It was obvious the Eagles were fresh coming off a bye week.
 
Led by the arm and legs of sophomore Eric Barriere and another stellar effort by its defense, the Eastern Washington University football team jumped out to a 31-0 halftime lead and went on to defeat Idaho in a Big Sky Conference game Saturday (Oct. 27) at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.
 
Sophomore quarterback Eric Barriere accounted for a career-high 396 yards of total offense – 266 in the first half alone – in Eastern's 92nd-Annual Homecoming Game. Head coach Aaron Best announced after the game that All-American Gage Gubrud will be lost for the season with a lower leg injury which will require surgery, meaning Barriere is the Eagle starter moving forward.
 
"We really got things going early," said Best. "I was extremely pleased with the first 30 minutes – I thought we played really well in the total body of work in all three phases. Eric played lights out -- it was his best day as an Eagle, but he only has four games as a starter. I was proud of him for standing in there, sometimes going to his third and fourth read, and he delivered the mail really well. His legs proved to be somewhat of a difference as well with his long touchdown run."
 
Eastern finished with 546 yards off offense in the school's first-ever victory over Idaho in Cheney, having lost three previous meetings at Roos Field (formerly Woodward Field) against the Vandals. The defense did its part by holding Idaho to 363 yards and extended its string of scoreless quarters to five until giving up touchdowns in each of the third and fourth quarters. EWU has now registered shutouts in nine of 20 quarters in Big Sky play thus far.
 
Eastern added extra bleachers to "The Inferno" this week, allowing a crowd of 10,023 to be on hand for EWU's 92nd Annual Homecoming Game. Eastern has now had 29-consecutive sellouts at "The Inferno" (crowd in excess of 8,600).
 
Eastern was ranked fifth in this week's STATS NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Top 25 poll and fourth by the coaches. A 14-13 loss to Weber State on Oct. 13 knocked Eastern down a bit in the nationally rankings, after EWU equaled its highest rankings in the past four seasons with rankings of fourth and third, respectively.
 
 
Records & Rankings . . .
 
* Now 6-2 overall and 4-1 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.
 
* Idaho is now 3-5 overall land 2-4 in the Big Sky Conference. The Vandals were coming off a convincing 31-22 win at home against Southern Utah, but Idaho is winless in five games on the road thus far.
 
 
What It Means . . .
 
* The Eagles are now 4-1 in the Big Sky and entered action Saturday as one of four teams with one loss or less in the standings. The lone undefeated team in the league is UC Davis (5-0), which is currently in sole possession of first in the league after a win at Montana. Other one-loss teams in the league are Idaho State (3-1 and hosting Montana State on Saturday) and Weber State (4-1 after a win North Dakota). The Eagles host UC Davis at Roos Field on Nov. 10, which will play a big part in determining the league champion and automatic berth in to the FCS Playoffs which begin on Nov. 24. On Nov. 17, Weber State plays at Idaho State in another key game.
 
 
What's Next . . .
 
* Eastern goes back on the road to play at Northern Colorado in the start of three November games that will determine EWU's postseason playoff fate. Kickoff is 11:05 a.m. Pacific time at Nottingham Field in a game that is not televised, but may be viewed at http://watchbigsky.com. Fans can also listen to the game on 700-AM ESPN, 105.3-FM, via the web at tunein.com and via mobile phone app, with pre-game coverage starting one hour prior to kickoff. Eastern has won all nine Big Sky Conference meetings between the two schools, including all four in Greeley. But the last two times they played Eastern had to rally in the fourth quarter to pull out wins – 35-28 during EWU's National Championship season in 2010 and 43-41 in 2015. Eastern leads the overall series 11-1 dating back to 1979.
 
 
Keys to Game . . .
 
* Eastern had a near-perfect first half, scoring 31 points and having a 364-129 advantage in total offense. Eric Barriere opened the scoring with a 48-yard touchdown run, and also passed 22 yards to Henderson Belk and 7 yards to Dre' Sonte Dorton for scores. Eastern also had a 3-yard TD run by Tamarick Pierce and a 30-yard field goal by Roldan Alcobendas, while the defense held the Vandals scoreless on seven possessions, with no offensive play of longer than 17 yards.
 
