A second straight loss at Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Arizona puts the Montana Grizzlies behind the eight ball for the first time during this Big Sky Conference season. After suffering their second conference loss in four outings, now UM will need help if the Griz hope to claim their first Big Sky title since 2009.
Montana committed two timely turnovers, failed to convert two more fourth down tries in its own territory and could not slow down Northern Arizona’s vertical passing game, particularly early, as NAU posted a 45-34 victory on Saturday evening.
UM lost its last matchup in Flagstaff 34-16 in 2013. Montana and NAU did not play in 2014. The Griz beat the Lumberjacks 23-14 in Missoula last season, UM’s only win over NAU in the last four meetings between the teams. Montana beat Northern Arizona 14 consecutive times between former Griz defensive coordinator Jerome Souers’ first season as head coach at NAU in 1998 and 2011. In 2012, NAU beat Montana 41-31 on homecoming.
Montana’s attention now turns to surging Eastern Washington. The No. 3 Eagles scored 27 unanswered points thanks to a record-setting day by quarterback Gage Gubrud and a defense that forced five Montana State turnovers and allowed no points over the final 44 minutes of a 41-17 win in Bozeman. Gubrud set a school record with 520 yards passing and he threw four touchdowns.
EWU enters the game against the Griz with the top passing offense in the FCS. After Gubrud’s sixth game where his total offense mark ranked in the top 11 in school history, Eastern is now averaging 412.8 passing yards per game. Gubrud has thrown 27 touchdowns, the top mark in the FCS, and Saturday’s performance marked the first time an EWU quarterback surpassed 500 yards; Jordan West threw for 491 yards in a 28-20 win over Sac State last fall, the former school record.
EWU senior Shaq Hill caught seven passes for 147 yards and a first-quarter touchdown. Three-time All-American senior Cooper Kupp caught 13 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown, the 64th of his record-setting career. Kupp now has 27 career 100-yard games and has caught a pass in 45 consecutive starts, tying another all-time college football record.
Eastern Washington sophomore quarterback Gage Gubrud leads the country in total offense per game/ by Brooks Nuanez
Eastern Washington is 4-0 in league play with games against Montana, at Cal Poly, at home against Idaho State and at Portland State remaining. EWU is 6-1 overall, a resume that includes a 45-42 in over Washington State, a rally from a 24-7 deficit to beat Northern Iowa 34-30 and Big Sky wins over NAU (50-35), UC Davis (63-30), Northern Colorado (49-31) and MSU.
The NAU loss drops the Griz to 2-2 in Big Sky Conference play, 5-2 overall. The Griz are tied with Northern Colorado in sixth place in the league standings. North Dakota is 5-0, a win ahead of Eastern Washington and Weber State, the only three teams remaining without a conference loss. Cal Poly, who defeated Montana 42-41 in San Luis Obispo in the league opener for both teams, is alone in fourth at 3-1. NAU’s third straight win boosted it into fifth at 3-2 in BSC play after a 1-4 overall start.
Had Montana won at NAU, Saturday could’ve held two key showdowns on the schedule. Weber State plays at North Dakota. UM wins over NAU and EWU could have ensured only one team would enter November without a conference loss. Instead, Montana can only keep pace but still can hand EWU its first Big Sky defeat in Cheney on Saturday.
UM wide receiver Jamaal Jones gets ups up field after a catch vs. EWU in 2015/by Evan Frost
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. 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.
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.”
QUICK HITS
Location: Cheney, Washington
Nickname: Eagles
Founded: 1882. Eastern Washington is a public university which is academically divided into four colleges: Arts and Letters; Business and Public Administration; Science, Health and Engineering; and Social & Behavioral Sciences and Social Work.
Enrollment: The school has 13,453 total students and a $52.2 million endowment.
Stadium: Roos Field holds 8,700 fans. Complete with its trademark red turf, the stadium is named after Michael Roos, an All-Big Sky offensive lineman who is currently a Pro Bowl offensive lineman for the Tennessee Titans. EWU is averaging 10,259 fans per game this fall.
THE TEAM (3-0 in Big Sky, 5-1 overall in 2016)
The Coach: Beau Baldwin, ninth season at Eastern Washington. Baldwin has established himself as one of the top young coaches in America. The 44-year-old led EWU to a fourth Big Sky crown in five seasons in 2014. As his ninth season reaches its stretch run, Baldwin has posted a 53-14 Big Sky record. Baldwin is 79-31 in his time at EWU, including a 13-2 mark in 2010 en route to the FCS National Championship.
WHAT TO WATCH — THE OFFENSE
Cooper Kupp, wide receiver, 6-2, 200, senior — Each week it seems Kupp breaks more records as his resume approaches the length of a novel. The reigning FCS Offensive Player of the Year is far and away the Big Sky Conference’s all-time leader in catches, yards and touchdowns.
