MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Northwestern football team made the short trip to Augsburg University Saturday night for its season opener. The Eagles suffered a 42-7 setback against the host Auggies on a picture-perfect night at Edor Nelson Field. Saturday marked Matt Moore's first game as the program's head coach.

Augsburg's high-powered offense didn't waste any time getting on the scoreboard as the home team jumped out to a 19-0 lead with 2:40 to play in the opening quarter.

The Eagles then chipped away at the deficit, as freshman Ethan Bush (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji ) capped off a four-play, 70-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run. Bush's score was setup by a beautiful 56-yard strike from Taylor Lindahl (Watertown, S.D./Watertown) to Evan Pruitt (Temecula, Calif./Rancho Christian High School). Ben Lyons (North Olmstead, Ohio/Ohio Distance & Electronic Learning Academy) connected on the PAT to cut the lead to 19-7.

Augsburg would go on to score 23 unanswered points to take the opener, 42-7. The Auggies outgained 530 yards to 194.

Lindahl – making his first start under center – finished the contest 15-of-33 for 177 yards. Pruitt hauled in a pair of receptions that covered a team-high 68 yards, while Gavin Welch (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) grabbed seven Lindahl passes for 66 yards. Dom McDew (Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley) saw his first action in the backfield and did a majority of the damage on the ground for the Eagles, rushing 16 times for 43 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, UNW had three players log double-digit tackle totals, led by Daniel Stratton (Lucerne Valley, Calif./Lucerne Valley) and Aaron Regnier (Hawley, Minn./Hawley), who posted 11 stops apiece. Senior Gideon Burnham (Alexandria, Minn./Jefferson) was in on 10 tackles, while fellow senior Beau Walter (Conway, Ark./Conway) posted 2.0 tackles for loss, including a sack.

UNW did recover a pair of muffed Augsburg punts in the third quarter.

The Eagles will welcome Eureka College next Saturday for their home opener. Kickoff at Reynolds Field is slated for 12 noon. Fans can stay up-to-date with the UNW football program by visiting www.unweagles.com or by following @unwfb on Twitter.