Texas Tech. It is an all-time program record for rushing yards in a game by a QB. In Week 1, Mateer mostly went up top, completing 11 of 17 passes for 352 yards and five TDs, with two carries for 55 ground yards and another TD. He is the second repeat winner of the BECU honor (Argentina Ung).
Mateer simply could not be stopped on the ground this past Saturday, gashing the Red Raiders defense over and over again. At one point, he eclipsed 200 yards, becoming the first Cougar to do so since Dwight Tardy in 2007. But a 15-yard sack dropped him back below 200.
His final stat line was 21 carries for 197 yards and a TD and while he was not great throwing the ball, he didn’t need to be in the 21-point win over TTU. He was 9-of-19 passing for 115 yards, a touchdown and an interception. But after starting 2-of-9 with an interception and just 13 yards, he finished 7-of-10 for 102 hashes with the TD.
“I struggled early again, and I need to figure that out,” Mateer said after the win with a shake of the head. “First game I was nervous, straight up. I haven’t started in a long time, but this game I was ready to go. I think I struggled with processing early. Like there’s a freaking safety right there. Why am I throwing it? I can just put it over the linebacker and it’s a good play.”
MATEER PASSED THE second test of being a starting quarterback in getting a win over a Power Four school. Now the challenge increases. Portland State was one thing, and Texas Tech was another. But now the Apple Cup and UW await. The Huskies come into the game having not yielded a touchdown and allowing just 227 passing yards total, albeit against lesser competition in FCS Weber State and Eastern Michigan.
