In another ranked matchup at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash., the Eastern Washington University football team played host to Montana State University on Saturday (Nov. 6) afternoon, falling by a final score of 23-20 in the final regular season home game of the year. With the loss, No. 5 Eastern Washington drops to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in Big Sky Conference play while the No. 4 Bobcats improve to 8-1 overall and stays unbeaten in conference play at 6-0.
On Senior Day, Eric Barriere threw for 214 yards (21-31-0) and moved from fifth to second on the Big Sky Conference's all-time passing yards list. He now has 12,265 in his career and needs 352 to break former Eagle Matt Nichols' record of 12,616. Fellow senior Tristen Taylor also etched his name into the EWU record books with his 56th career game and start, the most ever in program history.
The result marked Eastern's first loss to Montana State since 2011 and snaps a seven-game winning streak to the Bobcats. The Eagles were able to force two turnovers, but the 63-0 streak since 2010 of winning when winning the turnover battle now comes to a close.
"It's unfortunate. Our defense played hard and played well in a lot spurts, but there were too many explosives in certain situations. In the first half, we got out of harm's way a few times, when they got into the red zone Montana State was 0-and-2. That's a testament to our players on defense. They (Montana State) missed the field goal and then went for it on fourth-and-three and didn't convert. Those are almost turnovers, too, when you really think about it – no points and the ball went back to the offense," said head coach Aaron Best. "We didn't have enough points on offense. We have to find ways against good defenses to score more points, 20 points at home isn't going to get it done. Defensively, we only gave up 23 points, there were a ton of yards but not a ton of points. Sometimes it happens that way, where all of a sudden, a team comes in and has a ton of yards but they bow their neck at the right time, and we did that on defense. We got two turnovers, but didn't do a lot with them, and it's the first time in a long time that we've won the turnover battle and didn't win the game. We had multiple opportunities, but we have to find a way offensively to score points against really, really good defenses, whether it's home or away."
The Eagles were held to 314 yards of total offense compared to No. 4 Montana State's 544 yards. The Bobcats rushed for 291 yards and had 253 through the air, and EWU went for 100 yards on the ground plus 214 passing yards. The Bobcats also held the ball for 36:16 and Eastern had possession for 23:44. MSU had only committed eight turnovers all season, and the Eagles forced two today without committing any.
The Bobcats struck first on their opening drive, but EWU would wind up outscoring Montana State 13-7 in the first quarter thanks to two passing touchdowns from Barriere. From that point on, MSU held Eastern Washington without a touchdown until the fourth quarter, outscoring the Eagles 16-0 from that point on.
Trailing 16-13 entering the fourth, MSU extended the lead to 23-16 before Cale Lindsay recovered a fumble. Dennis Merritt then scored his 14th touchdown of the year on a one-yard rush, cutting the lead to 23-20, but the Eagles came up just short.
Talolo Limu-Jones was Eastern's leading receiver, hauling in 94 yards on six catches with a touchdown. Freddie Roberson followed with 43 yards on four catches plus a touchdown as well. Dennis Merritt rushed for 45 yards on 13 carries and found the endzone as well.
Defensively, Cale Lindsay led the way with 15 tackles plus a fumble recovery. Ty Graham (11) and Anthany Smith (10) also had double-digit tackles. Calin Criner had nine tackles plus an interception and a breakup.
Eastern Washington now concludes the regular season on the road. First up is No. 8 UC Davis on Saturday, Nov. 13 in Davis, Calif. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. Pacific time on ESPN+ on 700-AM ESPN. The Aggies are 8-1 overall (5-1 Big Sky) and have won three-straight, most recently topping Northern Arizona by a score of 40-24 at home.
The Eagles conclude the regular season at Portland State on Nov. 20, then await a postseason decision on Nov. 21.
GAME DETAILS: The Eagles outscored MSU 13-7 in the first quarter, but it was the Bobcats who struck first on their opening drive with a 56-yard rushing touchdown, taking a 7-0 lead.
Eastern Washington immediately answered on the next drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Eric Barriere to Freddie Roberson, but EWU's two-point conversion failed, only cutting the score to 7-6.
The Eagles took their first lead of the game when Barriere threw a perfectly placed pass into the corner of the endzone for Talolo Limu-Jones, who hauled in the score for 18-yards. The touchdown capped an eight play, 85-yard drive that took 2:34 off of the clock. At the end of the first, EWU led 13-7.
The tables turned in the second quarter, as it was the Eagles who were outscored 9-0. The Bobcats missed a 37-yard field goal attempt in the early goings, but retook a 14-13 lead after a 67-yard touchdown pass.
The Eagles made a big stop on fourth and three on their own four-yard line and took over on downs, but then were slapped with a holding penalty and it resulted in a safety, giving the Bobcats a 16-13 lead.
The third quarter would end up being a defensive showing by both teams, as neither side found the endzone and the Bobcats amassed 66 yards of total offense and EWU was held to 24. Eastern Washington did have one forced turnover in Calin Criner's ninth career interception on Montana State's opening drive, but the Eagles were stalled on the ensuing drive and couldn't capitalize. At the end of the third, EWU trailed 16-13.
The first score in the second half came from the Bobcats on a 43-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter that capped just a two-play, 95-yard, drive to extend the lead to 23-13.
After the Eagles went three-and-out, the defense provided a spark, as MSU's quarterback Matthew McKay fumbled and Cale Lindsay was there for the recovery and Eastern took over on the Bobcat 47. Dennis Merritt then found the endzone for the 14th time this season on a one-yard rush, capping a five-play, 45-yard drive. That would wind up being the last score of the game, as the Eagles were edged 23-20.
More Comments from Head Coach Aaron Best:
On EWU's Defensive Performance and MSU's Big Plays: "Even though it's deflating, at the end of the day, a lot of teams would take 23 points given up as a defensive effort. We'll take that, all day, everyday, no matter what the yardage is or how they score. Again, I go back to scoring more points and being more fluid. There were too many situations against a good football team where you're going three-and-four-and-out but it wasn't flow-driven. There was more flow than the last time out on the Red, but not enough against a good defense, a good team, and a well-coached team.
On Montana State's Defense: "It's a good defense. And we couldn't muster enough in the run game to get the safeties at or near the line of scrimmage as much as we wanted to. We dropped a few balls in situations where we could've moved the sticks. We all had a hand in this, it wasn't just one side or one guy, we all had a hand in this. Against good football teams, it's going to go back and forth and we have to be able to muster some of that momentum that was taken away from us in those situations. It's unfortunate we got a touchdown called back on an offensive interference, but those things are going to happen. But getting into situations where it's third-and-forever and having to punt the ball wasn't the outcome anyone anticipated. We're led by our seniors and a lot of them played well from the ground level. We'll lean on them for the next two games, but this one hurts for more reasons than one. We have to find a way to score more points at the end of the day and we haven't done that in the last two games."
On the Remainder of the Season: "We're a 7-2 football team right now, and we need to get to eight wins. Nine wins isn't in the realm until you get to eight. We're a week away at minimum, so we have to find a way. We have to challenge ourselves as coaches to look at this and do more than just learn, we have to do something with the learning. Because 314 yards against any defense isn't okay. We have the best player in America at quarterback, and we have to be in more situations where we're explosive and have rhythm in a game. It wasn't up to our standards."
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