For Eastern Washington the biggest surprise during its 42-7 loss to BYU Saturday wasn't the 145 yards rushing for Harvey Unga, nor was it the swarming Cougar defense that caused three turnovers.

Actually, the biggest curveball thrown at the Eagles while in Provo might have been the weather.

"I'm originally from Northern California and I definitely have not played in a game like that," Eastern Washington quarterback Matt Nichols said. "I have only played in a couple of rain games in my life so in a way it was kind of neat, but it sucked to be behind 42-7 during it."

While it was cold from the get-go, by the time the blizzard-like conditions reared their head at LaVell Edwards Stadium, BYU's defense and special teams had already done most of the damage.

"It was a game where we made some real critical mistakes and we gave them opportunities to score points," Eastern Washington head coach Paul Wulff said. "Obviously our interceptions, a kickoff return, and a couple of punt situations where they had great field position gave them opportunities to score a lot of easy points. I surely didn't feel like the score was indicative of the quality of the game."

However, Wulff in no way slighted the talented Cougar team that he felt came to play, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

"Their defensive philosophy is pretty sound and they don't get themselves in situations where they give up the big plays," Wulff said. "Generally speaking they are really sound and they do a nice job."

The entire week before the game Eastern Washington knew they would see a lot of the athletic Cougar linebackers who did not disappoint led by Chris Bolden who had 2 sacks and three tackles for loss. Bryan Kehl also pitched in with two tackles for loss and an interception that he returned 27 yards.

"Coming into the game we really felt that the Kehl kid is as good of a linebacker as we have ever seen," Wulff said. "We knew their linebackers were the strength of their defense."

Wulff was also extremely impressed with the job that Unga did running the ball and receiving out of the backfield for two touchdowns on the day.

"(Unga) is really a good player," said Wulff. " He is not only a big guy but he is a running back that has got good vision and he has got great timing when looking for the blocks. He is a great back."

All in all, the biggest difference in the game is something all schools from the NCAA Football Championship Division face when they play teams from the Bowl Division.

"Usually it's size," Wulff said. "The kids are a little bit bigger and sometimes speed plays a part. Although I feel that our team speed is pretty good so I don't think that was much of a factor. But when you play BYU you are also playing older kids, more mature kids because of missions, and there is a maturity factor that goes on there."

Despite it all, Wulff was impressed with the effort he got from his players through the adversity.

"I felt that our kids played hard," Wulff said. "We had the opportunity to move the ball and do things early on. We just didn't really capitalize when we got in there a couple of times."