 
Turning Point . . .
 
* Eastern punted on its first possession and Idaho was on a scoring drive when the Eagle defense forced a Vandal turnover. Helped by a solid hit by linebacker Ketner Kupp, teammate D'londo Tucker forced and recovered a Vandal fumble at the EWU 17-yard line. Eastern went on to score on five of its next six possessions to lead 31-0 at halftime. It was the lone turnover of the game, as EWU is now 45-0 since 2010 when the Eagles have won the turnover battle.
 
 
Top Performers . . .
 
* In the fourth start of his career, junior Eric Barriere completed 29-of-42 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns in his first 300-yard passing performance of his career. He also rushed for 70 yards and a TD, giving him a career-high 396  yards of total offense. His previous high was 331 versus Southern Utah on Oct. 6 in a 55-17 Eagle win.
* Redshirt freshman Andrew Boston had a career-high nine catches for the Eagles, good for 49 yards.
* Senior Nsimba Webster added seven receptions for 62 yards.
* Junior running back Antoine Custer Jr.  had 44 yards on just five carries for an average of 8.8 yards per rush.
* Senior running back Sam McPherson added 36 yards on 14 carries.
* Senior defensive end Keenan Williams led the Eagles with six tackles, including one for loss and a half-sack.
* Junior safety Dehonta Hayes, senior linebacker Ketner Kupp and senior defensive tackle Dylan Ledbetter all had five tackles for the Eagles, with Kupp and Ledbetter having a half-sack each and Kupp also having a forced fumble.
* Sixth-year senior kicker Roldan Alcobendas made a 30-yard field goal to remain perfect on the season at 10-for-10. He also converted all four of his extra point attempts, and punted five times for a 41.2 average with a long of 49 and one punt downed inside the Idaho 20.
 
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Key Stats . . .
 
* Eastern's defense has been impressive during league play, and the Eagles continued that against the Vandals. Eastern has now allowed only 79 points (15.8 per game) in five conference outings – with seven of those coming on a punt return touchdown. Eastern has allowed 30 points in the first quarter of its four Big Sky games thus far, 14 in the second, 21 in the third and 14 in the fourth. Eastern has pitched a shutout in nine of 20 quarters, and had a stretch of five-straight goose eggs ended in the third quarter versus the Vandals. In the game, the Eagles as a team recorded five sacks, six quarterback hurries and broke up five passes in holding Idaho to 204 yards passing and 159 on the ground.
 
* Eastern outgained the Vandals 546-363 to pretty much stay consistent for the year. Through seven games this season, Eastern was ranked fifth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense at 524.0 yards per game. The Eagles were 11th in rushing offense (255.1), compared to 27th in passing (268.9). Eastern was averaging 39.7 points per game to rank 10th, and 32nd in scoring defense (23.3). In addition, EWU is also 33rd in passing efficiency (141.45) while allowing eight sacks (1.14 per game) to rank 20th nationally.
 
 
Other Team Highlights . . .
 
* The Eagles have played their last three games without All-America quarterback Gage Gubrud (lower leg injury), and head coach Aaron Best announced after the game that he will be lost for the season.  EWU had split the previous two games without him – a 55-17 win over Southern Utah and a 14-6 loss versus Weber State. The Walter Payton Award candidate went over the 10,000-yard mark in his career for total offense on Sept. 8 at Northern Arizona to become the fourth Eagle in school history to achieve that feat. He finished just 16 yards from joining those same three players in the 10,000-yard passing club, with a current total of 9,984 in his career.  He is currently the owner of 21 school records, eight Big Sky Conference marks and three in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.
 
* Senior co-captain Mitch Fettig has started 41 of the 42 games he's played in his Eastern career, and is chasing the school record for tackles by a defensive back. He had two tackles against Idaho, giving him 275 to rank 13th in school history – just 13 from the school record by a defensive back of 288 set by Julian Williams from 1997-00. He recently passed the 263 by cornerback T.J. Lee (2010-13), who now plays for the BC Lions in the Canadian Football League.
 
