EWU humbled in blowout loss to Montana

MISSOULA – Eastern Washington has spent a season living on the edge.

Now the Eagles are at the edge of the cliff, shoved there Saturday afternoon by a Montana team that outplayed them in every phase of a 57-16 Big Sky Conference blowout at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

“This is the most embarrassing game I’ve ever played in my career,” said senior roverback and team captain Todd Raynes. “In three years I’ve never lost to Montana, and to lose your last one like this. …”

But even as Raynes’ voice trailed off, he regained some hope that all will turn out OK in a season that has gone south in a hurry.

“We just have to put together one more good week of practice, one more good week in the film room,” Raynes said after the Eagles fell to 6-4 overall and 5-2 in the Big Sky.

Coming on the heels of a 22-point loss to Northern Arizona, the Eagles’ latest one-sided defeat leaves them with one last chance to return to their accustomed spot in the FCS playoffs.

But even a win over Portland State in the regular-season finale next week won’t erase the memory of Eastern’s worst Big Sky loss in two decades. Not since a 63-7 pummeling on this same field in 1995 had the Eagles lost this convincingly to another FCS team.

Facing a Montana squad that was given playoff life in an overtime win last week at Idaho State, the Eagles couldn’t match the Grizzlies’ execution or intensity – no matter who played at quarterback.

And there were many. Ending days of speculation, Eastern coach Beau Baldwin gave redshirt freshman Reilly Hennessey his first start of the season. Sort of.

Hennessey alternated with former starter Jordan West, a strategy that didn’t faze the Grizzlies but left Hennessey dazed after a thundering hit by Montana lineman Yamon Sanders early in the second quarter.

Hennessey never returned, spoiling Baldwin’s plan and leaving the Eagles where they ended last week: with an offense that simply couldn’t move the ball when it mattered most. West was ineffective, as was third-stringer Gage Gubrud.

For the game, Eastern was 2-for-15 on third down while Montana was 8-for-14.

Asked about his quarterback strategy, Baldwin said, “They were all excited about their roles. I felt it could have been a very successful plan to maximize each of their skills in different spots … but we got down early.”

Indeed, the play that sidelined Hennessey also resulted in a fumble return that pushed Montana’s lead to 27-3. The Eagles found a tiny spark late in the first half when wide receiver Cooper Kupp ran a reverse and fired a 21-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne.

It would be Eastern’s only touchdown pass of the game, but it gave the Eagles a glimmer of hope. Trailing 30-9 late in the half, the Eagles were deep in Montana territory and knew they would have the ball again to start the second half.

But with 7 seconds left and the Eagles on the Montana 14-yard-line, West threw two straight incompletes to end the half. Moments after taking the field for the third quarter, EWU running back Jabari Wilson fumbled and the rout was on.

“We felt it get away from us again in terms of mistakes, turnovers and things like that,” Baldwin said after watching his team cough up the ball six times. “There are just things we have to continue to clean up. We’re just not at a point — and not many teams are – to withstand some of our own mistakes.”

Montana was held to a pair of field goals that made it 36-9, but the floodgates opened a few minutes later on the best play of the game, a 45-yard touchdown catch by Jamaal Jones.

And the guy who threw it? That was another nasty surprise for the Eagles. Junior Brady Gustafson, who hadn’t played since suffering a leg injury in mid-September, had a solid game, completing 20 of 34 passes for 266 yards.

Raynes said he wasn’t surprised that Gustafson got the start – “He’s the better quarterback,” said Raynes - but who added that he was surprised at Gustafson’s ability to look off receivers and then deliver a strike.

Jones’ catch made it 43-9, and the game was put utterly out of reach when West threw a pick-6 on Eastern’s next possession.

Kupp had six catches for 119 yards, moving past Jerry Rice and into seventh in FCS history in career receptions, with 304. He has 106 catches this season, breaking the school record of 104 he set last year.