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Ogden • One look at the weary, disconsolate Weber State faces was all it took to understand that a big one got away. More than the game, which was as painful a loss as the Wildcats will probably have this season, it was a possible Big Sky Conference championship that flew out of Stewart Stadium with the Eastern Washington Eagles.
The Weber State (2-3, 1-2 BSC) players made all the right noises about still being in the title chase. But Saturday's 35-24 loss pretty much put the Wildcats in the position of playing for a post-season at-large bid.
But there is plenty of work to do even before that can be achieved.
"Mentally, we're not good enough mentally," WSU coach Ron McBride said afterward. "We made too many critical errors."
McBride recited a litany of mistakes when players were in the wrong position, made the wrong read or, worst of all, were standing on the sidelines when they should have been on the field. The Wildcats also scored just three first-half points for the second consecutive week.
"It all goes back to coaching and guys knowing what they're supposed to do," he said. "There are no excuses for any of this."
Two glaring game-changing moments came in the second half, following a furious third-quarter rally that saw Weber State erase a 14-3 halftime deficit to take a 17-14 lead.
WSU quarterback Cameron Higgins was intercepted twice on the Eastern Washington (3-2, 2-1) goal line, and twice the Eagles turned potential calamity into touchdowns. EWU eventually scored 21 unanswered points and a 35-17 lead. "We had our hands full defensively, but our players did a good job," EWU coach Beau Baldwin said. "Then they made some key picks down there in the red zone that were huge. You win that turnover battle you almost always win."
The first pick came after a Higgins' pass bounced off of Joe Collins' hands. A mixup in the play call as well as the formation caused the second.
"We've got to meet the defense halfway," Higgins said. "They play 75 percent and we're at 25 percent. They're busting their butts. We've got to make plays."
Ironically, when Weber State did settle in a complete a long, clock-eating drive, it came as time was getting short.
Conversely, even with their big play maker Taiwan Jones injured and on the bench, EWU quarterback Bo Mitchell was able to spread the ball around make the necessary plays to win. The Eagles converted 11 of 19 third-down chances and 4-of-5 red zone opportunities.
"They didn't outplay us physically," WSU linebacker Nick Webb said. "They outplayed us mentally. We can look at [Jones not playing] as a slap in the face. 'We didn't need him to win this game.'"
E. Washington 35, Weber St. 24
E. Washington 7 7 7 14 — 35
Weber St. 3 0 14 7 — 24
First Quarter
EWas • Gant 12 pass from B.Mitchell (Jarrett kick), 9:46.
Web • FG McClain 39, 5:18.
Second Quarter
EWas • M.Brown 5 pass from B.Mitchell (Jarrett kick), :05.
Third Quarter
Web • Collins 7 pass from C.Higgins (McClain kick), 10:56.
Web • Phillips 65 pass from C.Higgins (McClain kick), 8:50.
EWas • Gant 37 pass from B.Mitchell (Jarrett kick), 6:32.
Fourth Quarter
EWas • Beaumonte 16 pass from B.Mitchell (Jarrett kick), 14:50.
EWas • Beaumonte 7 run (Jarrett kick), 9:43.
Web • Hancock 4 pass from C.Higgins (McClain kick), 1:15.
Attendance • 5,462.
EWas Web
First downs 22 24
Rushes-yards 40-128 36-144
Passing 337 315
Comp-Att-Int 23-36-1 25-44-3
Return Yards 65 70
Punts-Avg. 7-50.0 5-45.8
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 9-55 8-75
Time of Possession 31:45 28:15
Individual Statistics
Rushing • E. Washington, Beaumonte 26-78, M.Brown 13-36, B.Mitchell 1-14. Weber St., Bolen 14-54, Booker 9-45, Hoke 4-17, C.Higgins 5-15, Tafuna 2-8, Eldridge 2-5.
Passing • E. Washington, B.Mitchell 23-36-1-337. Weber St., C.Higgins 25-44-3-315.
Receiving • E. Washington, Kaufman 5-138, Gant 5-110, Seto 3-26, M.Brown 3-21, Beaumonte 2-21, Martin 2-15, Edwards 1-11, Hart 1-8, B.Mitchell 1-(minus 13). Weber St., Phillips 6-165, Collins 6-66, Booker 4-28, Cosper 3-20, Tafuna 1-15, Raught 1-8, Jankowski 1-7, Hancock 1-4, Bolen 1-2, Eldridge 1-0.