Eastern Washington held up its end of the bargain. Montana did not. But it does not diminish the magnitude of the matchup in Cheney, Washington next week, particularly when you ask the surging Eagles.
No. 3 EWU and No. 10 UM spent the first half of the 2016 season as the cream of the crop in the Big Sky Conference. Many pointed to Saturday’s showdown at Roos Field in Cheney as the pivotal contest of the Big Sky campaign.
Eastern Washington came off its bye week to play a complete game in a 41-17 win over Montana State in Bozeman. EWU quarterback Gage Gubrud threw for a school-record 520 yards and four touchdowns while the EWU defense forced five turnovers and shut out the Bobcats for the final 44 minutes of the game to score 27 unanswered points and move to 4-0 in Big Sky play.
Montana junior wide receiver James Homan/ by Jason Bacaj
Montana dropped its conference opener 42-41 to Cal Poly but built momentum with three dominant wins in a row in Missoula. The Griz piled up 627 yards and scored 27 unanswered points to run away from Southern Utah 43-20 for their first conference win. Montana stepped away from conference play for a week and destroyed Mississippi Valley State, allowing minus-61 yards rushing and scoring 67 unanswered points in a 67-7 win. Two Saturdays again, the hot streak continued as Montana pushed the streak of unanswered points to 128 with 61 straight against Sacramento State in a 68-7 victory.
The Grizzlies ran into a buzz saw in Flagstaff against suddenly surging Northern Arizona. Two crucial turnovers by the visitors and UM’s inability to slow down NAU’s vertical passing game, particularly early, led to the host’s third straight win, a 45-34 victory that gave Northern Arizona its third win over Montana in the last four matchups between the two teams.
The loss drops Montana to 2-2 in Big Sky Conference play and into a tie with Northern Colorado for sixth place in the conference. North Dakota is 5-0, a win ahead of EWU and Weber State, the other two unbeaten Big Sky teams at 4-0. Cal Poly’s 21-16 win over UC Davis moves the Mustangs to 3-1, alone in fourth. NAU is now 3-2 after consecutive wins over Montana State, Idaho State and Montana. UM and UNC are 2-2, while Southern Utah is alone in eighth with a 2-3 league record.
EWU head coach Beau Baldwin/by EWU Athletics
Despite Montana’s recent loss and the way it changes the outlook of its season — the Griz will need help to claim their first Big Sky title since 2009 — the Eagles understand the meaning of its yearly matchup with Montana.
“We have always respected that program so much and what they have done over the years. And more than anything, let’s just focus on 2016 and what they’ve accomplished,” EWU head coach Beau Baldwin said after his team’s win in Bozeman about an hour before the Montana-NAU game kicked off. “They are an incredibly good football team. We’ve seen the numbers they have put up and what they have done both at home and on the road. We know we have our hands full, regardless whether it’s Montana or any team playing incredibly well overall. They’ve done an amazing job and have been very consistent this year. We’re always excited to play Montana.”
Although Eastern concludes its season with the “Battle for the Dam Cup” against rival Portland State, the Griz are arguably the more fierce foe in the Eagles’ eyes. Montana won 13 Big Sky titles in 14 years (including its negated title in 2011). EWU has won four league titles this decade.
“We feel confident,” Gubrud said. “We come off a nice little win here (in Bozeman) and we have to go out and prepare, but we are going to enjoy this one for sure. It will be a fun one next week.”
Eastern Washington senior DE Samson Ebukam (3), pictured here after forcing a fumble against Montana State/ by Brooks Nuanez
Baldwin lost three of his first four matchups against Montana after taking over in 2008, the lone win coming during EWU’s 2010 national championship. EWU won four in a row between 2012 and 2014, including beating Montana two times in three weeks and knocking the Griz out of the 2014 playoffs with a 37-20 win in the second round two seasons ago.
Last season, Montana sacked EWU’s quarterbacks five times and forced six turnovers in a 57-14 blowout that boosted UM into the playoffs and served as the middle of three straight losses to end the season for Eastern Washington.
“I’m already pissed off,” EWU senior defensive end Samson Ebukam said. “I know we just won this game but I’m pissed until we beat Montana. We lost to them last year and we haven’t forgotten that.”
