Montana State routs Eastern Washington 56-20

Team pages: Montana State · Eastern Washington

Montana State6-156
Eastern Washington2-620Final
Sat, Oct 17 · Roos Field, Cheney, Wash. · Crowd 5,318ESPN+

Montana State routed Eastern Washington 56-20.

We had Montana State favored. It won.

Next: Montana State vs Weber State, Sat Oct 24 · 3:30 PM ET

Next: Eastern Washington vs Montana, Sat Oct 31 · 4:00 PM ET

How it swung

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Montana State a 91% chance, and the closing betting line (Montana State was a 20.5-point favorite) put it at 95%.

FinalMontana State 56-20 Eastern WashingtonMontana State wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.
50%75%90%Q1Q2Q3Q4Montana StateWon56-20Scores
50%75%90%Q1Q2Q3Q4Montana StateWon56-20Scores
50%10%25%Q1Q2Q3Q4Montana StateLowest 0%Lost20-56Scores
50%10%25%Q1Q2Q3Q4Montana StateLowest 0%Lost20-56Scores

No single play moved the chance by 20 points.

No single play moved the chance by 20 points.

Montana State’s chance to win after every play.
How to read this chartStarts from the pregame line (Montana State -20.5), at 88% for Montana State (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores.

Every drive

Montana State scored on 7 of its 12 drives; Eastern Washington on 4 of its 15.

Montana State’s drives are teal, Eastern Washington’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

own goalgoal lineQ1Eastern Washington: Punt, from 75 yards out to 41PuntMontana State: Punt, from 89 yards out to 89PuntEastern Washington: Interception, from 57 yards out to 39InterceptionMontana State: Punt, from 56 yards out to 47PuntEastern Washington: Field goal, from 82 yards out to 25Field goalMontana State: Touchdown, from 75 yards out to 0TouchdownQ2Eastern Washington: Punt, from 87 yards out to 59PuntMontana State: Touchdown, from 80 yards out to 0TouchdownEastern Washington: Field goal, from 75 yards out to 7Field goalMontana State: Punt, from 75 yards out to 68PuntEastern Washington: Interception, from 79 yards out to 67InterceptionMontana State: Touchdown, from 5 yards out to 0TouchdownEastern Washington: Interception returned for a touchdown, from 75 yards out to 43Interception TDEastern Washington: End of half, from 77 yards out to 68End of halfQ3Montana State: Touchdown, from 41 yards out to 0TouchdownEastern Washington: Touchdown, from 86 yards out to 0TouchdownEastern Washington: Punt, from 65 yards out to 63PuntMontana State: Punt, from 94 yards out to 89PuntEastern Washington: Touchdown, from 48 yards out to 0TouchdownMontana State: Punt, from 75 yards out to 66PuntEastern Washington: Punt, from 80 yards out to 90PuntQ4Montana State: Touchdown, from 47 yards out to 0TouchdownEastern Washington: Punt, from 79 yards out to 70PuntMontana State: Touchdown, from 82 yards out to 0TouchdownEastern Washington: Turned over on downs, from 79 yards out to 47DownsMontana State: Touchdown, from 53 yards out to 0TouchdownEastern Washington: End of game, from 74 yards out to 55End of game

Box score

Montana State 56, Eastern Washington 20

Montana State covered −20.5 by 15.5. The total, 76, went over 64.5.

Montana State leaders

  • Passing Justin Lamson 12 of 19, 171 yds, 1 TD
  • Rushing Adam Jones 12 for 84 yds, 3 TD; Cale Breslin 4 for 53 yds, 1 TD
  • Receiving Carter Dahlke 5 for 112 yds, 1 TD; Rocky Lencioni 2 for 27 yds

Eastern Washington leaders

  • Passing Nate Bell 35 of 53, 282 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT
  • Rushing Kevin Allen III 17 for 78 yds, 1 TD; Jaxon Bell 9 for 37 yds
  • Receiving Drew Carlson 10 for 86 yds; Rylin Lang 8 for 54 yds

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last three games

Montana State · 5-1

Rated 84th in our preseason ratings, 84th now.

2-1 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

L 34-35 @ Idaho #170 of 668

lost by 1 as a 14.5-point favorite

Montana State lost 34-35 at Idaho. Chance to win started at 82%, low under 1%, high 97%.

