CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington football will not leave Roos Field in October and plays its second straight home game this week. The schedule only gets more difficult as Eastern hosts No. 5 Montana State on Saturday, Oct. 17, with kickoff at 4 p.m. Pacific Time. The Bobcats are the reigning FCS Champions.
The game will be broadcast live on Scripps Sports, while also airing live on SWX. The game can also be streamed live on ESPN+. Eagle fans can listen to every play live on 700 ESPN and the Varsity App with the voices of the Eagles, Larry Weir and Paul Sorensen.
Last Time Out
Eastern Washington hosted Northern Colorado for homecoming this past week and earned the 31-22 win, the team's first Big Sky victory.
The Eagles started the game fast as Nate Bell found Wesley Garrett streaking up the sideline for a 53-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. On EWU's next possession, Bell linked up with Drew Carlson from 19 yards out for the team's second touchdown and a 14-0 lead. In the second quarter, the Bears managed two field goals, but the EWU offense had two touchdowns. Bell threw TD passes to Kevin Allen III from 7 yards and Rylin Lang from 10 yards. Eastern led 28-6 at halftime. The third quarter was a defensive battle, but UNC broke through with their first touchdown. They scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to bring the EWU lead down to 28-22. After settling in on defense, Soren McKee came up clutch with a 46-yard field goal to put the team up by nine. JoJo Maxey-Johnson came up with back-to-back interceptions to close out the Bears' last two drives.
Bell passed for a career-best 4 touchdowns and 334 yards, completing 67.6% of his passes.
The Defending Champs Come to Town
Eastern Washington hosts the defending FCS Football champion Montana State Bobcats on Saturday. In the series history, EWU carries a 32-15 record against MSU, with a 16-7 mark at home and 15-8 away. However, the Bobcats have controlled the series in recent history, winning the last 5 matchups. The teams played in Bozeman last season, with a complete domination by the Bobcats, 57-3 over the Eagles. The last matchup on Roos Field was in 2024, with MSU leaving with a 42-28 victory. In that contest, MSU jumped out to a 14-0 lead and led by 14 at halftime. EWU tied the game at 28 in the third quarter, but a quick score from the Bobcats broke the tie. They added another touchdown late to win by two possessions. Michael Wortham had a 75-yard touchdown run, while Efton Chism III had 9 catches for 78 yards and 1 touchdown.
Montana St. is ranked 5th in both the AFCA Coaches' and Stats Perform Top 25 polls, sporting a 5-1 overall record and 2-1 in the Big Sky. The Bobcats fell from the No. 1 spot two weeks ago after losing to Idaho, 35-34, in Moscow.
2-Pick Swag
JoJo Maxey-Johnson made his 2nd and 3rd career interceptions against Northern Colorado this week, earning the redshirt-junior Big Sky Co-Defensive Player of the Week. He shared the honor with Weber State's Trevian Tribble. Maxey-Johnson added 5 tackles and 1 pass breakup in the game. The Tacoma, Wash. native becomes the first Eagle to record two interceptions in a game since Armani Orange had two against Idaho State in 2023. Maxey-Johnson made his first interception with 2:25 left in the game, as he secured the INT after a pass from the Bears' Keegan Patterson was mishandled by the receiver. With 1:53 left in the game, UNC was driving again and moved the ball to the EWU 27-yard line. Patterson fired a pass directed at the left side of the endzone, but Maxey-Johnson jumped up to make the pick. After starting each of Eastern's first seven games, Maxey-Johnson is tied for sixth on the team with 24 tackles, making 15 solo, adding 1.0 sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Mayo Classic
Myles Mayovsky racked a game-high 15 tackles against Northern Colorado, making 7 solo. Mayovsky added 2 pass breakups in the game as well. It was Mayovsky's 4th career 10+ tackle game and 3 off his career-best. He posted 18 tackles in the season opener against Northern Arizona. Mayovsky leads the team with 64 tackles - 25 solo - this season, including 2.5 for a loss. The redshirt-junior ranks 2nd in the Big Sky in tackles and 13th in solo tackles. Mayovsky has 3 pass breakups and 2 quarterback hurries in addition. The Kennewick, Wash. native has made 19 starts and played in 42 games as an Eagle, with 191 total tackles.
Long Drive, Winning Effort
EWU recorded its longest drive of the season against UNC, in terms of yards, going 96 in 7 plays in 2:32. The result of the drive was a 53-yard touchdown pass from Nate Bell to Wesley Garrett. It was the longest drive for Eastern since the 2024 season, when the team had a 99-yard drive against Sacramento State on the road, lasting 10 plays. Earlier this season, the Eagles had a 16-play, 84-yard drive against Northern Iowa that marked the longest drive in terms of plays. Bell scored a rushing touchdown on that drive.
Keeping it at 3rd
The Eagles converted 7-of-16 3rd down conversions against the Bears, a 43.8 rate. Overall in 2026, Eastern converts 41.6 percent of its 3rd downs, ranking 3rd in the Big Sky. The team has 47 total conversions on 113 attempts.
Bell Effort
Nate Bell posted his 2nd career 300-yard passing game against UNC. Bell's 4 passing TDs are the most by an Eagle quarterback since Kekoa Visperas threw 4 against Montana in the 2024 season. Bell is 2nd in the Big Sky in passing yards (1931), tied for 2nd in touchdowns (15), and is 6th in completion percentage (63.4%). His 335 rushing yards rank 13th, and his 7 rushing touchdowns are tied for 3rd.
Receiver Room Takes Flight
Wesley Garrett posted his first career 100-yard receiving game against Northern Colorado, earning 138 yards on a career-best 8 receptions and his 5th career touchdown catch. Along with Garrett, Rylin Lang pulled in his 1st career touchdown. Drew Carlson had 3 catches for 34 yards, and Lang had 2 catches for 16. Jamai East posted a career-long 30-yard reception and had 2 catches for 57 yards total.
2026 EWU football season tickets are now on sale! Join Spokane County's team for six home games at Roos Field in Cheney starting as low as $99. 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 tickets 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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