BOISE, Idaho — Eastern Washington football faced an FBS opponent on Friday night as they went across state lines to play Boise State. The Broncos, coming off a loss, controlled the game and defeated Eastern, 51-14. EWU drops to 0-2 on the season, while Boise St. gets its first win of the season.
"There were some bright spots, but not a lot of highlights. We'll have to watch the film, but we did not play a clean game defensively," head coach Aaron Best said. "We didn't knock any balls out and missed some tackles. Offensively was not complimentary either. We did not stay on the field on third downs. Punting was inconsistent and we can't keep putting the defense in between the 40s. We had a short week and we'll take tomorrow off, then look at the game on Sunday."
The Broncos seized the momentum quickly, scoring 14 points in the first five minutes of the game. Boise St. put up 20 points in the first quarter and had the game quickly in control.
Eastern broke through in the second quarter, as Jared Taylor engineered a 10-play, 62-yard drive, culminating in a Taylor touchdown run.
The Broncos answered right back with a quick touchdown and tacked on a late field goal to go into halftime with a 23-point lead.
Boise St.'s offense was in rhythm as they scored another touchdown in the third to go up by 30 on the Eagles.
EWU scored its second touchdown in the fourth quarter, but the Broncos lead was too much to overcome.
For the game, Boise St. recorded 637 yards of total offense, balanced between 328 on the ground and 309 in the air.
Eastern finished with 293 yards, with 176 passing and 117 rushing.
Scoring Summary
Boise State opened the scoring quickly, driving 75 yards 3 plays on the opening drive, ending with a 20-yard touchdown run. The Eagles managed to block the extra point, but the Broncos led 6-0 after a minute ten of gameplay.
Following an Eastern fumble, Boise St. drove 41 yards on 6 plays for the team's second score. The deficit was now 13-0 for Eastern five minutes into the game.
The Eagles failed to convert a 4th-down play and the Broncos were set up at their own 40-yard line. Their quick-strike offense worked again with a 60-yard touchdown from Maddux Madsen to Ben Ford. Boise St. increased its lead to 20-0 and 2:49 left in the quarter.
After the Broncos missed a field goal, EWU began to move the ball down the field, with Nate Bell carrying the ball three times for 17 yards. Jared Taylor then connected with Miles Williams for a 36-yard catch and Eastern was down to the Boise St. 15 yard line. Taylor capped the drive off with a 5-yard touchdown run. The Eagles were on the board and now trailed 20-7.
The Broncos had the response, driving 80 yards in 5 plays over 2:19 to build their 20-point lead at 27-7 and 6:26 remaining in the half.
Boise St. added a field goal near the end of the half to extend its lead to 30-7.
In the third quarter, the Broncos put together a 9-play, 65-yard drive and scored on a 20-yard reverse from Cameron Bates. Boise St. now had a 37-7 lead and 4:55 on the clock. Moving to the fourth quarter, the Broncos organized a long touchdown drive that went 90 yards on 12 plays, encompassing 6 minutes. Madsen tossed a 6-yard strike and Boise St. was up 44-7 with 11:56 remaining in the game.
Eastern did not go quietly, as the Eagles moved the ball down the field in response. Bell connected with Noah Cronquist for a 49-yard pass to set the offense up at the Boise St. 4-yard line. Bell then carried the ball in for EWU's second touchdown of the game. Eastern trailed 44-14 with 6:06 remaining.
The Broncos got the last word, scoring a 77-yard rushing touchdown to push the lead to 51-14 with under 4 minutes to play.
Eag Notes
- Noah Cronquist matched his career-best with 4 catches, finishing with 67 yards. His 49 yard catch was also a career-long.
- Jared Taylor carried the ball 17 times for 76 yards and one touchdown. Nate Bell had a career-best 9 carries for 36 yards.
- Drew Carter led the team with 9 tackles, nearly notching his second-straight game with double-digit tackles. Ambrose Marsh tallied 6 tackles to set a new career-best for the redshirt-freshman.
- EWU's offensive line surrendered only 1 sack in the game on 37 pass attempts.
- Senior linebacker Trevor Thurman made his third career-start, with his first at defensive end.
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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