Gangline Recap: Week 1

Washington Opponent's Record: 10-3

Record this Week: 10-3

Record in Games that Mattered: 10-2

The last two weeks (since Eastern Washington played last week as well) have been pretty good for UW's 2014 opponents. The only surprise loss was Wazzu's loss to Rutgers at home ... which was, well, forgetable. However, Cal pulled out a nice win on the road against Northwestern. Continue reading for cool stats and video.

Sam Houston (0-1) @ Eastern Washington (1-0)

Eastern and Sam Houston played the first official football game of the 2014 season. When these two teams meet, the teams usually combine for 70 or more points ... and this game was not different. Sam Houston pulled within 7 points with 7 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, but that was as close as they would get. Eagles quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. gashed Sam Houston on the last two drives, and the Eagles score two more unanswered touchdowns, finishing out the game with a flourish. Vernon Adams finished the game 26 of 48, with four TDs and one interception. Final Score: Eagles win 56-35.

Montana Western (1-1) @ Eastern Washington (2-0)

Montana Western came to Cheney, Washington, in what the Eagles called a warmup for their game with the Huskies. This game was never in doubt, as the Eagles ran away with this game. Vernon Adams Jr. had another impressive outing, going 28 for 31 (that's a 90.1% completion rate folks), gaining 370 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Final score: Eagles win 41-9.

Youngstown State (0-1) at Illinois (1-0)

The Illini hosted Youngstown State in a barn-burner. Illinois allowed Youngstown to take a lead until the 4th quarter before they decided enough was enough. Illinois scored 21 points in the 4th quarter, which was just enough to overcome the upset. Illini quarterback Wes Lunt was 24 for 38, with 285 yards, 4 TDs and 0 picks. Final score: Illinois wins 28-17.

Abilene Christian (0-1) @ Georgia State (1-0)

Similarly to Illinois, Georgia State did everything they could to give the other team confidence, before coming from behind in the 4th quarter for a dramatic home victory. This time, the victory came from a last second field goal. Georgia State QB Nick Arbuckle finished the game 31 of 47, gaining 413 yards, 4 TDs and 2 picks. Final score Georgia State wins 38-37.

UC Davis (0-1) @ Stanford (1-0)

This game was a rout from the beginning. The Cardinal scored 14 in the first quarter, and 24 in the second. Ty Montgomery returned his first punt for a touchdown, and Kevin Hogan finished the game going 12 for 16, 203 yards, 3 TDs and 1 interception. Stanford also rushed for 169 yards, and averaged 4.7 yards per carry. Final score: Stanford wins 45-0.

Cal (1-0) @ Northwestern (0-1)

Cal wanted to make a statement this game, and they wanted that statement to be a good one. Luckily, at least for Cal fans, that's exactly what the Golden Bears did. They jumped out to a 31-7 lead, and never relinquished it. Northwestern, at the end of the 4th quarter, made it all the way to the Cal 27. However, Jalen Jefferson came up big. First he sacked the QB for an 11 yard loss, and then on the next play he picked off a tipped ball to seal the game. Final score: Cal wins 31-24.

South Dakota (0-1) @ Oregon (1-0)

Oregon played host to South Dakota. The most notable thing in this game was Oregon's porous run defense. They were gashed multiple times. There were also the 5 penalties and there was also the injury in the first half to their star corner back Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, who sustained a non-contact ankle injury. Marcus Mariota was 14 for 20 with 267 yards, 3 TDs, 0 picks and an average of 13.4 yards per completion ... Final score: Oregon wins 62-13.

Weber State (0-1) @ Arizona (1-0)

A Weber State team, returning a bunch of experienced players, traveled down to Tempe, but they were really no match for the 19th ranked Sun Devils. ASU racked up 570 total yards of offense, 303 in the air and 267 on the ground. Taylor Kelly was only 18 for 27, and he only had 1 TD. The offense relied heavily on the run game, and they weren't disappointed their new RB D.J. Foster. He had 147 yards on 15 carries and 3 TDs to boot. Final score: Arizona State wins 45-14.

Colorado State (1-0) @ Colorado (0-1)

Colorado had high hopes for this year's Rocky Mountain Showdown ... CODawg did not. The game was close all the way to the 4th quarter. The Buffaloes were barely holding on to a 17-14 lead. They quickly relinquished that lead, however, as the Rams scored 17 unanswered points. The Buffalo defense just petered out. Colorado State gashed them in the second half with 185 yards. Things aren't looking great for CU right now. Final score: Colorado State wins 31-17.

UCLA (1-0) @ Virginia (0-1)

The Bruins made the long trek to the east coast, and showed everyone on over there how "potent" their offense was. Boy was the Bruin offense fragrant. Their O-line gave up 5 sacks, and numerous other hits on Brett Hundley. The Bruins were up 21-10 at half time, but they had failed to score a single point on offense. Their first offensive points didn't come until the third quarter, a TD drive capped by a 6 yard run from Hundley. Final score: UCLA wins 28-20.

Portland State (0-1) @ Oregon State (1-0)

This game was really one-sided. The only problem, was that the score didn't reflect it. Oregon State could not get into the endzone, and they were down by one point at the end of the first half. Portland State didn't cross midfield until the second quarter. In the second half, Oregon State forced 5 turnovers, and that basically sealed it. However, the Beavers only scored 16 points on those 5 turnovers ... yeah, at least they didn't lose to another FCS team to start the season. Final score: Oregon State wins 29-14.

Rutgers (1-0) @ Washington State (0-1)

Wazzu had big expectations this year, and everybody in Pullman figured this first game, against a Rutgers team that was less than mediocre last year, would at least give them a W, and a little bit closer to a bowl game ... well that didn't happen! Up 31-24 to start the the Cougars were in the driver's seat. They promptly drove over a cliff ..., in a fashion that so many Cougar fans have become accustomed to over the years. They gave up a field goal and then a TD, and hit the endzone to retake the lead, and the relinquished for the last time ... Final score: Rutgers wins 41-38