WSU pulled the Huskies back from the first series, covering 66 yards but running out of downs at the Huskies’ 9-yard line. On fourth-and-2, linebacker Carson Bruener threw down freshman running back Wayshawn Parker for a 1-yard loss.

As has often happened, the Huskies went 3-and-out on their first offensive series and were again a slow starter.

WSU’s Tony Freeman kept the pressure on by returning the punt 33 yards to the Husky 29-yard line, where the Cougars opened the scoring with a 44-yard field goal by Dean Janikowski with 8:58 left in the quarter.

Realizing they would have to pick up the pace to keep up, the Huskies responded with a blistering four-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 31-yard touchdown run to Giles Jackson. Giles put the UW up 7-3 with 7:16 left and beat WSU cornerback Ethan O’Connor on a post route, tapping his toe in the end zone to make it count.

The determined Cougars came back, covering 72 yards in six plays before Mateer’s 23-yard scramble to the end zone for a 10-7 lead with 4:16 left in the first quarter. The quarterback eluded Jayvon Parker at the line of scrimmage and cut back on defensive backs Thaddeus Dixon and Jordan Shaw at the goal line to score.

Huskies, your service.

They responded with a 44-yard field goal from Gross on the first play of the second quarter, tying the score at 10-10.

After forcing a point, the Huskies took advantage of another Gross field goal, this time from 42 yards, to regain the lead, 13-10 with 9:10 left in the first half.

Finally, this hectic game came to an end.

WSU’s Janikowski missed a 26-yard field goal and the Huskies went four-and-out and needed points.

With two minutes left in the half, the Cougars had another electric score in them. They covered 91 yards in six plays, with Mateer once again getting the nod. On 3rd-and-20 from the UW 25, after being sacked by linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala, Mateer shook it off and scrambled into the end zone without much trouble.

The talented player from Little Elm, Texas, ducked his head and ran up the middle, veered left and evaded the diving tackle of Huskies’ Dixon at the 15 to score with 21 seconds left until halftime. The Cougars led 17-13 at the break, which was what everyone needed.

When they returned, WSU seemed more rested. While they gave up a 25-yard Gross field goal to cut their lead to one, the Cougars roared back with a determined drive to put enough distance between themselves and the UW.

They took advantage of a holding call on UW nickel Jordan Shaw to extend a drive on third-and-18, got up the field with Parker’s 37-yard dash and used Mateer’s arm to finish it off with an 18-yard TD pass to Josh Meredith. With 5:54 left in the third quarter, WSU led 24-16.

Still, the quarter couldn’t be closed out until Gross fired another field goal for the home team. He cashed in his fourth kick in as many attempts, from 43 yards, with no time running. It was 24-19 going into the final 15 minutes. And it would stay that way.

The Huskies seemingly had a chance to shake off their uneven play when Dixon intercepted a deep ball from Mateer intended for Kyle Williams and returned it to the UW 39. With 8:14 left on the clock, they came to a standstill.

Cornerback Ephesians Prysock appeared to have made an interception at WSU’s 37-yard line with 3:52 left on the clock, but the ball was not ruled complete after it ended up on the ground.

The UW had one last attempt to pull this one out, get the ball back and get into scoring position with a 45-yard pass to Jackson. When the Huskies were close for their final play from the 1, the first call went to Jackson. They didn’t like how it looked and called a timeout. They didn’t like it when the second option didn’t work.

The UW is now regrouping and preparing for its first Big Ten League game against Northwestern next weekend at Husky Stadium.

“We’ll make the corrections,” Fisch said. “We’re telling the truth. Sundays are for telling the truth.”

For the latest UW football and basketball news, visit si.com/college/washington