Eastern battles, but falls
Eastern Washington University’s junior quarterback Matt Nichols said going in that his offense would have to put up at least 40 points if the Eagles hoped to hang with 12th-ranked Texas Tech in Saturday season-opening college football team.
It turns out Nichols was right.
Eastern ended up on the short end of a 49-24 score in an offensive shootout witnessed by a Jones AT&T crowd of 49,887 at Lubbock, Texas.
Tech, which figures to play a prominent role in the Big 12 Conference title race this fall, took advantage of several EWU mistakes early in the game to forge a 21-0 first-quarter lead, and there was nothing Nichols, or any of his teammates, could do to claw their way back.
Red Raiders quarterback Graham Harrell, who led the nation in passing yardage last fall, torched the Eagles for 536 yards and two touchdowns through the air and ran for another score.
Nichols, who was victimized by a couple of early drops by his veteran corps of receivers – one of which led to a first-play-of-the-game interception that set up Tech’s first score, ended up completing 36 of 61 passes for 335 yards and one touchdown. He also scored on a 1-yard run that pulled the Eagles to within 28-14 late in the second period, and it looked like Eastern still had a chance to stage a huge upset when teammate Felipe Macias connected on a 55-yard field goal just before halftime.
Tech scored first coming out of intermission, however, and then added a pair of answered touchdown in the final period to turn away the Eagles.
This was supposed to be the year, according to Eastern’s first-year head coach Beau Baldwin, that the Eagles were mature enough to deal with a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent without having to wait a quarter to figure they belonged.
But that wasn’t the case on this day.
Baldwin and Nichols couldn’t convincingly explain why.
“We just weren’t in rhythm yet,” Baldwin said of his team’s slow start. “But we finally found it. Matt Johnson’s (second-quarter) pick was a huge play in the game. It was something that helped give us a little bit of rhythm.”
“After the first quarter, you catch up with to the game speed that they have, and after the quarter, it felt like a Big Sky game,” said Nichols, who threw three interceptions. “We went out and made some good plays, but just didn’t make enough.”
Harrell completed 43 of 58 passes and accounted for the majority of Tech’s 639 yards of total offense. Texas Tech rushed for only 103 yards against an Eastern defense that was constantly changing looks at the line of scrimmage to confuse the Red Raiders.
The Eagles managed only 23 yards on the ground, however, and allowed Nichols to be sacked three times.
Three Tech receivers had nine catches apiece, while junior wideout Tony Davis led Eastern with 13 for 114 yards and one touchdown.
“We battled all game long,” Baldwin said. “You never want to start a game that way, but our team never got down.
“After being down 21-0, we won the second quarter 17-7 to put ourselves in a good position at halftime. I’m not into moral victories, but I’m proud of our fight and how we left it all out on the field.
Tech coach Mike Leach was not particularly happy with his team’s play, despite the large margin of victory.
“We are a spotty team,” he said. “I don’t think we played what I consider well more than three series in a row on either side of the ball.
“We’ve got a long ways to go, and a lot of room to get better.”
Montana State 59, Adams State 3: At Bozeman, tight end Brandon Bostick caught three touchdown passes from two quarterbacks as the Bobcats overwhelmed the Division II Grizzlies in a lightning-delayed season opener.
Portland State 31, Western Oregon 14: At Portland, Bobby McClintock ran for four touchdowns to lead the Vikings to a win over the Wolves.
Sacramento State 45, Humboldt State 13: At Sacramento, Calif., Bryan Hilliard rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns and Evander Wilkins ran for another 103 yards to help the Hornets beat the Lumberjacks.