MOSCOW, Idaho — Eastern Washington football faced Idaho in Moscow on Saturday afternoon, and the Vandals won the matchup, 62-31. EWU's Big Sky record drops to 1-6 and 2-8 overall this season. Idaho improved to 5-2 in the conference and 5-5 overall.
Idaho took control from the start, jumping out to a 14-3 lead during the first quarter. The Vandals scored 10-plus points in each quarter and out-gained the Eagles 650 to 298 in total yards. They amassed 335 rushing yards on 42 carries - 8.0 yards per carry.
"It wasn't the big play until late. I would argue it was that we could not get off the field on defense. First half, we had a chance, but there was a personal foul. There was not much to be excited about in the game," head coach Aaron Best said. "We put some drives together late, and no matter who it's against, we were operating well. We were fighting, but our biggest plays were late when the game was out of reach. Credit to their offense that was going after us. They were throwing late and had an onside kick. They were aggressive in all three phases, and they beat us in all three phases."
Nate Bell passed for 174 yards, completing 17-of-24(70.8%) passes and one touchdown. EWU was limited to 50 yards rushing and 248 through the air.
Eag Notes
- Jaxon Bell caught his 2nd and 3rd career touchdown passes. Bell finished with 3 catches for a team-leading 42 yards. He is the first Eagle to have 2 touchdown catches since Efton Chism III had 2 against Northern Colorado in the 2024 season.
- Nate Bell rushed for his 9th touchdown this season and 16th of his career. He passed for his 20th touchdown of the season and 27th of his career.
- Soren McKee made his 46th career field goal and passed Mike Jerrett for 5th on the all-time scoring list. McKee has 293 career points after the field goal and 4 made extra points.
- Dishawn Misa recorded his 3rd career sack. Misa had 3 total tackles in the game.
- Ben Voigtlaender recorded his 2nd career solo sack and matched his career-best with 1.5 for the game. Voigtlaender matched his career-best with 6 tackles.
- Isaiah Perez now has 2.0 sacks this season and 8.0 for his career after the 0.5 sack line from the game today. Perez had 3 total tackles and 1 QB hurry.
- Jake Schakel passed for 74 yards on 6-of-10(60%) passing, with two touchdowns and one interception.
- David Cabrera caught his 2nd career touchdown.
- LJ Roberts led the Eagles with a career-best 9 tackles, making 3 solo. Vincent Macaluso registered 7 tackles - 3 solo - for a new career-best.
- Jaden Radke recovered his first career fumble. He had 1 tackle in the game.
- Eastern and Idaho tied in turnovers with 1 each.
Scoring Summary
Idaho opened with a long 12-play, 85-yard drive to score the game's first touchdown, a 28-yard run by Joshua Woods. The drive lasted 5:03.
Eastern got the ball back and started with Nate Bell converting a 3rd-down pass to Kayden Stuit for 18 yards. A pass interference play moved the ball into Idaho territory for the Eagles. Bell then completed a 15-yard pass to Rylin Lang for another first down. The Vandals stopped EWU from another 3rd-down conversion, but Soren McKee made a 37-yard field goal to give Eastern its first points. The score was 7-3 with 4:52 remaining in the first.
Idaho marched down the field on its next drive, scoring a 38-yard touchdown pass. The drive went 75 yards in 6 plays, consuming 2:31 to put the Vandals up 14-3 and 2:31 left in the quarter.
Idaho scored again to start the second quarter, this time a 25-yard TD strike that was part of a 6-play, 85-yard drive. The Vandals now had a 21-3 lead at the 11:11 point of the second.
Looking for a spark, Nate Bell moved the ball down the field, getting assisted by another pass interference penalty. Two plays later, Nate Bell found his brother Jaxon Bell in the corner of the endzone for a 25-yard touchdown. The Eagles cut the deficit to 21-10 and 7:44 left in the half.
Wood answered Nate Bell, organizing a 10-play, 79-yard scoring drive. Wood carried the ball in from 5 yards, and Idaho now led 28-10 at 2:23.
Closing out the half, Wood found his receiver for a 2-yard touchdown to put the Vandals up 35-10 at the break.
In the third quarter, Idaho added to their lead with a 39-yard field goal at the end of a 12-play, 44-yard drive. The score was now 38-10 at the 8:34 mark in the 3rd.
Bell was determined to keep competing as he drove the team down the field, 78 yards in 13 plays. The redshirt-junior then carried the ball from 6 yards to score the touchdown. The lead fell to 38-16 with 3:37 left in the quarter.
The momentum shift was short-lived as Idaho put together a drive to counter. The Vandals went 75 yards in 6 plays to score a 2-yard touchdown run. Idaho now led 45-17 as the third quarter expired.
In the fourth quarter, Idaho scored two quick touchdowns, a 39-yard and a 69-yard rushing touchdown to take the game out of reach at 59-17. The clock was at 10:33 in the fourth.
Jaxon Bell wanted another touchdown. He took the pass from Jake Schakel at the 6-yard line and scored his second of the day. EWU trailed 59-24 with 7:51 remaining.
At 4:54, the Vandals tacked on a field goal from 53 yards.
The Eagles played until the final whistle as Schakel fired a pass to David Cabrara in the endzone for his second touchdown toss of the day. The 25-yard touchdown brought the score to 59-31.
Up Next
Eastern Washington travels for its final road game of the 2026 season to play Utah Tech next Saturday (Nov. 14) in St. George, with kickoff at 1 p.m. Pacific Time.
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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