SEATTLE, Wash. — The matchup was difficult for Eastern Washington football as they traveled to play a ranked FBS opponent, but walked off the field with a lot to build on as a team. Eastern fell to No. 24 Washington, 48-16, competing with energy for 60 minutes. EWU's record drops to 1-3 this season, while the Huskies improve to 3-0.
"I loved to say the score wasn't indicative of how we were playing. Getting the redzone pick was huge, and momentum kind of swayed our way even though the scoreboard didn't say so. The score is what it is. There was a tone of resolve, and that was the difference from last week for sure," head coach Aaron Best explained.
Washington asserted itself early, taking a three-touchdown lead into halftime. The Eagles scored in each quarter, but not enough to keep pace with the high-powered Husky offense.
UW outgained the Eagles, 546 to 315, while racking up 398 yards through the air. Husky quarterback Demond Williams Jr. threw for four touchdown passes.
Eastern was committed to the run, gaining 142 yards on 46 carries, a 3.1 yards-per-carry average. Nate Bell rushed for 50 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries. Malik Dotson had 48 yards on 13 carries.
"How we can build on that will be determined coming back home," Best added. "We played 3 of 4 on the road against four really good teams. We'll try to get healthy, and we're playing with guys that don't have a ton of experience on the edge. We hung in there for the better part of three quarters. We don't like to just hang around in games. But when the guys give what they have, and breaks don't go our way, they still look at us and say, "We're good." That's a good feeling."
Scoring Summary
The Huskies scored first, driving 74 yards on 8 plays to a 15-yard touchdown pass from Demond Williams Jr.
The Eagles responded as Nate Bell directed the ball downfield, connecting with Rylin Lang for 10 yards. He added an 11-yard rush to keep the drive going. Bell then connected with Lang for a big, 33-yard gain to the UW 2-yard line. The Husky defense halted the drive, but Soren McKee connected from 20 yards on the field goal attempt to put Eastern on the board. EWU trailed 7-3 with 5:58 on the clock.
UW offense continued to work, going 73 yards on a 10-play drive, with Williams Jr. throwing another touchdown from 5 yards out. The lead for the Huskies was now 14-3 and 45 seconds left in the first quarter.
Eastern was up to the challenge, and Bell picked up where he left off to start the team's next drive, finding Wesley Garrett for a 20-yard completion. After two pass interference penalties on the UW, Garrett took a reverse play 17 yards and placed the Eagles in the redzone. On the next play, Bell raced 14 yards to the right corner of the end zone for the touchdown. EWU cut the lead to 14-10 at 13:47 in the third quarter.
The Huskies' offense had established a rhythm as they scored 14-straight points, starting with a 3-play, 45-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass. UW followed up with a 7-play, 50-yard drive as Williams connected for his 4th touchdown pass, this time from 18 yards. The Huskies' lead grew to 28-10 with 3:30 remaining in the half. UW made it 17 straight points, closing the second half with a 25-yard field goal to go up 31-10.
Out of halftime, Eastern put together a drive to get back in the game. Highlighted by a 32-yard rush from Bell, EWU moved into Husky territory. McKee was called on again and converted a 37-yard field goal to bring the lead down to 31-13 at 10:48 in the third.
On the Huskies' next possession, they moved the ball 93 yards on 5 plays, scoring on a 1-yard rushing touchdown. The lead was up to 38-13 and 3:08 left in the third.
Eastern continued fighting in the third, as Bell completed passes to Kevin Allen III and Lang to get some rhythm on offense. Bell was distributing the ball to multiple targets and put the offense back into field goal range. McKee remained reliable and made his third field goal from 43 yards away. EWU now trailed 38-16 at the 13:07 mark of the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, UW closed out the Eagles with 10 points, starting with a 32-yard field goal, followed by a 2-yard touchdown run to go up by 32 points.
Eag Notes
- Nate Bell notched his 5th rushing touchdown of the season and 12th of his career. He had 150 yards on 13-of-25(54.2%) passing, completing passes to 10 different receivers.
- Marcus Nixon made his first career interception. Nixon added 3 tackles in the game.
- Soren McKee set a new career-best with 3 made field goals.
- Bryce Smith posted 10+ tackles for the second consecutive game, finishing with 12 total and 4 solo. He now has double-digit tackles in 3 of 4 games this season.
- Isaiah Perez recorded his first solo sack of the season and has 1.5 total this year. Perez finished with 4 tackles.
- Ambrose Marsh set a new career-best with 7 tackles, making 5 solo.
- Rylin Lang led the Eagles with 3 catches for 56 yards, 1 shy of his career-best set last week against South Dakota.
- The teams tied in the turnover battle with 1 each. EWU grabbed the interception, and UW forced a fumble.
- EWU fell to 0-4 all-time against UW.
Up Next
Eastern Washington is back home next week to continue Big Sky play, hosting Cal Poly on Saturday, Sep. 26, and kickoff at 4 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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