­­­­#4/3 Ranked Eastern Washington Univ. "Eagles" versus #14/13 Nicholls "Colonels" Saturday, Dec. 1 • 2:04 p.m. Pacific Roos Field (8,600) • Cheney, Wash.
TV:	ESPN3
Webcast:	ESPN+ (http://watchespn.com)
Radio:	700-AM ESPN and 105.3-FM in the Spokane/Cheney area, as well as KTEL 1490-AM & 99.7-FM in Walla Walla. Larry Weir returns for his 28th season calling the play-by-play, with analysis handled by Paul Sorensen for the 16th year. Broadcasts begin one hour prior to kickoff and include an expanded post-game show.
Internet Radio:	https://tunein.com/radio/Eastern-Washington-Eagles-Sports-Network-s273711/
Radio Mobile Phone App:	Via tunein radio.
Live Stats:	http://ncaa.com/fcs
Weekly Coaches Show:	Shows Mondays will resume on 12/3 at the new M&D (Movie and Dinner) complex at Northern Quest Resort & Casino at 6 p.m. via 700-AM ESPN, 105.3-FM & tunein radio, with video highlights and commentary at 5:30 p.m. (NOTE: radio only show on 11/26/18)
Watch Parties:	Consult EWU social media outlets for details the Friday before games. Those who may carry EWU games include "Epic" at Northern Quest in Airway Heights, and Borracho, David's Pizza and the Swinging Doors in Spokane.

 

There will be similarities galore when the Eastern Washington University football team opens its 13th appearance in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs by hosting Nicholls at Roos Field this Saturday (Dec. 1). Playing its 15th postseason home game since 2010, the Eagles will host the Colonels from the Southland Conference and Thibodaux, La.
 
Kickoff is 2:04 p.m. in a game that is not televised but may be viewed via ESPN3/ESPN+ (http://watchespn.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.
 
Both teams feature dynamic offenses run by multi-talented quarterbacks and have defenses difficult to score upon. Both were conference champions as well, with EWU winning its 10th Big Sky Conference title in school history and the Colonels winning the Southland Conference with a 7-2 record.
 
Nicholls is now 9-3 after defeating San Diego 49-30 on Nov. 24 in the first round of the playoffs. The Colonels jumped out to leads of 21-7 after the first quarter and 35-10 at halftime in the easy victory. Nicholls rolled up 606 yards of total offense in the win and converted 10-of-13 times on third down.
 
"It's going to a big test," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "Any time you get this deep in the season there are going to be champions that litter that playoff field. Nicholls put together a heckuva performance at home against San Diego in all three phases of the game. They played extremely well."

Eastern finished the regular season ranked fourth in the STATS Top 25 poll and were third in the American Football Coaches Association poll, The Colonels ended the regular season ranked 14th in the STATS poll and were rated 13th by the coaches. Right with the Eagles are Weber State (3/4) and UC Davis (7/10), with Montana State also ranked (23/24) and earning a playoff berth with a 7-4 record.
 
Both the Eagles and Colonels are in the top 25 in both scoring offense and scoring defense, and are also ranked high in overall defense. And both teams move the sticks – