CHENEY — The Eastern Washington Eagles (2-6) fell in dominant fashion at home Saturday 56-20 to the Montana State Bobcats (6-1). Head Coach Aaron Best was candid in a postgame interview, according to EWU Athletics. 

“Our guys battled, and I thought we got some momentum on the surprise onside kick recovery, but it was a three-and-out right after. It seems to be a common theme to create momentum with a big play, but do not capitalize on it,” Best said. “On the defensive side, there were too many explosive plays and those explosives were touchdowns. A few of them were on third and fourth downs. It was not only explosives, but a conversion that ended in a touchdown.”

The Eagles were first on the scoreboard, putting up three points after a promising drive led by Nate Bell was halted by a fumble. They maintained the 3-0 lead into the early stages of the second quarter where the Bobcats got their run game rolling off a 32-yard rushing score by Adam Jones. MSU struck once more with a 33-yard rushing touchdown by Jared White, increasing their lead to 14-3.

The Eagles kept pounding as they moved the ball into field goal territory, allowing kicker Soren McKee to convert and cut the deficit to 14-6. The defense held up for the most part, giving Bell and the Eags’ a chance to earn more points before halftime. However, back-to-back interceptions by Bell, one of which resulted in a pick-6, allowed MSU to build a 28-6 lead by halftime. 

The Bobcats continued their dominance after a 59-yard kick return set quarterback Justin Lamson up for a 41-yard touchdown run. Eastern showed they had plenty of fight left in them, as they put together two scoring drives to cut the game to 35-20 in the latter stages of the third quarter.

However, MSU dug their heels in to extend their lead with three scores in the fourth quarter to seal the 56-20 win at Roos Field. 

“(Montana State) was a great offense and they came back and fought; they were hungry after a tough loss in Moscow (Idaho),” Best added. “We played well in pockets and unwell in other pockets. We did some good things up front and protected (Bell) better. We got the run game on track a little bit. The two turnovers when we were down 28-6 out of half put us behind in what could have been a 21-point swing.”

According to MSU Athletics, the Bobcats rushed for 242 yards on 27 carries, averaging 9.0 yards per carry, with six touchdowns. MSU grabbed three interceptions by the time the final whistle blew.  Lamson completed 12-of-19 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown. Carter Dahlke accounted for the majority of Lamson's passing, catching five for 112 yards and a touchdown. 

“We controlled the middle eight (minutes of the game),” MSU Head Coach Brent Vigen said in a statement by Bobcats Athletics. “That is a critical time to do whatever you can do right before the half, and then to come out and score right after halftime was so important.”

EWU outgained MSU in total yards, finishing with 439 yards to the Bobcats' 413. Bell passed for 282 yards and completed 35-of-53 of his passes, with one touchdown. Kevin Allen III rushed for 78 yards on 17 carries - 4.6 per carry - scoring one touchdown.

Best and the Eagles will look to flush this loss as they turn their focus to the bye week, and when they return to the gridiron, they’ll host the University of Montana Grizzlies at 1 p.m.

BOX SCORE:

MSU: 0-28-7-21: 56

EWU: 3-3-14-0: 20