EWU must avoid taking Hornets for granted

The numbers aren’t the kind to scare an opponent. In fact, they may promote overconfidence.

Sacramento State set a dubious Big Sky Conference record last week with its 12th straight loss on the road. That brings the Hornets’ road skid to 19 games, 18 under fourth-year coach Steve Mooshagian heading into today’s game against Eastern Washington at Woodward Field.

And they’re wounded.

In last week’s 59-14 loss at Montana, running back Kris Daniels, the Hornets’ leading rusher, was lost with a sprained ankle and backup Gerwin Williams is questionable. Cornerback Jody Johnson is out with a knee injury.

Also, the coach suspended his son Bobby, the top wide receiver with six catches, for the EWU game because he threw a punch at a Grizzly.

Eastern Washington coaches hope the numbers produce a healthy dose of fear among their players, because a defeat by Sacramento State brings the kind of attention an opponent wants to avoid.

For the Eagles (1-3, 1-0 in the Big Sky), such a loss would be bookends of disappointment.

Sacramento State’s last road win came in 2002, when the Hornets outscored the Eagles 48-41 at Woodward Field.

Although Sacramento State is 0-3 (0-1 conference) with an eight-game losing streak, Eagles coach Paul Wulff is wary.

“They’ve lost to three really good football teams,” he said. “They lost to Boise State (and) they had an opportunity to beat Cal Poly. They’ve got great talent on defense and offensively they’re running the ball a lot better than they have. That’s going to always give them a chance. They’re hungry for a win.”

All three teams that defeated the Hornets are ranked.

For their part, the Eagles have issues.

They earned their first win of the season last week, with an improved by hardly dominant performance against struggling Montana State, 19-10.

It was only a week earlier that the Eagles lost 21-14 to Central Washington before the largest season-opening crowd in school history.

“We do owe … our fans,” Wulff said. “We need to provide an inspired effort. We need to play smart, play fundamentally sound. We need to put that together, play a complete ballgame, which we have yet to do.

“It comes back to how we play. We’re not in position to take anyone lightly. We’re not good enough to do that. … Winning at Montana State is going to help our momentum, and hopefully it helps us this week.”

The offense had its best game in Missoula, starting with the offensive line.

Toke Kefu sparked the running game with 93 yards. Redshirt freshman Matt Nichols was more comfortable in the pocket and with more time to throw completed 11 of 19 passes for 176 yards, including a handful of critical third-down conversions.

Eastern found the end zone just once, however, settling for four Brett Bergstrom field goals.

The defense limited MSU to 235 yards of offense, limiting the Bobcats to just four third-down conversions, and came up with three turnovers.

Yet two Montana State touchdowns were wiped out by untimely penalties.

The Hornets average 81.7 yards a game on the ground, to just 73 for the Eagles, but only 67 through the air.

“They’re a lot better than they were last year,” Eastern linebacker David Eneberg said. “They’re really run-oriented. Our main focus as always is to stop to stop the run. If we do that, we have a good chance to win.”

Hornets quarterback Marcel Marquez is a two-way threat but had his best day passing with 126 yards against Montana.

Sacramento State receiver Jason Barnes – who did not catch a pass in the first two games – caught four against UM for 104 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown. He’s the first Hornets receiver to get 100 yards since Fred Amey had 143 against EWU two years ago.