W 28-14 vs Northern Arizona #153 of 668

won by 14 as a 20.5-point favorite

Montana State won 28-14 vs Northern Arizona. Chance to win started at 94%, low 82%, high better than 99%.

W 35-30 vs Central Connecticut #190 of 668

won by 5 as a 41.5-point favorite

Montana State won 35-30 vs Central Connecticut. Chance to win started at 99%, low 76%, high better than 99%.

Last three games

Eastern Washington · 2-5

Rated 186th in our preseason ratings, 195th now.

1-2 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

W 31-22 vs Northern Colorado #241 of 668

won by 9 as a 6.5-point favorite

Eastern Washington won 31-22 vs Northern Colorado. Chance to win started at 70%, low 69%, high better than 99%.

L 38-49 @ UC Davis #145 of 668

lost by 11 as an 8.5-point underdog

Eastern Washington lost 38-49 at UC Davis. Chance to win started at 27%, low under 1%, high 28%.

L 27-31 vs Cal Poly #212 of 668

lost by 4 as a 3.5-point favorite

Eastern Washington lost 27-31 vs Cal Poly. Chance to win started at 67%, low under 1%, high 85%.

Week by week

Eastern Washington

Wk 2: L 23-41 at South Dakota▼18S. DakotaWk 3: L 16-48 at Washington▼32Washingt…Wk 4: L 27-31 vs Cal Poly▼4Cal PolyWk 5: L 38-49 at UC Davis▼11UC DavisWk 6: W 31-22 vs Northern Colorado▲9N. Color…
  • Wk 2Lat South Dakota23-41
  • Wk 3Lat Washington16-48
  • Wk 4Lvs Cal Poly27-31
  • Wk 5Lat UC Davis38-49
  • Wk 6Wvs Northern Colorado31-22

Montana State

Wk 1: W 51-24 vs Butler▲27ButlerWk 2: W 20-7 at Nevada▲13NevadaWk 3: W 35-30 vs Central Connecticut▲5C. Conne…Wk 4: W 28-14 vs Northern Arizona▲14N. Arizo…Wk 5: L 34-35 at Idaho▼1Idaho
  • Wk 1Wvs Butler51-24
  • Wk 2Wat Nevada20-7
  • Wk 3Wvs Central Connecticut35-30
  • Wk 4Wvs Northern Arizona28-14
  • Wk 5Lat Idaho34-35

Power rating by week

Montana State is rated 8.1 points ahead as of week 6. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

1-4-10Wk 0Wk 3Wk 6Eastern WashingtonMontana State

The series

Eastern Washington leads the series 12-7

19 meetings since 2004 · Montana State has won the last 5

Eastern Washington wonMontana State won2004: Eastern Washington by 72005: Eastern Washington by 212006: Eastern Washington by 92007: Eastern Washington by 222008: Eastern Washington by 172009: Eastern Washington by 112010: Montana State by 232011: Montana State by 152013: Eastern Washington by 252014: Eastern Washington by 12015: Eastern Washington by 52016: Eastern Washington by 242017: Eastern Washington by 122018: Eastern Washington by 172021: Montana State by 32022: Montana State by 32023: Montana State by 432024: Montana State by 142025: Montana State by 5420042025
  • 2025Montana State 57-3
  • 2024Montana State 42-28
  • 2023Montana State 57-14
  • 2022Montana State 38-35
  • 2021Montana State 23-20

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Our model and the betting line agree on Eastern Washington’s chances here.

50-50Model 9% · Line…Montana StateEastern Washington

Montana State favored by 20.5 · Total 64.5

How games like this usually go

Montana State by 20.5, and it went to form

50%90%Q1Q2Q3Q450%90%Q1Q2Q3Q4

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 251 games since 2025 with a favorite of 14.5 to 21.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 1 point toward Montana State.

opened +19.5now +20.5

The total fell 1 point.

opened 65.5now 64.5

Spread: +19.5 → +20.5 · Total: 65.5 → 64.5

The books’ cut: 5.3%, the margin built into the odds

Home field

Eastern Washington has had no measurable home edge since 2018 — +0.2 points (±5.3), home against road — 3rd percentile of FBS.

0% at home, 17% on the road against FBS opponents (0-2 home, 2-10 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +4.3 at home vs. away over 55 games — inside the ±7.5 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

The visitors travel about 335 miles to get here.

Where next

Conference standings

Place in the conference, then conference record.