Eastern Washington failed to slow down No. 2 Montana State’s offense, leading to a 42-28 defeat on Nov. 2.
The Bobcats are ranked first in the Big Sky in offensive points per game due largely to their explosive rushing offense. MSU averages 310.8 yards per game, first in the conference by over 70 yards per game.
Conversely, the Eagles allow 215.7 yards per game, the fourth-lowest mark in the Big Sky. On Saturday, Montana State took advantage of the matchup.
The Bobcats ran for 316 yards and 4 touchdowns. Sophomore running back Scottre Humphrey led the team with 21 carries and had 110 yards and a touchdown, while freshman running back Adam Jones had 61 yards and a score. MSU’s senior quarterback Tommy Mellott ran for 125 yards and one touchdown.
Mellott was effective through the air as well. He completed 13 of 20 passes for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns. He ranks second in the Big Sky with 19 passing touchdowns this season.
Senior quarterback Kekoa Visperas suffered an injury in EWU’s previous game against Idaho, and Eastern Washington started senior Jared Taylor against the Bobcats. The Eagles leaned on Taylor heavily, as he not only threw 27 passes for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns, but also ran the ball 25 times for 61 yards.
Senior quarterback Michael Wortham also took snaps at quarterback and completed 2 passes for 24 yards. However, his biggest contribution came on a 75-yard touchdown run on a fake reverse play.
Montana State scored the first 14 points of the game. On MSU’s second drive, Mellott compiled 59 total yards, and Humphrey punctuated the drive with a one-yard rushing score. The Bobcats got the ball back on the next play, recovering a fumble by Wortham on the kickoff, and Mellott completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Taco Dowler.
Wortham helped make up for his mistake on Eastern Washington’s next drive. He returned the kickoff for 36 yards to set up the Eagles with good field position and later had a 17-yard run to put EWU inside the Bobcats’ 10-yard line. On third-and-goal, Taylor completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Efton Chism III.
Chism III led the Eagles with 9 catches for 78 yards and a score. He leads the Big Sky conference in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. Prior to Saturday’s game, he ranked first, second, and third in those categories in the country.
MSU responded in the second quarter via a 20-yard touchdown run by Jones to push their lead to 21-7. All 75 of the Bobcats’ yards came on the ground.
Eastern Washington took just two plays to cut Montana State’s lead back to seven. After Taylor ran for no gain, Wortham faked the reverse and took the ball down the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown.
MSU mixed in both passes and runs on a subsequent 16-play drive. Humphrey was the player most involved, rushing 6 times for 26 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown to give the Bobcats a 28-14 lead which they took into halftime.
The Eagles made a comeback early in the second half. Taylor threw a 3-yard pass to junior running back Tuna Altahir, who ran for an 11-yard touchdown on EWU’s next drive to tie the game 28-28.
However, Mellott ran for a 76-yard touchdown on the next play, and it was all Montana State from there. Eastern Washington did not score again, and Mellott threw a 61-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Ty McCollough to seal the game.
The Eagles are now 2-7 this season, and 1-4 in conference games. Their next game is on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 11 a.m. against Northern Colorado at Nottingham Field. It can be streamed on ESPN+ or listened to on 700 ESPN, 105.3 FM, or the Varsity Network app.
