Mateer throws five touchdown passes and Washington State rolls over Portland State 70-30

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — John Mateer threw five touchdown passes and Washington State began a season of dramatic change in big-play style with a 70-30 win over Portland State on Saturday.

Left behind with Oregon State amid the ruins of the Pac-12 collapse, the Cougars are playing an independent schedule, facing mostly Mountain West schools. But Saturday they created 637 yards offense and eight offensive scoring plays of 30 yards or more against the FCS Vikings.

It was the first time WSU reached 70 points since 1997 when it scored 77 against Southwestern Louisiana.

Mateer, who had appeared in 12 games over the past two seasons with just 19 total passing attempts, started for WSU, taking over for…