No shootout, but Eastern hits mark against Bobcats

Somebody still owes us a shootout.

Something wild and crazy and completely beyond reason. Something bold. Something Big Sky.

Something that realizes the boundless possibility of two Payton Award wannabe quarterbacks flinging darts at one another. Something that bends and twists the field into some various geometric shapes and exhausts the ordnance of the ROTC guys and the cannon charged with keeping track of touchdowns.

Something in the 50s, at least, with four-digit yardage.

Which is not to say that Eastern Washington’s 35-14 mauling of Montana State on Saturday was devoid of entertainment or drama. It was what it was – a statement by the Eagles and a mission of survival. But not the expected spectacle.

Not, say, “The Lion King” in cleats.

This didn’t seem to bother the 8,399 who made their way to Woodward Field for the harmless contrivance that is the Governor’s Cup – which, for the first time in 21 years, actually set the apostrophe in motion behind the “s,” what with both states’ CEOs in attendance. Washington guv Christine Gregoire looked particularly collegiate in a red EWU jersey – No. 5, presumably in honor of the number of legal challenges Dino Rossi filed trying to keep her out of office. The two governors also had the obligatory wager in place: a salmon Gregoire caught off of Westport against some buffalo steaks from Montana governor Brian Schweitzer’s ranch, which begs the question:

What happens if we ever elect a vegetarian?

If the anticipated yardage orgy had materialized, it might have kept our minds off such trifles, and there was little reason to think it wouldn’t.

After all, the Bobcats were coming to town behind Travis Lulay, the pass-run-punt showoff who has engineered nearly a dozen second-half comeback victories as MSU’s quarterback. And, of course, Eastern countered with Erik Meyer, top gun in total offense in all of NCAA Division I-AA.

There was just one problem: Both teams were playing for their playoff lives, but only the Eagles seemed to realize it.

MSU coach Mike Kramer had just such a premonition the first couple of times his Bobcats had the ball.

“We drop three of our first four passes,” he complained. “(Tight end) Elliott Barnhart dropped one right in front of our bench, Tremaine (Murray) dropped one on the outside and Jevon Miller dropped one off his face mask. I said earlier in the week the subalterns at receiver were going to be the guys who determined the win.”

Once again, Kramer gets extra credit for being the only football coach in America to use “subalterns” in his postgame remarks. But the real credit goes to EWU coach Paul Wulff and his staff for a more fundamental read on what was necessary:

A new look. And a few old hands.

The Eagles arrived at Woodward on Saturday with any number of defensive issues, the freshest of which was the slicing and dicing done unto them last week in a loss at Cal Poly. Also in their minds was last year’s game at Montana State – in which the Eagles clinched the Big Sky title but allowed the second-most points in a victory in their history.

“Last year they hung 44 on us,” recalled defensive coordinator Jody Sears, “and we played a lot of man-to-man coverage. They hit two really big ones on us. So we said the heck with that, let’s play the run, play some zone and keep things in front of us. Lulay’s everything to them – he”s their leading rusher – so let’s just keep track of him.”

Just how well the Eagles did this was remarkable. Lulay did get 72 yards on foot, but threw for just 237 yards and needed 28 more attempts than Meyer – who was knocked out of the game at the end of the third quarter – to get 31 more yards. Mostly, the Eagles didn’t get hung up thinking they had to smother the quarterback: Eastern had no sacks to the Bobcats’ seven.

“It wasn’t pressure,” Kramer allowed, “it was coverage.”

Helping that was the return of injured DBs Isaiah Trufant and Gregor Smith for at least part-time play, but also the sting of the Poly humiliation (“Everything’s a little personal,” said rover Nick Denbeigh). But the zone changed the game.

“It gives us the ability to keep our eyes on the quarterback,” said linebacker Joey Cwik. “You can look at what he’s going to do because he likes to stare down his receivers.”

Said Wulff, “It took half of their playbook away.”

MSU took more than that away when Meyer was knocked out on a body slam – actually a neck slam – by rover Nick Marudas. But by that time, the Bobcats had frittered away the third quarter and trailed by three touchdowns – four when Ryan Jarrett ran back a pick for a TD moments later.

“Didn’t matter,” Kramer shrugged. “The clock was going to tick too fast and their scheme and Paul’s coaching were never going to allow us back in it – unless you get some onsides kicks. And when you start depending on a play that’s about 3 percent successful, you’re in trouble.”

Speaking of being in trouble, Eastern remains so. The Eagles still aspire to the I-AA playoffs, but their only sure entree is the Big Sky title – and now they must count on MSU beating rival Montana next weekend. But for one Saturday, at least, there was some redemption for a season which hasn’t been as fulfilling as the Eagles imagined.

“When this team’s healthy, we can beat any team in the country,” Wulff insisted. “We’ve proven that. I think we’re the best team in the country. There have been some games when we haven’t been based on some issues of not playing well, but this is where we’re at.”

Which is a heartbeat away from another Big Sky title. Hey, crazier things have happened.

The shootout that wasn’t, for instance.