FLAGSTAFF, AZ. -- The Eastern Washington University football team let an 18-point lead slip through its grasp, but scored the winning touchdown with 3:30 left in the game to conclude the regular season with a 49-45 Big Sky Conference victory over Northern Arizona Saturday (Nov. 21) at the Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Ariz.
Eastern was out-gained in total yards 747-487, but won the important turnover battle 4-0. The Eagles led 28-10 in the first half and 42-27 late in the game, but NAU scored three-straight times to take a 45-42 lead with 5:20 left. But Eastern scored on a five-play, 74-yard drive, with senior quarterback Matt Nichols passing 13 yards to Nathan Overbay for the winning score -- Overbay's 12th TD catch of the season.
Nichols passed for 408 yards and five touchdowns as EWU wrapped-up a fourth-straight victory and a possible berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs.
The 16 teams for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs are announced Sunday (Nov. 22), and EWU is hoping that an 8-3 record would be good enough for one of eight at-large berths handed out. The pairings are set to be announced nationally at noon Pacific time on ESPNews -- at the same time the Eagles will be flying back to Spokane from Phoenix.
On Oct. 27, the NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee overturned the 2009 postseason ban for Eastern's football program, allowing the Eagles to regain eligibility for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs. That penalty was appealed by EWU shortly after the NCAA released its penalties in February from findings from a two-year review of activities involving the EWU football team from 2003-07.
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