Comparing Jaxon Potter to John Mateer Through the First Two Weeks of the Season

Before he took over the starting quarterback job for the Washington State Cougars, Jaxon Potter spent two years on the sideline at WSU. In 2024, he spent the vast majority of the season watching John Mateer lead the Cougars back to the postseason under center as a redshirt sophomore.

Late in 2024, Mateer more or less started a wave of mass departures from WSU when he followed offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle to Oklahoma. In his two games as a Sooner, Mateer has led his new club to wins, as has Potter with the Cougars.

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Through their first two games of the 2025 campaign, both Potter and Mateer have completed 51 passes apiece, making them the only two quarterbacks in FBS, as of Thursday morning, with that total. Both quarterbacks have also thrown four touchdown passes through the first two weeks.

Potter has thrown one more pass (72) for 465 yards, giving him an average of 6.5 yards per attempt. Mateer has thrown for 662 yards with an average of 9.3 yards per attempt.

The added weapon in Mateer's arsenal that Potter has yet to show he has is an exceptional rushing ability. Mateer has 26 rushing attempts for 98 yards with three scores on the ground. Potter has just five attempts for eight yards.

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Looking back at Mateer's first games as WSU's starter, Potter's stats unfortunately don't really compare. Both Potter and Mateer guided the Cougars to wins over FCS opponents in their season openers as the starter.

In a 70-30 beatdown of Portland State last season, Mateer threw five touchdowns and ran for another. Potter threw just one touchdown in a narrow 13-10 win over Idaho.

It's also worth noting that Potter is learning, more or less, a brand new system under Jimmy Rogers and Danny Freund. The head coach-offensive coordinator combo came to Pullman this offseason after the departure of Jake Dickert for the open position at Wake Forest.

Potter and the Cougars return to action on Saturday with a road trip to North Texas, taking on another name Washington State football fans will probably remember. UNT head coach Eric Morris served as WSU's offensive coordinator in 2022.

Mateer and the Cougars travel to Temple on Saturday, carrying a rank of No. 13 in the nation.

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