Football | Sports
Football falls to Augustana 17-35, ends undefeated streak

(Bri Nitsberg | Student Life)
Less than three minutes into the first quarter, graduate quarterback Matt Rush fumbled leading to an Augustana College (5-1, Vikings) touchdown, and setting the tone for the rest of the game.
The loss marks the first loss of the season for Washington University Football. They now sit 5-1 overall and 4-1 in conference play. After the early turnover, the next four quarters showed a slow-moving offense and defense that struggled against the Vikings’ early strength.
“It’s kind of all across the board: we weren’t playing our best football, and you turn the ball over three times, give up a special teams touchdown… It’s gonna be hard to beat a team like Augustana,” Head Coach Aaron Keen said.
Following the Vikings’ first touchdown, the Bears sought to equalize, but faced with 4th down, they had to settle with a field goal by freshman kicker Ross Muchnick.
The Vikings responded with three unanswered touchdowns and an interception, widening the gap to 3-28.
With less than 20 seconds remaining in the second quarter, and facing having to start the third quarter 25 points back, Rush was able to connect with senior Gabriel Sirek for a 22 yard reception and a Bears touchdown. Muchnick’s successful PAT attempt brought the score to 10-28.
With a strong drive to end the half and the Bears receiving the ball at the start of the third quarter things were starting to look up.
Following an unsuccessful initial drive, the Bears offense regained possession and were able to move down field into the red zone.
Three plays later, and the Bears were looking at another fourth down and a field goal attempt. However, a conversion by freshman quarterback Levi Moore found its way to the endzone and another successful PAT by Muchnick brought the deficit to only 11 points.
Despite this successful drive, the Bears’ woes continued, as a sack forced the Bears to punt from their own two-yard line. The punt found its way into the hands of the Vikings Bobby Inserra, who returned the punt for a Vikings touchdown. A successful PAT by the Vikings brought the score to 17-35, where it would sit until the final horn sounded.
After a Vikings turnover on downs late in the fourth quarter the Bears had one last chance to put a scoring drive together. However, a pass to the end zone would be intercepted for a touchback ending the Bears hopes of a victory.
Turnovers proved a problematic point for the Bears throughout the game, contributing to their first loss of the season.
“They did a better job of generating those turnovers, or we did a poor job of turning the ball over. You know, either way you look at it, those are things that we have to get corrected. You cannot turn the ball over against good teams and expect to win. And we have several good teams coming up on our schedule,” Keen said.
The game celebrated the retirement of the #78 worn by Bears legend Shelby Jordan, who passed away last year.
Next week, the Bears take to the road to face North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, who is currently ranked #1 in NCAA DIII Football.
Learning from and correcting the issues from this week’s loss will be crucial for the Bears as they face their toughest competition yet.
“We’ve got to get over the bitter disappointment of losing this game and prepare the right way so that we come out and give our best on Saturday. It’s an extremely large challenge that we have in front of us this week,” Keen said.