In an offensive-minded conference, the defenses seized the day.
 
Despite a stellar performance by its defense, the Eastern Washington University football team fell to Weber State 14-6 in a Big Sky Conference game matching nationally-ranked foes Saturday (Oct. 13) at Stewart Stadium in Ogden, Utah.
 
No. 4/3 Eagles held 13th-ranked Wildcats to just 274 total yards and just one offensive touchdown – numbers typically good enough to win. The Eagles held WSU scoreless for the final 51:25 of the game, but fell from the unbeaten ranks in the Big Sky after the fewest combined points in an EWU game since 2009.
 
However, the Weber State defense held EWU to 247 yards, and for the first time since a 19-3 loss to Montana in 2008, the Eagles did not score a touchdown.
 
"Our players swung at every pitch thrown," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "Defensively I couldn't be prouder – our team played their tails off and I can't say enough about them. We have the ingredients and know we have an outfit that can play defense really well. We were just up against a better opponent today and we have to make more plays on offense."'
 
The game included a combined total of 15 punts and 11 three-and-outs. They also were just a combined 6-of-32 on third down, and combined for 3-of-7 on fourth down.
 
 Eastern's Roldan Alcobendas punted seven times for a 60.3 average, including a school-record punt of 78 yards and three others of at least 60 yards. He also booted a pair of field goals.
 
For the second-straight game, junior Eric Barriere was an injury replacement for injured starting quarterback Gage Gubrud (lower leg injury suffered at Montana State on Sept. 29. The sophomore passed for 185 yards, but EWU's vaunted rushing attack managed just 62 yards in support of him. Barriere was coming off a performance with 331 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in 55-17 victory over defending Big Sky Conference champion Southern Utah on Oct. 6.
 
 In a classic match-up of the Big Sky's top offense versus the league's top defense. Eastern entered ranked third in FCS in total offense at 570.2 yards per game, while Weber State was 41st nationally in defense at 374.0 per game. The Eagles were scoring at a league-best 45.3 clip per game (sixth in FCS), while the Wildcats joined EWU as the top defense in the league at 24.8 points per game (36th).
 
Both teams entered this week's game nationally-ranked in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. Equaling its highest rankings in the past four seasons, Eastern was ranked fourth in this week's STATS FCS Top 25 poll and third by the coaches following a 55-17 home victory over Southern Utah. Weber State was ranked 13th in both polls after a narrow 28-24 loss at Northern Arizona, a team EWU defeated in a non-conference meeting in Flagstaff on Sept. 8 by a 31-26 score.
 
 
Records & Rankings . . .
 
* Now 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big Sky in 2018, Eastern closed the 2017 season with a 7-4 record overall and was 6-2 in the Big Sky Conference in the first season under head coach Aaron Best. Last season was the 11th-straight season the Eagles have finished 5-3 or better in the Big Sky, with an 11th-straight winning season and 20th in the last 22 years. But winning a 10th Big Sky title and making a 13th appearance in the FCS Playoffs is the quest for the 2018 Eagles, who are hungry to make that happen.
 
* The Wildcats are now 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big Sky. While Eastern was picked by both the coaches and media to win the 2018 league title, Weber State was slated to finish second in both. Besides sharing the Big Sky title with Southern Utah last season, the Wildcats beat Western Illinois (21-19) and Southern Utah (30-13) in the FCS Playoffs, then narrowly lost to eventual FCS runner-up James Madison (31-28) in the quarterfinals. Thus, Weber State has won nine of its last 12 games while making steady progress under fifth-year head coach Jay Hill. Weber State was 2-10 overall/2-6 Big Sky in his first year, then 6-5/5-3, 7-5/6-2 and 11-3/7-1 in subsequent seasons.
 
 
What It Means . . .
 
* Eastern came up short of its goal of back-to-back wins versus the defending Big Sky Conference co-champions and becoming just one of two remaining teams in Big Sky games. The Eagles are now 3-1 in the Big Sky and Weber State is 2-1. The other undefeated team in the league will be either Idaho State (3-0) or UC Davis (2-0), which are playing Saturday night. Other one-loss teams in the league are Northern Arizona (2-1) and Montana State (2-1. Eastern is chasing its 10th Big Sky title and 13th appearance in the FCS Playoffs in school history. Since 2010 when EWU won the NCAA Division I title, the Eagles have won league titles five times (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016) and advanced to the playoffs all five of those seasons.
 
 
What's Next . . .
 
* After a bye week, the Eagles return to action on Oct. 27 on ROOT Sports when the Eagles welcome Idaho back to the Big Sky Conference with a rare meeting with the Vandals in Cheney. The Vandals re-joined the Big Sky in football in 2018, and EWU will play the Vandals in the first meeting between the two schools since 2012 when Eastern won in Moscow 20-3. The last time the former league rivals met in a Big Sky game was in 1995 when the Vandals prevailed 37-10 and the last time they met in Cheney was 1994. Eastern hosted Idaho at Albi Stadium in Spokane six times (1999, 1997, 1990, 1988, 1986, 1984) with a pair of wins, and have played in Cheney just three times (1994, 1992, 1942) with no wins versus the Vandals. The Eagles trail in the all-time series 15-6, but have won the last two and three of the last five.
 
