By SKYLINE SPORTS & NEWS SERVICES
It’s safe to say Cooper Kupp is feeling healthy once again.
After missing a game and a half with a shoulder injury, the Eastern Washington senior All-America wide receiver returned to the fold and dominated UC Davis. He scored the first touchdown on an afternoon EWU would score nine of them to spark yet another record-setting day. Kupp went on to catch 12 passes for 274 yards — one yard short of his EWU single-game record set last year against Oregon — and caught two touchdowns as Eastern exploded in the third quarter in a 63-30 runaway from UC Davis.
Already the FCS leader in career touchdown receptions, Kupp broke the FCS and Division I records for career receiving yards against UC Davis. His current total of 5,417 broke the record of 5,250 set by Elon’s Terrell Hudgins from 2006 to 2009. Kupp has a record 63 career receiving TDs, and is second on the all-time FCS receptions list with 352, 43 behind the record of 395 by Hudgins.
“He’s different, he just is,” EWU head coach Beau Baldwin said. “He inspires us in so many ways, just to keep working and grinding. He’s a leader in this program and this entire University with how he does things and handles himself. Ultimately, it’s obvious what we see on the field, and he does all the little things for us. It’s great to have him back this year.”
Eastern scored 35 unanswered third quarter points to overcome a 23-14 halftime deficit. The Eagles scored all of their points in the first 49:44 of the game en route to EWU’s highest-scoring game since 2001 when the Eagles had 63 versus Cal State Northridge and 66 two games earlier versus Simon Fraser. The 63 points equaled EWU’s best as a member of FCS and in a Big Sky game.
“We did respond and it was explosive,” Baldwin said. “It took all facets to do that, whether it was another big kickoff return, turnovers on defense or scoring on defense. Scoring 35 in the third quarter was kind of crazy. I don’t look at it as pounding our chest, I look at it as what do we need to do better when we get a 14-0 lead? And what do we need to do better to continue to play better in the second quarter? We were solid right off the bat, because it’s two weeks in a row we’ve been in that position. The game is 60 minutes and I love our guys – they just find a way to explode in all facets in that third quarter no matter what the score is.”
Quarterback Gage Gubrud had 254 passing yards in the third quarter alone, and finished with 486 to come five from the school record of 491. Eastern had 627 yards of total offense – the ninth-most in school history – including a 131-0 advantage after two possessions each for the Eagles and Aggies.
The outcome was a fitting result for EWU’s annual Hall of Fame Game, which featured the induction of former Eagle All-American and Tennessee Titans All-Pro offensive tackle Michael Roos. In addition, Roos and his wife, Katherine, were recognized with the Eastern Athletics Service and Contribution Award for their ongoing support of the Eagles, including a $500,000 pledge toward the red turf at the stadium that now bears his name.
Eastern is 4-1 and 2-0 in the Big Sky Conference, and the Aggies are now 1-4 and 0-2 in the league. Eastern was picked to finish as high as third in the league, while UC Davis was picked 12th in the media poll and 13th by the coaches. Eastern has now won all five previous meetings against the Aggies – 2005, 2007, 2012, 2014 and 2016.
“I’m proud, but like any competitive person I’m looking at the things we have to clean up and the things we have to improve,” Baldwin said. “I want to be more consistent offensively and defensively, and I feel like we’ve just been a little sporadic, especially in our two home games. We’ve been good, but then not so good in stretches of time. We have to figure that out, but we’re 2-0 in the conference and every game in this conference is hard to win. And it’s always hard to come from behind, and we have found a way to do that in every game this season. Our players are resilient that way, and as long as we have that, we know we always have a shot to win.”
UND sophomore Brady Oliveira rushed for more than 100 yards for a second straight week/ UND athletics
North Dakota 31, No. 16 Cal Poly 24 — North Dakota’s defense rose to the occasion as UND stuffed Cal Poly’s triple option and defeated the hottest team in the Big Sky Conference.
With All-America fullback Joe Protheroe on the shelf with a leg injury, Cal Poly rushed for 202 yards on 44 carries, almost 200 yards less than its season average entering the game in Grand Forks. Kori Garcia had a 33-yard run; other than that burst, the Mustangs averaged just 3.8 yards per carry. Cal Poly managed just one first down in the first half. Cole Reyes led UND with eight tackles, including one for loss. Freshman Torrey Hunt and junior Zach Arnell notched interceptions while Brandon Dranka had two tackles for loss.
“That was a complete team effort,” UND head coach Bubba Schweigert said. “We got contributions from all over the roster and I could not be more proud of the group of men we had in that locker room. We’re finding ways to win these tight games and beat a really good Cal Poly football team today.”
UND All-America running back John Santiago left the game with a knee injury early on and returned to the sideline on crutches. Without the 2015 Big Sky rushing champion and league Freshman of the Year, sophomore Brady Oliveira continued to buoy the UND offense. A week after rushing for 171 yards and two touchdowns in UND’s 17-15 win over Montana State, Oliveira rushed for 127 yards on 20 carries, including a 38-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to give UND a 24-14 lead.
North Dakota quarterback Keaton Studsrud threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns, including a 74-yard strike to Luke Stanley to give UND a 31-17 lead with 11:07 to play. Studsrud also scored a rushing touchdown.
UND won for the third straight time to move to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the Big Sky. Cal Poly had its three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 3-2, 1-1.
Nate Tago breaks through on a 72-yard touchdown run and had 199 yards for the day.
Portland State 45, Idaho State 20 — Portland State head coach Bruce Barnum said leading up to PSU’s matchup in Pocatello, Barnum said the Vikings were going to pair down the game plan and keep things simple. On Saturday, the Viks kept it as simple as it gets.