* Eastern was penalized just one for 10 yards, with its first penalty coming 50 minutes into the game in the fourth quarter.
 
 
Notables . . .
 
* Eastern has now won the last three times the two schools have played, and picked up its first win in four tries in Cheney. The Vandals re-joined the Big Sky in football in 2018, and EWU played 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 played in Cheney just three previous times (1994, 1992, 1942) with no wins versus the Vandals. The Eagles trail in the all-time series 15-7, but have won the last four of the last six.
 
* The Eagles have won their six games this season by an average of 30.3 points per game and an average score of 48-17. Eastern won its first two games by a combined 50 points – 58-13 over Central Washington and 31-26 one week later at Northern Arizona. Eastern then blasted Cal Poly 70-17 on Sept. 22 and Montana State 34-17 a week later.
 
* Sophomore Eric Barriere is now 3-1 in four games as a starter, and has played in seven games this season. In the first six games of 2018, Barriere completed 34-of-67 passes for 431 yards and two touchdowns, with 24 rushes for 160 yards and two scores. In his 11-game career entering the Idaho game, he had completed 49-of-93 passes for 569 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions, and has rushed 42 times for 208 yards and three more TDs.
 
* The Eagles have been impressive – if not dominant – in the league in the last 11+ years, winning 79 percent of their games (74-19) and five titles. In that span, Eastern has had no league finish below 5-3 and five of them have included 7-1 or 8-0 records. Eastern got off the 2018 league season off to a great start on Sept. 22 with a 70-17 victory over Cal Poly, followed by wins over Montana State (34-17) and Southern Utah (50-17).
 
* In the last 10+ seasons (2008-18), the Eagles are now 54-1 when they've won the turnover battle, 22-6 when they've been tied and 21-31 when they've lost (total of 96-38). The last time EWU lost when it won the turnover battle came in the 2009 FCS Playoffs at Stephen F. Austin when EWU had two miscues and forced four in the 44-33 loss. Thus, EWU is 45-0 since 2010 when they've won the turnover battle, 20-5 when they've been tied and 19-24 when they've lost.
 
 
Head Coach Aaron Best Comments . . .
 
On Eagle Defense: "Our defense has been above outstanding – it's awesome. We're eight weeks in and we're saying the same thing – this is a stout defense. Points-wise, yardage-wise and yards per carry-wise, this is a dialed-in defense. They are playing gap-style football. It doesn't mean they are always going to allow only two yards per rush, but we've done a good job trying to make teams one dimensional. It you can stop the run and score points on offense, that's a great recipe for success."
 
On Idaho Rivalry: "It will thrive and blossom over time. But our goal this week was to go 1-0, regardless if it was home, away, conference or non-conference. I was just excited for these players coming off a bye and waiting for two weeks for people to keep score. We kept score today and ended up on the better half of things."
 
On Eric Barriere's Experience: "You can't teach experience. He had a little experience last year, and he's been at home twice this season and once on the road – against man-to-man and zone teams. It's no different than a two-year-old becoming a five-year-old. Experience will allow you to grow. He's human, and he's going to make mistakes and he's going to take chances. He just needs to minimize those mistakes while still being aggressive."
 
On Gubrud Being Lost for the Season: "Eric Barriere is our quarterback moving forward and Gage Gubrud will be shelved for the rest of the season. He will get surgery on his foot – we came to that conclusion. Everybody has Gage's best interests in mind, and that's where we stand going forward. Eric Barriere will be our starting quarterback."
 
On Gubrud's Contributions: "It's incredible – not just for this team but for this athletic department and university. He came on campus without a scholarship, earned a scholarship and then caught fire his sophomore year. He had an amazing career in just three years – really 2 1/2 years. He's an incredible leader, captain and teammate, and I call him a dear friend. He's meant a ton for us and will continue to mean a ton because he'll be a very good mentor for Eric side-by-side in-game, out-of-game and in the meeting room. We could sit here for an hour-and-a-half in talking about the greatness and accolades he represents. He's a true EKG, and we highly respect his work. It's just unfortunate his career was cut short due to a physical ailment."