Mauled by Beavers
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Think worst-case scenario for the Eastern Washington University Eagles.
It certainly was Paul Wulff’s worst nightmare.
His football team got off to a bumbling, stumbling start and was destroyed 56-17 by Oregon State Thursday night before 38,071 fans at Reser Stadium and a regional television audience.
“It took us a while to settle down and the avalanche to stop,” Wulff said.
How bad was it?
Well, it probably depends on how long the Beavers really cared, which was, at best, for one half. The halftime score was 42-7.
By then OSU had 284 yards to Eastern’s 94.
It was 137-10 on the ground with Yvenson Bernard racing for 107 and scoring two touchdowns.
Matt Moore, the Beavers’ starting quarterback, threw for 88 yards and two touchdowns, both to massive tight end Joe Newton.
EWU’s two quarterbacks, Chris Peerboom and Matt Nichols, each going two series before switching, completed half of their passes for 84 yards, but OSU backup Sean Canfield was 4 of 6 for 59 yards and a touchdown.
The Eagles had three turnovers and no conversions on six third downs. OSU converted on 5 of 8 third downs and was 1 for 1 on fourth.
Only two of Ryan Donckers’ four punts were returned by Sammie Stroughter, but he set up one touchdown with a 32-yard return and took the other 51 yards for a score.
It wasn’t until the Beavers closed the half with a 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive that took 5 minutes, 36 seconds that they took over time of possession, 17:09 to 12:51. Their first three scoring drives took a total of nine plays and 3:48 to cover just 64 yards.
At least former OSU running back Ryan Cole was able to score on a 9-yard run for the Eagles to cap a penalty-aided 51-yard drive midway through the second quarter after an Anthony Dodson interception.
How bad was it?
After a game-opening incompletion, Peerboom dropped a snap, with OSU taking over on the 12. Three Bernard runs later, the last going 3 yards, made it 7-0 just 112 seconds into the game.
Starting the next series Peerboom stumbled on a handoff and knocked down Cole for a 5-yard loss. After a 4-yard completion, Peerboom lost 4 yards on a sack, leading to Stroughter’s first long punt return to the EWU 23. Two plays later, Moore hit Newton at the 2 and he bounced a tackler, stepping into the end zone for a 21-yard TD.
Nichols replaced Peerboom, but scrambling on third-and-3 he fumbled the ball away. After a Moore incompletion, Bernard covered 29 yards on three rushes, the last a 16-yarder untouched to make it 21-0 at the 6:51 mark.
“The turnover that set the tone was probably the first one,” Wulff said. “Somehow the exchange wasn’t good.”
Then Nichols threw an interception on the next possession, but OSU kicker Alexis Serna missed a 49-yard field goal.
That was just the first quarter.
“Being put in that tight of spot (on the first three possessions) is hard on any defense,” EWU safety Brandon Keeler said. “With new players in there and some inexperienced players, it just showed up.”
The follies continued in the second quarter.
How bad was it?
The third play was Stroughter’s touchdown.
Tony Davis fumbled the ensuing kickoff, although the Eagles recovered. Nichols fumbled again on a sack, leading to Canfield’s 35-yard TD pass to Anthony Wheat-Brown after a fourth-down conversion.
The second half wasn’t appreciably better, though an OSU fumble on the first possession led to a 39-yard Brett Bergstrom field goal and Davis closed the scoring with a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown.
“We just got so far behind so quick,” Wulff said. “The encouraging thing is the kids kept playing.”
EWU finished with 126 yards of total offense, its lowest since getting 132 against Idaho in 1995. A year earlier, the Eagles rushed for 11 yards against the Vandals, but courtesy of five OSU sacks finished with minus-14 yards against the Beavers.
“We didn’t take care of the ball,” said Eagles left guard Harrison Nikoloa. “The first three series were unacceptable. … We didn’t execute. Give Oregon State credit. We did some good things, but the line wasn’t clicking – we weren’t in sync.”
Peerboom finished 3 of 8, missing both of his attempts in the second half before suffering a concussion in the third quarter. Nichols was 9 of 18 for 117 yards.
Oregon State finished with 483 yards, 274 in the air. Moore did not throw a pass in the second half and Bernard only rushed three times for 17 yards.
“We didn’t play to the level of expectations for us even after the first three series,” Keller said. “Our tackling just wasn’t good.”
How bad can it get?
The Eagles play next week at fifth-ranked West Virginia, which opens its season against Marshall on Saturday.
“We didn’t play all that well,” senior tight end Tim Calhoun said. “First game, a lot of young guys had big eyes.”