Washington coach Chris Petersen said it was an “easy” decision for him to bench star cornerback Marcus Peters in the second half after Peters drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

“I’m just not into stupid penalties,” Petersen said after UW’s 59-52 victory over Eastern Washington. “It’s not even an issue whether the guy’s going to play or not if they don’t conduct themselves right. If you don’t play like we want you play, you’re not playing. It’s not even a decision for me; it’s easy.”

Peters, while jawing with an EWU wide receiver, was called for the personal-foul penalty after Shaq Thompson had sacked Eagles quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. on third down late in the third quarter. The penalty gave the Eagles a first down on a drive that ended in Adams’ sixth touchdown pass of the day, giving EWU a 45-44 lead at the time.

Peters, a junior projected by some to be a first-round pick in the NFL draft, is UW’s only veteran defensive back. He is in his third year as a starting cornerback.

With Peters on the bench, the Huskies went mostly with true freshman Sidney Jones and senior Travell Dixon as the two cornerbacks for the rest of the game.

Shaq attack begins

After much anticipation in the spring, the “experiment” with Thompson at running back became a reality Saturday.

Thompson, the junior linebacker, made his UW offensive debut in the third series against Eastern Washington. He took his first carry and went up the middle for 8 yards. On the next play, he carried for 1 yard. And on third-and-one, he went 57 yards untouched for a touchdown, giving the Huskies a 21-0 lead.

Those would be his only three offensive touches of the game, though he still finished second on the team with 66 yards rushing. Oh, and he finished with a game-high 14 tackles and one sack.

“He’s been working hard,” Petersen said. “Every time we get him in there (at running back), we like what we see. And so we wanted to get him a series, and he made the series kind of short, and we like that.”

Thompson deflected credit, instead praising the offensive line.

Riva returns

Senior right tackle Ben Riva returned to the starting lineup after sitting out UW’s season opener at Hawaii with a knee injury.

“It’s good to get back out there,” he said. “I just stayed ready and got the nod and here I am.”

UW’s offense struggled to get a consistent run game established against Hawaii, but tore through the Eastern Washington defense for 356 yards on the ground and seven rushing touchdowns, averaging 6.2 yards per run.

Notes

• Junior tight end Joshua Perkins did not suit up with an unknown injury. Sophomore Darrell Daniels made his first career start and had the first three catches of his UW career.

• Three true freshmen made their UW debuts: Jones, receiver Dante Pettis and defensive lineman Will Dissly. Jones forced a first-quarter fumble on kickoff coverage that was recovered by UW.

Adam Jude: 206-464-2364 or ajude@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @a_jude

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