Passing game scrambled EWU
BOONE, N.C. – The passing game that had been so productive for Eastern Washington University all season didn’t show up until the final few minutes of Saturday’s showdown against Appalachian State in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
As a result, the Eagles saw their late-season run sidetracked by a 38-35 loss to fifth-ranked Appalachian State at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Sophomore quarterback Matt Nichols struggled to find open receivers as the Mountaineers’ veteran secondary covered nearly every route Eastern’s young wide receivers tried to run.
Nichols finished the game completing 24 of 42 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns, but 90 of those yards and one of the TDs came in the final 6 minutes as the Eagles scored two late TDs to make things interesting.
Prior to those last two scoring drives, he had thrown for 95 yards and had one pass picked off.
It was only the second game in which Nichols did not throw for more than 200 yards this fall, and his efficiency rating of 105.1 was his lowest of the season.
After the game, Nichols and his receivers spoke about the Eagles’ inability to move the ball through the air.
“I wouldn’t say they’re any better, athletically, than any of the Big Sky defensive backs,” Nichols said of ASU’s secondary. “I just felt like they were very well coached. They knew what we going to try to do to them, and they stopped it. … At the end there, when we realized it was now or never, we started making some plays. We just needed to do that a little bit earlier.”
Sophomore wideout Aaron Boyce, who led the team with five catches, also gave credit to the Mountaineers’ secondary, but admitted he and his teammates did not play their best.
“They had a real good scheme and confused us a little,” he said, “but I don’t think we played to our potential. I don’t think we ever got in sync. Our timing was never really there. That’s a credit to them and how they defended us, but it also just wasn’t our day.”
Eastern coach Paul Wulff thought ASU’s experience in the secondary was critical to the game’s outcome.
“They were able to cover our receivers,” he said. “They’re a senior-laden secondary. They’re all seniors back there, and we’re all sophomores and just didn’t get open much. And when we did, we dropped a few balls and missed a few throws.
“We just couldn’t get in sync, so the consistency in our passing game that has been there all year wasn’t there today.”
It didn’t help, either, that the Eagles turned the ball over three times – twice on fumbles and once on an interception.
“A couple of those were definitely my fault,” Nichols said, “and that’s something I can’t do, because it really hurts the team.”
Of the turnovers, Wulff said, “We lost that battle, too, and therefore we lost the ballgame.”