It feels weird thinking that a team would need to overcome anything to beat an FCS squad, but when that team hung 49 points on Oregon State, you tend to get nervous.
With Terrance Owens out of the game in with a knee injury, and David Fluellen taped up after tweaking an ankle, the Rockets held the high-powered Eagles offense in check to come away with a 33-21 victory at the Glass Bowl.
True freshman QB Logan Woodside stepped in for Owens, and while they held him to mostly flare passes, he did manage to accrue 185 yards on 14/24 passing, including a 91-yard touchdown toss to Bernard Reedy. Most of the offense ran through the running game, though, as the Rockets ground out 325 yards. Fluellen ran for 143 and two first half TDs, but when he started to slow down due to an injury of his own, Cassius McDowell picked up the slack for 89 yards, and Damien Jones-Moore ran for 29 yards, including a 4 yard touchdown run.
The big story coming into this game was the Eastern Washington offense, but the Rockets D was up for the challenge: the Eagles had 377 total yards, but only 51 yards of that came through the air. A pick and a fumble recovery certainly helped the effort. The 300+ passing yards might seem problematic for a team that's trying to answer questions on its defense, but consider the opponent does a lot through the air.
The postgame reports are that Owens will be okay for next week's conference opener at Central Michigan. If he can't make it, they know that the Frosh can win them a game. If he can, then it's good to have a backup with game experience in your back pocket.