Seattle, WA - Quarterback Matt Nichols led an offensive juggernaut for Eastern Washington, throwing for 413 yards and four touchdowns as the Eagles defeated Portland State, 47-10, at Qwest Field.
On the defensive side, safety Matt Johnson was equally spectacular, intercepting four Portland State passes as neither the Viking offense or defense could get a foothold in the game.
The win improved Eastern Washington to 6-3, 5-2 in the Big Sky Conference. The Vikings lost their third straight, falling to 2-7, 1-5.
The Viking defense started well, holding the talented Eagle offense to -9 yards on its first three series. Included was a safety after
Jermaine Jacobs hit quarterback Matt Nichols in the endzone. Jacobs forced a fumble that the Eagles recovered. PSU led 2-0, but from that point nothing went well for the Vikings.
Nichols got the Eagle offense going in a big way, leading it to five first-half touchdowns, including three through the air.
Meanwhile, the Vikings threw three interceptions and missed two field goals in the half. PSU moved the ball between the 30s but couldn’t produce points.
The only other highlight was a second safety by the Vikings when outside linebacker
Ryan Pedersen sacked Nichols in the endzone in the second period.
PSU trailed 33-4 at halftime.
Nichols threw one more touchdown pass in the second half to reach 84 in his career and tie the Eastern Washington record.
Viking quarterback
Drew Hubel made his first start in three weeks after injuring his knee in a win at Northern Colorado. But he was ineffective, completing only 7-23 for 98 yards and throwing three picks.
His backup,
Connor Kavanaugh threw for 57 yards and rushed for 68 but the Vikings never found the endzone.
Freshman kicker
Zach Brown made two field goals in the second half, from 47 and 38 yards. That brought his season total to 15 field goals, tying a Portland State record set by
Danny Urrego in 2008.
Eastern Washington finished the day with 545 yards of total offense to 278 for the Vikings. PSU ended up throwing five interceptions in the game.
Jacobs and Pedersen had nine tackles each, including the sacks for safeties. Pedersen had three tackles for loss and two sacks total. Jacobs forced two fumbles in the game.
GAME NOTES: Portland State was playing in Seattle for the first time in its 63-year football history. Eastern Washington played in Seattle for the first time in its 101-year history. It was also the Vikings’ first neutral site game since playing the NCAA II National Championship game in Florence, AL in 1988... Portland State hosts Montana State next Saturday at PGE Park in the final home game of the season. Kickoff is 1:05 p.m.
Photo Credit: Steve Brenner
