Associated Press
BOZEMAN, Mont. — Gage Gubrud threw for 520 yards and four touchdowns to different receivers to lead Eastern Washington to a 41-17 win over Montana State on Saturday.
Gubrud was 37 for 51, hitting Shaq Hill, Cooper Kupp, Jayce Gilder and Zach Wemberly for scores to keep the Eagles (6-1, 4-0) unbeaten in the Big Sky Conference.
The Bobcats led from the opening drive until 2:27 was remaining in the half. MSU fumbled on its own 16 and the Eagles were in the end zone two plays later on a 9-yard TD run by Antoine Custer, Jr. to take a 21-17 advantage. EWU would tack on a 49-yard field goal by Roldan Alcobendas on the final play of the half, only their second halftime lead of the season, to go up 24-17.
“No matter how good your offense is, you’re not going to score 60 points every week,” EWU coach Beau Baldwin said in pointing out his defense’s second half play. “This isn’t by accident. It takes a lot of work and is something we’ve worked on for 3-4 months. You have to find ways to steal possessions. When they get chunks of yards, you need to get turnovers to stop them.”
MSU quarterback Chris Murray contributed a pair of big first quarter plays, but was held in check after that. He threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Conner Sullivan, then ran 70 yards for a score on the next possession giving the Bobcats (2-6, 0-5) a 14-7 lead.
The Bobcats had the ball deep in EWU territory twice in the third quarter, but came away empty both times as they failed to keep pace with the Eagles. Murray fumbled on the first drive and backup quarterback Tyler Bruggman was intercepted the second.
“We had two red-zone turnovers that allowed the opposition to stop us from scoring,” MSU head coach Jeff Choate said. “Those 2-3 bad plays a game have to stop. The margin for error against a team like Eastern is nothing.”
Kupp and Hill both went over 100 yards receiving for EWU as the Eagles amassed 596 yards of total offense. Kupp tied the FCS record for consecutive games with a reception at 45.
Nick LaSane ran for 85 yards on just five carries for MSU, while Murray ran for 74. Murray was just 5 for 12 passing for 71 yards and two interceptions to go along with two lost fumbles.
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