Oct. 11—Redshirt junior quarterback Nate Bell finished with another big passing night in Eastern Washington's 31-22 victory over Northern Colorado on Saturday, completing 25 of 37 attempts for 334 yards and a career-high four touchdowns.
"He was poised when he had time," EWU head coach Aaron Best said of Bell. "That's who he is."
But Best was still left wondering afterward what Bell — and the entire Eagles offense — could accomplish with better blocking.
"We've got to rely on those guys up front. They've been as healthy as ever," Best said of the Eagles' offensive line. "I don't know that they played their best ball, and at some point I'd like those guys to play their best ball so we can see what (Bell) can really do when we're playing our best ball in front of him."
"At some point let's put it all together and let him operate," Best said.
Until last week, Eastern (2-5, 1-3 Big Sky) started the same five players along the offensive line: redshirt junior Gabriel Rzany at left tackle, redshirt sophomore Mark Johnson at left guard, sophomore Dylan Scott at center, sophomore Michael Gradle at right guard and redshirt sophomore Gavin Allen at right tackle.
The exception was two games ago at UC Davis, when redshirt junior Kyle Stahlecker took over at right guard. Stahlecker started again for the injured Gradle against Northern Colorado (2-5, 1-3).
Against the Bears, Bell was sacked twice and finished with 16 rushing yards on seven carries (including the two sacks). He also completed passes to eight different receivers, a group that has dealt with injuries almost every week.
"We've been using every receiver we've got who is eligible and who is healthy," Best said.
Bell ranks second in the Big Sky with 1,931 passing yards and third with 15 passing touchdowns. He has thrown five interceptions but did not add to that total against the Bears. He also has 335 rushing yards, 13th-most in the Big Sky.
Eagles play without Smith, Nixon at safety
For the second straight game the Eagles played without sophomore Bryce Smith, who despite those absences still ranks second on the team with 49 tackles.
But the Eagles also played Saturday without sophomore Marcus Nixon, who had cycled in with Smith, redshirt junior Jaylon Jenkins and grad senior McKel Broussard at the safety spots.
Sophomore defensive back Messiah Washington, who made his season debut two weeks ago, made his first career start on Saturday and made nine tackles. He also broke up one pass and was credited with one quarterback hurry.
"He definitely did well," redshirt junior cornerback JoJo Maxey-Johnson said of Washington. "He's been fighting through some injuries. He's getting through it, and he helped us win a big game. We needed this win."
Redshirt senior linebacker Myles Mayovsky finished with a team-high 15 tackles, his second most this season. He leads the team with 64 tackles, second most in the Big Sky.
Eastern also played without redshirt sophomore wide receiver Bode Gardner, who was injured against UC Davis. But they welcomed back redshirt senior receiver Jamai East, who missed last week's game. East finished with 57 receiving yards on two catches against the Bears.
EWU breaks ground on stadium expansion
In a pregame ceremony on Saturday, various members of the Eastern Washington football program and community grabbed shovels and broke ground on Phase 2 of the Roos Field stadium improvements.
The improvement — a new press box on the east side of the field — is expected to be ready before the 2028 season.
"This is really just the beginning," Mike Mumford, who represented former players and alumni at the groundbreaking, said during the ceremony. "We need to follow through and raise the rest of the money."
Future phases of the project include improvements to both long sides of the stadium, including new suites and club seating on the west side and new restrooms and concessions adjacent to the new press box.
Tim Collins, Eastern Washington's director of athletics, pointed out that groundbreaking for Phase 1 of the project — the track resurfacing that was finished in August — was held on Oct. 10, 2025, exactly a year before Saturday's ceremony.
"We're not done. We're not finished," he said. "Hold onto that date (next year), just in case."