 
Keys to Game . . .
 
* Weber State used a hot start to open a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, and held the Eagles to 41 yards on their first 23 plays of the game. After Eastern's first of four three-and-outs in the first half, the Wildcats scored on a 75-yard punt return by Josh Davis. Eastern's lone score of the half came on a 31-yard field goal by Roldan Alcobendas, but EWU managed only 83 yards at intermission. Eastern then had 63 yards in the third quarter and 101 in the fourth.
 
 
Turning Point . . .
 
* Eastern had a key fourth-down stop with 13:27 to play on a tackle by Calin Criner and Keenan Williams, and the Eagles followed with a 10-play, 71-yard drive to get to the Weber State 7-yard line. But a third down pass by Eric Barriere was intercepted in the end zone by Weber State's Jawian Harrison Jr. with 9:34 to play to end what was EWU's longest drive of the day – 45 was the longest prior to that. Weber State then went on a 39-yard drive to take 6:28 off the clock before an Eastern interception ended its comeback chances.
 
 
Top Performers . . .
 
* In the third start of his career, junior Eric Barriere completed 19-of-42 passes for 185 yards. He had a net rushing gain of 18 yards despite getting sacked four times.
* Senior Nsimba Webster caught seven passes for 71 yards.
* Senior running back Sam McPherson and junior running back Antoine Custer Jr. were EWU's leading rushers, but were held to 22 yards apiece with the long run of the day for the Eagles being 19 yards.
* Junior safety Dehonta Hayes led EWU with 12 tackles, and sophomore safety Calin Criner finished with 11.
* Senior linebacker Kurt Calhoun also had 11 tackles for EWU.
* Senior defensive end Keenan Williams and junior defensive end Jim Townsend each had sacks.
* Sixth-year senior kicker Roldan Alcobendas averaged 60.3 yards on seven punts in the game, including a school-record 78 yarder with the wind in the second quarter. He also had a wind-aided punt of 63 yards, and a punt into the wind of 60. He kicked a 31-yard field goal in the second quarter and a 27-yarder in the third quarter to remain perfect on the season at 9-for-9.
 
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Key Stats . . .
 
* The Eagles averaged just 1.7 yards per carry, with a net total of 62 yards on 36 carries. Eastern entered the Weber State game averaging 8.0 yards per carry, compared to 3.7 for opponents). All five EWU running backs entered averaging at least 7.4 per carry – junior Dennis Merritt 9.2, senior Sam McPherson 8.8, junior Tamarick Pierce 8.4, junior Antoine Custer Jr. 7.6 and Isaiah Lewis 7.4. In Eastern's previous eight games dating back to the 2017 season, the Eagles had averaged 281.6 per game and 7.3 per rush. By contrast, Eastern had averages of 283.6 per game and 9.1 per play for a total of 565.3 yards per game and 8.1 per play.
 
 
Other Team Highlights . . .
 
* Eastern's defense held Weber State to 166 first-half yards and just 109 in the second half to keep the game within striking distance. The Eagles allowed just 159 yards through the air and 116 on the ground, and held Weber State to just 4-of-15 on third down. Weber State's average per rush was just 2.6 yards.
 
 
Notables . . .
 
* The Eagles have won their five games this season by an average of 31.6 points per game -- 248-90 for an average score of 50-18. In beating Southern Utah 55-17 on Oct. 6, The Eagles had 50 points or more for the third time this season and the 58th time in school history, and are now 55-3 in those games. The point total equaled EWU's 23rd-most. Earlier this season, EWU scored the fourth-most in school history – a record versus a FCS opponent -- in a 70-17 win over Cal Poly. Eastern has had 20 50-point games in the last 6+ seasons (including three in 2017 and three thus far in 2018), with one in 2015, six in 2014, three in 2017 and two each in 2013 and 2012.
 
* Eastern is now 1-1 this season against ranked NCAA Football Championship Subdivision opponents. Earlier this season, Eastern beat Northern Arizona 31-26 on Sept. 8. Northern Arizona had entered the game ranked 18th in the STATS Top 25 poll, and the win snapped a three-game losing streak in games versus ranked foes. The last win came over No. 12 Richmond 38-0 on Dec. 10, 2016, in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs.
 
 
Head Coach Aaron Best Comments . . .
 
On Game: "It was a defensive game because there were two good defenses on the field. I don't think there was enough productivity on offense on our side. They just made more plays than we did today. They played well and put us in tough situations, and we didn't get out of those tough situations like we prepared for and would have liked. But my hat is off to a great defensive outfit. At the end of the day there were 13 points scored on offense, and seven scored on special teams. Coach Hill does a great job and we knew it was going to be slugfest. We didn't get our running game going a ton, and we didn't get enough chunk yardage and big plays. We had too many three-and-outs against a physical outfit, and we knew what they like coming in. There is much to work on as we move forward."
 
On Eric Barriere and Offense: "We knew it was going to be a tough test. It was his third career start and we'll never make excuses why he didn't make more plays than he did. He made some chicken salad out there, but we didn't make enough plays. It starts with the run game – it doesn't matter if our guys up front are bruised and beaten, we have to get better. It has to occur and it will occur, and we'll take the time to make sure that gets done."
 
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