CHENEY, Wash. — It's a new week for Eastern Washington and the team is back on the road for a ranked Big Sky matchup. Eastern travels to play No. 2 Montana on Saturday in Missoula, with a 12 p.m. Pacific Time kickoff and 1 p.m. Mountain time kick. EWU is 3-2 in the Big Sky and 4-5 overall, while the Grizzlies enter the game with a perfect 5-0 conference mark and 9-0 overall.
The game will be broadcast on Scripps Sports and streamed live on ESPN+. Fans can listen to every play live on 700 ESPN and the Varsity App with voices of Eagles, Larry Weir and Paul Sorensen.
Last Time Out
Eastern Washington hosted Sacramento State for the last matchup against the Hornets for the foreseeable future. The Hornets defeated Eastern, 35-13, snapping the Eagles' three-game winning streak. The first quarter was fast-paced as Sac. St. opened the game with a 61 yard touchdown run. EWU halted the next Hornet drive with an interception and converted the opportunity into a touchdown. Another Sac. St. turnover led to three more points for the Eagles. The Hornets ended the first quarter with another long, 59-yard touchdown run. Sac. St. scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter to take control in the game. Eastern converted another field goal at the end of the half to get back on the board. In the second half, Sac. St. locked down the Eastern offense and shut them out for 30 minutes. EWU's defense played well to limit the Hornets to seven points in the second half, but it was not enough to get the win.
The Hornets racked up 376 rushing yards that powered their road win. Eastern was held to 278 yards of total offense.
Returning to Missoula
This week brings another matchup between Eastern Washington and Montana, as the teams have met 49 times previously, the 4th-most matchups against one opponent in Eastern history. The Grizzlies lead the all-time series, 31-18-1, going 18-6-1 in Missoula. EWU trails at home, 11-12, against Montana. The two teams faced off in a classic last season at Roos Field, with the Griz out-shooting the Eagles, 52-49. UM had a 2-possession lead at halftime, but the Eagles' offense exploded in the fourth quarter with 28 points. They pulled within 45-42 and 4:27 remaining in the game, but the Griz scored on their next possession to go up by 10. A late Eastern touchdown cut the lead down to 52-49, but EWU could not recover the onside kick. Kekoa Visperas accounted for 6 touchdowns, 4 passing and 2 rushing in the game. Eastern last traveled to Missoula in 2022, with the Griz winning handily, 63-7.
Limited Passing
Eastern Washington allowed 15 passing yards to Sacramento State on Saturday. The passing yards allowed was the lowest in program history. The Hornets' quarterback was 4-of-6(66.7%) passing, throwing 1 interception. The previous low was 16 yards against Cal Poly in 2015, with the Mustangs completing 2-of-5(40%) passes. This season, EWU is allowing 242.2 yards through the air this season. Eastern has improved its pass defense over the last 3 games, limiting opponents to 115.3 yards per game. In the previous 6 games they allowed 305.67 yards.
Good from 50
Against the Hornets, Soren McKee kicked a career-long 51 yard field goal in the first quarter. It was the first 50-yard field goal for Eastern Washington since the 2021 season, when Seth Harrison connected from 55 yards against Cal Poly. McKee also made a 19-yard field goal in the game, his 7th career game with 2+ made field goals. For his career, McKee has 25 made field goals on 35 attempts (71.4%). He is 117-for-118 on point after attempts and set the program record with 99 consecutive made PATs last season. McKee extended his streak to 105 consecutive makes, before missing his first PAT against Western Illinois. He currently ranks 5th all-time on made PATs, 3 behind Troy Griggs for 4th.
Going to the Air
Eastern passed a season-high 53 times against Sacramento St., the most passing attempts for the Eagles since 2022 against Portland State(60). Jake Schakel turned in a career game after relieving the injured Nate Bell, completing 24-of-38(68.5%) passes for 201 yards, all career-bests for the redshirt-freshman. Bell was 6-of-14(42.9%) passing, finishing with 39 yards and throwing 1 touchdown before exiting the game. EWU's 3 quarterbacks have combined for 1627 yards this season, led by Bell's 1003 yards, followed by 344 from Jared Taylor and 247 from Schakel. Noah Cronquist completed 1 pass for 33 yards against Portland State, his first career pass attempt. The Eagles averaged 180.8 passing yards per game this season.
Spreading the Ball Around
In each of EWU's 9 games this season, the Eagle quarterbacks have completed passes to at least 6 different receivers. This past game, 9 different receivers caught passes for Eastern, led by 5 from Cole Pruett. 4 players had 4 receptions with the group including Landon Cooper(career-best), Drew Carlson (career-best), Miles Williams and Marceese Yetts. Overall this season, Yetts leads the team with 31 receptions, followed by Noah Cronquist with 27. Williams has 22 catches, followed by Nolan Ulm with 16 and Jaxon Branch with 12. Wesley Garrett, Cooper and Pruett round out the double-digit reception group with 10 apiece.
Take a Pick
The Eagles have recorded an interception in 7 consecutive games, matching the longest streak since 2018 when they had interceptions in 7 consecutive games (11/13/18-1/5/19). The next longest streak Jonathan Landry extended the streak against Sacramento St. with an interception in the 1st quarter, his first career pick. Jaylon Jenkins has made 4 interceptions to build the streak, originally starting the streak against Northern Iowa earlier in the season in what was his first career interception. Dre Greeley helped the streak with his first career interception against Western Illinois, returning it 46 yards to the WIU 4-yard line and setting up an EWU touchdown. Ambrose Marsh notched his first career pick against Montana State earlier this year. In the Big Sky, Eastern is tied for 3rd with 8 interceptions this season, ranking 32nd in the FCS. The game against the Wildcats was the first multi-interception game for EWU since 10/12/23 against Idaho State (2). The 7-game streak is the longest since 2004 when Eastern intercepted a pass in 12 consecutive games (9/18/04-12/5/04).
Turnovers Building Up
The turnover battle is key in any game and Eastern Washington knows this first hand. Since 2010, EWU is 75-9 when winning the turnover margin, but lost with a positive margin against Sacramento State. Eastern was plus-3 in the turnover margin against the Hornets this past week, getting 1 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries. Along with his first career interception, Jonathan Landry had his first career fumble recovery. He was joined by Jirah Leaupepetele with his first fumble recovery. Read Sunn forced his first career fumble, while Tylin Jackson was credited with his 2nd this season. It was the second consecutive game forcing 3 turnovers and holding a +3 margin. The game was the 3rd time this season EWU has won the turnover battle, as they had a plus-2 advantage against Northern Iowa, in addition to the Idaho game 2 weeks ago. Eastern has tied in the turnover battle once this season against Montana State, with each team accounting for 1 turnover a piece.
2025 EWU football tickets are now on sale! Join Spokane County's team for all five home games at Roos Field in Cheney starting as low as $99. Group tickets, fundraising options and single game tickets are also available. For more info, visit goeags.com/fbtickets or contact the EWU Ticket Office at 509-359-6059 or tickets@ewu.edu.
Join the Eagle Athletic Fund for as low as $50 per year! Support Eagle student-athletes on and off the field while enjoying exclusive EAF perks such as season ticket and tailgating priority, invitations to special events, exclusive access, and more. Visit goeags.com/eaf for more information.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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