Despite missing a game and a half, Kupp still leads the Big Sky in receiving yards this season with 866. He has 59 catches and eight touchdowns, giving him 370 catches for 5,925 yards and 64 touchdowns. His yardage and touchdown totals are already the best in the history of Division I football, FBS or FCS. Kupp needs 25 more catches over the final four games of the regular season to surpass Terrell Hudgins of Elon’s all-time Division I mark.
Kupp now has 27 100-yard games in his career and has caught at least one pass in 45 games, tying Jacksonville State’s Josh Barge record. In four career games against Montana (EWU and UM played twice in 2014), Kupp has 37 catches for 520 yards and three touchdowns, an average of nine catches for 130 yards and nearly one touchdown per outing against the Griz.
Gage Gubrud, quarterback, 6-2, 195, sophomore — Jordan West threw 30 touchdowns after taking over for Vernon Adams when Adams transferred to Oregon last off-season. Early and late last season, West split time with redshirt freshman Riley Hennessey. Gubrud threw just 13 passes and hardly played.
When new passing game coordinator Troy Taylor entered the equation, his spread offensive concepts put a premium on using the quarterback in the run game. Gubrud’s ability to run between the tackles and scramble on designed pass plays helped him beat out West and Hennessey in the off-season.
The results so far have been breathtaking. Gubrud has six of the top 11 single-game total offense performances in school history midway through his first season as a starter. He threw for 474 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown in EWU’s win over Washington State. He threw for 450 yards and four touchdowns against NDSU. He threw two interceptions and was benched in place of Hennessey in the comeback over UNI only to rally the next week to throw for 392 yards and rush for 95 yards against NAU.
Gubrud barely missed a school record by throwing for 486 yards and six touchdowns against UC Davis, adding 39 yards rushing and a TD on the ground. Two weeks ago against Northern Colorado, he was 33-of-39 for 450 yards and five touchdowns and had 79 yards on 11 carries. His 520-yard passing performance against Montana State is the single-game record at EWU.
Gubrud leads the country in completion percentage (69.8), passing yards (2,886) and passing touchdowns (27).
Bourne
Kendrick Bourne, wide receiver, 6-3, 190, senior — Kupp draws all the headlines but Bourne has put himself in a position to play on Sundays as well. The two-time All-Big Sky selection is having arguably the best season by a receiver in the Big Sky by a player not named Kupp. He is averaging 99.4 yards per game. He has 49 catches for 696 yards and three touchdowns. In his career, Bourne has 181 catches for 2,620 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Shaq Hill, wide receiver, 5-10, 180, senior — Since earning a fifth-year of eligibility — Hill sat out last season with a knee injury — one of the fastest players in the league has been an X-factor for the Eagles. Hill has caught at least five passes in six games, surpassing 100 yards on three different occasions. He caught seven passes for 153 yards and tied a school record by grabbing four touchdowns in EWU’s win over Northern Colorado. This season, Hill has 42 catches for 669 yards and a team-high nine touchdowns after snaring seven passes for 147 yards and a first-quarter score against Montana State.
THE DEFENSE
Ebukam
Samson Ebukam, defensive end, 6-3, 245, senior — EWU’s Buck end has assumed more of a hybrid role in second-year defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding’s scheme. The long, lean Ebukam plays more in space but still has the ability to rush the passer, which he showed to full effect on Saturday in Bozeman. The two-time second-team All-Big Sky pick is tied with Jay-Tee Tiuli for the team lead with 2.5 sacks and his 5.5 tackles for loss are a team best. He has 33 total tackles and has recovered two fumbles. Ebukam switched from number 91 to 3 in the off-season. He forced a key fumble against Montana State that helped the Eagles turn a 24-17 advantage into a runaway.
Miquiya Zamora, linebacker, 6-1, 230, senior — The captain has been a starter in the middle of Eastern’s defense for three seasons. The two-time All-Big Sky selection is second on the team with 54 tackles, including three tackles for loss and two sacks. He has also broken up a pass. He had two tackles for loss and a sack against Montana State.
Bruce
Zach Bruce, safety, 5-10, 195, senior — Bruce earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors in 2014 but injuries plagued him last season. This season, he is back to full health and is the anchor of EWU’s much-improved secondary. His 59 tackles lead the team. He has two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and three interceptions, including one against MSU as the Eagles forced five turnovers.
D’londo Tucker, cornerback, 6-0, 170, junior — Tucker earned a starting job as a true sophomore in 2014 only to see that season end with knee surgery. He struggled to fight his way back into the starting lineup until this fall. This season, he has two interceptions, including one he returned 27 yards for a touchdown to spark EWU’s avalanche of UC Davis. Tucker Has 12 tackles, a tackle for loss and three pass breakups. He recovered a fumble on Saturday at MSU.
Photos courtesy of Eastern Washington Athletics or noted. All Rights Reserved.
