It had been more than 13 months since Washington State found a way to win on the road -- a string of six straight defeats away from Pullman -- but that changed Saturday night.

Leaning more on its defense in this one, Washington State pulled ahead in the fourth quarter on a 60-yard Ethan O'Connor interception return for touchdown and held on from there to close out a gritty 25-17 win at Fresno State.

The Cougars improved to 5-1 with the win.

“I thought our defense responded every time they had an opportunity to come back onto the field,” coach Jake Dickert said. “That’s team football sometimes.”

The Cougars needed it as the offense struggled to find a consistent rhythm after a strong start.

Washington State jumped out to a 14-7 lead in the first quarter as quarterback John Mateer capped a 13-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run and Kris Hutson later added a 2-yard touchdown run to finish off another 75-yard scoring drive.

But the Cougars' offense wouldn't find the end zone again, adding only a pair of Dean Janikowski field goals and O'Connor's go-ahead pick-6 with 6:52 left in the fourth quarter.

On Washington State's next two drives after the two early touchdowns, quarterback John Mateer fumbled inside Fresno State territory and then threw an interception in the red zone.

Dickert said Mateer will continue to learn and get better from his early mistakes and with opposing defenses starting to scheme for Mateer’s running ability. The QB finished 17-of-35 passing for 172 yards, the one interception and the rushing touchdown.

“He’s got to be a little more decisive. … I thought there were a couple throw-away opportunities instead of taking a sack. You can’t make all the plays,” Dickert said.

Mateer talked about the offensive struggles he had against a very physical defense in Fresno State (3-3), but ultimately he was happy with the final result.

“It wasn’t our most productive day, and I’ll take that on me, but we won the game so that’s all that matters,” Mateer said.

The Cougars finally put an end to their losing streak on the road, which continued from last season and start 5-1 for the first time since 2018 when they went on to finish 10-2 in the regular season.

First quarter

9:13, WSU – John Mateer 1-yard run (pass failed), WSU 6-0

4:29, FSU – Josiah Freeman 34-yard pass from Mikey Keene (Dylan Lynch PAT), FSU 7-6

0:34, WSU – Kris Hutson 2-yard run (Dean Janikowski PAT), WSU 13-7

Second quarter

No scoring

Third quarter

7:34, FSU – Elijah Gilliam 5-yard run (Dylan Lynch PAT) FSU 14-13

2:02, WSU – Dean Janikowski 34-yard field goal, WSU 16-14

Fourth quarter

10:13, FSU – Dylan Lynch 27-yard field goal, FSU 17-16

6:52, WSU – Ethan O’Connor 60-yard interception return (run failed), WSU 22-17

1:46, WSU – Dean Janikowski 23-yard field goal, WSU 25-17

None.

The Cougars offense, as a whole, struggled to stay consistent throughout the game after the two successful drives in the first quarter.

“We got to get more on rhythm on offense. … That’s passing rhythm, that’s running rhythm, it’s using John appropriately,” Dickert said.

In its previous game against Boise State, WSU scored in the endzone in the first and fourth quarters only, while being completely shut down offensively for the second and third quarters of the game.

This time, the Cougars scored two first quarter touchdowns and then didn’t find the end zone until the pick-6 in the fourth quarter, totaling six points in the second and third quarters now in back-to-back games.

Redshirt freshman DB Ethan O'Connor

Really, the entire defense for the Cougars stepped up bit, with O’Connor and redshirt senior DB Tyson Durant both coming up with interceptions.

The pass rush for the Cougars, which has been a major emphasis for Dickert and his defense all week, finally got home to the quarterback, picking up a couple key sacks after only having 5 sacks through the first five games.

This is an easy call. O’Connor’s interception proved to be the difference-maker, as he read quarterback Mikey Keene’s eyes the entire way on the throw and jumped the route, going the other way for 6 points to put Washington State up, 22-17.

The Cougars started last season 4-0, similar to this season, but after an early bye last year that turned to 4-6 in a blink of an eye, with Dickert having a career 1-7 record in the month of October at WSU.

Even though it was ugly, the Cougars still found a way to get a physical, tough road win against a good opponent in Fresno State, which rarely loses at home.

“We did enough to win a football game,” Dickert said.

WSU returns home next week and will face Hawaii in the homecoming game on the Palouse.

Last time the Cougars played at home in Pullman was back in Week 2, when they beat Texas Tech by three scores back in early September.

WSU also looks to officially clinch bowl eligibility next week with a sixth win.

Passing

John Mateer – 17 of 35 completed passes, 172 yards, 1 INT

Rushing

John Mateer – 18 carries for 46 yards, 1 TD

Wayshawn Parker – 12 carries for 63 yards

Djouvensky Schlenbaker – 1 carry for 3 yards

Leo Pulalasi – 1 carry for -2 yards

Kris Hutson – 1 carry for 2 yards, 1 TD

Kyle Williams - 1 carry for 11 yards

Receiving

Kris Hutson – 6 receptions for 45 yards

Kyle Williams – 3 receptions for 34 yards

Josh Meredith – 3 receptions for 25 yards

Tony Freeman – 1 reception for 32 yards

Trey Leckner – 1 reception for 16 yards

Carlos Hernandez – 1 reception for 9 yards

Wayshawn Parker – 1 reception for -2 yards

Leo Pulalasi – 1 reception for 13 yards

Defense

Ethan O’Connor – 2 solo tackles, 1 INT, 1 TD

Tyson Durant – 5 solo tackles, 1 INT, 1 pass deflection

Keith Brown – 3 tackles (2 solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack

Khalil Laufau – 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack

Taariq ‘Buddah’ Al-Uqdah – 7 tackles (6 solo)

Kyle Thornton – 6 tackles (5 solo), 1 tackle for loss

Kapena Gushiken – 4 tackles (3 solo), 0.5 tackles for loss