Portland State piled up 531 yards of total offense, each and every yard on the ground as the Vikings won going away despite not completing a single pass. Portland State’s rushing total missed the Big Sky Conference all-time mark by eight yards. Northern Arizona rushed for 539 yards against Cal State Northridge in 1973. PSU was only 20 yards away from the Big Sky record with more than 10 minutes left in the game when the starting lineup went to the sidelines.
Barnum spent six seasons as the offensive coordinator at Idaho State in the early 2000s
“Running the ball is a matter of toughness and they were way tougher than we were with their run offense and our run defense. We were out of gap control,” Idaho State head coach Mike Kramer said. “We didn’t get off blocks in the front. They didn’t run on the perimeter but they did a masterful job of disguising their intention. The plan we used wasn’t executed at all. They knocked us off the ball and got big plays throughout the day. Congratulations to those guys. They simply outplayed us in every venue.”
Just about everybody got in on the action for Portland State, but three runners got the biggest chunks. Running back Nate Tago went for 199 yards on just 12 carries and scored one touchdown. Paris Penn, operating from tailback and quarterback, chewed up 184 yards in just 16 totes and scored four times. Quarterback Alex Kuresa finished with 92 rushing yards — three fewer than he had in the first half alone. Had he cleared three figures, it would have been the first time in PSU history the school had three 100-yard rushers. He threw five passes but didn’t complete one.
The biggest statistical damage came in that first half, which was one Portland State lightning strike after another. The Vikings ran all over the Bengals for 384 yards in just 35 carries. After trailing 6-0, PSU drove 70 yards in just four plays to take the lead for good. Tago exploded for 35 of those yards on a simple dive, then Penn, operating from quarterback, kept on the option to the left and fled 22 yards untouched for the first PSU touchdown. That had the approximate effect of lighting a string of firecrackers. The Vikings scored on four of their next five drives the rest of the half for a 31-6 lead at the break.
PSU’s quick-strike ability was on full display. Kuresa got the last 69 yards of a four-play, 80-yard drive on a counter option to the left. He faked Tago into the right side, then pulled the ball out and outran the Bengals down the left sideline. ISU punted to the Vikings at the PSU 28 early, then on the first play Tago went untouched up the middle with nobody home in the secondary for a 72-yard touchdown romp. The next drive went 55 yards in just seven plays, with Penn diving into the right side, then bouncing outside for the last 24 and a 28-6 lead.
The PSU defense, in the meantime, plugged all the leaks and held the Bengals to just 77 total yards to halftime after the opening drive. ISU got only one more first down the rest of the half and never got on PSU’s side of the 50-yard line.
PSU is now 2-3 on the season, 1-1 in the Big Sky Conference. Idaho State is also 2-3, 1-1.
Northern Colorado 21, Northern Arizona 18 — With NAU All-America quarterback Case Cookus on the shelf with an injury, Northern Colorado stonewalled the Lumberjacks, pushing Northern Arizona further into a spiral as the Bears moved to 1-0 in league play.
NAU wide receiver Hunter Burton threw a 28-yard touchdown to Jonathan Baldwin on a trick play to put Northern Arizona up 7-0 midway through the first quarter. Northern Colorado shut out NAU for the next 50 minutes, using a stout performance in the secondary to limit the normally explosive Lumberjacks.
UNC running back Trae Riek caught a 27-yard touchdown pass to tie the game in the first quarter and Brandon Cartagena scored a 12-yard touchdown run to put the hosts up 14-7 at the end of the first. Quarterback Kyle Sloter’s 3-yard touchdown run before halftime gave UNC a 21-10 lead and that margin held until the final frame.
“For me, the main number is the score,” UNC head coach Earnest Collins Jr. said. “To hold those guys (NAU) to 18 points and then their offense is predicated around No. 8 (Emmanuel Butler) and No. 3 (Elijah Marks). They want to get those guys the ball. At the end of the game you look at the stat sheet and for Emmanuel Butler to have only 58 yards is impressive, our defensive staff did a great job of taking those guys out of the game, forcing NAU to run the ball.”
Northern Colorado’s young defense allowed just 18 points on 87 plays thanks to three forced fumbles, including two in the red zone. Redshirt freshman corner, Marshaun Cameron was the unsung hero of the day for the defense. Cameron finished with a career-high 13 tackles (10 solo, 3 assist), had two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.
“I saw the ball come out both times and all I’ve been taught to do is go get it,” Cameron said. “My eyes got pretty big both times and then guys jumped on me, but I was able to keep it secure both times. It feels good to come up with the recoveries, we talked about it all week in practice that we needed to get to the ball and create turnovers and we were able to do that today.”
For the third straight game, redshirt sophomore running back, Riek has rushed over 100 yards. It is also the fourth straight game of him recording a touchdown. UNC had a season-low 263 yards to NAU’s 493 yards but the defense proved to be the difference.
“NAU’s defense is really good – They’ve always had a good defense. We played them last year and they shut us down, but I think we came out ready and our o-line did work today, so I was really proud of them,” Riek said. “We talk about it all the time, just trying to get us, the running backs in general, or any of our guys on offense in the open field because that’s the kind of weapons we have. If you get us out in the open field you see what happens and what we’re capable of doing.”
No. 11 Montana 43, Southern Utah 20 — Montana moved to 1-1 in Big Sky play, 3-1 overall while SUU fell to 1-1 in Big Sky play, 2-2 overall. Click here for game story
Sacramento State 41, Montana State 38 — Sacramento State won for the first time this season, moving to 1-1 in league play, 1-4 overall. Montana State lost for the second straight time, falling to 0-2 in league play, 2-3 overall. Click here for game story:
