Jim Allen

After dying by the big play in the first half, the Eastern Washington defense positively thrived by it in the third quarter against Sam Houston State. No play was bigger than free safety Tevin McDonald’s strip and pick of Bearkats quarterback Jared Johnson, a play that Eastern coach Beau Baldwin called the most important of the game.

Never mind the billboards: Eastern Washington football didn’t really start until the third quarter of Saturday’s season opener against Sam Houston State. After squirming for 30 minutes under the microscope of a national television audience, the top-ranked Eagles finally broke free to beat the 17th-ranked Bearkats 56-35 on Saturday afternoon at sold-out Roos Field.

Offered a chance to be a part of a landmark football weekend at Eastern Washington University, Colin Cowherd didn’t hesitate. “It makes me proud and it makes me smile,” the national sports radio personality said of an event that combines some of his biggest passions: college football and the Northwest, especially the school in Cheney that he credits for “providing the canvas to paint my future.”

Vernon Adams wants to explain his actions: the high-stepping, the gyrating, the sudden change of direction. In other words, his dance steps during warmups before every Eastern Washington football game, when the Eagle quarterback sometimes wears headphones instead of a helmet and seemingly marches to his own playbook.

There are days when Dylan Zylstra asks himself, “Wouldn’t it be awesome to just go to class?” Just class, nothing else. No endless sessions in the film room, no lifting heavy plates in the weight room and the dining room. No getting knocked on his butt at practice.

K.C. Keeler is a Texan now. He hasn’t just accepted the stereotypes, he’s embraced them, from his wife’s first trip to a gun club to his own growing midsection.

Spreading the wealth Last year, the Eagles got 2,924 of their 5,247 receiving yards (or 55.7 percent) from just two players: the graduated Ashton Clark (1,233 yards and 10 touchdowns) and All-American Cooper Kupp (1,691 yards and 21 TDs). Assuming Kupp, now a redshirt sophomore, gets more attention this year from opposing defenses, it will be up to others to pick up the slack. That includes senior Cory Mitchell (47 catches, 699 yards last year) and junior Shaq Hill (38 catches, 790 yards), plus veteran Blair Bomber – all of whom can expect to line up in Eastern’s four-receiver sets.

K.C. Keeler is a Texan now. He hasn’t just accepted the stereotypes, he’s embraced them, from his wife’s first trip to a gun club to his own growing midsection.

PULLMAN – For many reasons, these are the best of times for Washington State women’s soccer: Five NCAA tournament appearances in the last six years, an enthusiastic new coach and an athletic department that’s given them another 4 million reasons to rejoice.