Eastern Washington fumbles spike try, falls short of upset vs No. 2 Montana

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Montana football, undefeated in Division I FCS, caught an all-time break against Eastern Washington on Saturday, Nov. 8.

The No. 2-ranked Grizzlies led 29-24 in the final seconds of the game, but Eastern Washington drove all the way to Montana’s 5-yard line. EWU quarterback Jake Schakel, making his first career start, tried to spike the ball to stop the clock — but instead made a crucial mistake.

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Schakel fumbled the ball, losing his grip as he attempted to slam the ball into the ground to set up a final play for the game-winner. Eastern Washington recovered the ball, but the clock had already expired.

Montana ultimately avoided a scare against the 4-6 Eagles, improving to 10-0 in 2025.

In Schakel’s defense, Eastern Washington wouldn’t have been in a position to win if it wasn’t for the redshirt freshman quarterback. He completed 43 of 63 passes for 451 yards with two touchdowns to two interceptions on the day.

“(Jake) stood in there and made a ton of plays, over and over again,” Eastern Washington coach Aaron Best said after the game. “He stood the test of all the pressures and situations. That was a memorable one and our guys fought. They gave everything they had and that’s all we asked. We’ll bounce back and we’ll be better for it knowing we just took the number two team in the country toe-to-toe and five yards away from winning the game.”

Montana led 22-0 after the first quarter before Schakel and Eastern Washington mounted a comeback that fell just short. Eastern Washington made the score 29-24 with 61 seconds left after a Schakel touchdown throw. The Eagles then recovered the onside kick, setting up the potential game-winning drive.

EWU drove 44 yards in four plays before the fumbled spike attempt. They couldn’t quite pull off the upset with the late-game blunder, but may have found their quarterback of the future.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Eastern Washington fumbles spike try, falls short of upset vs Montana

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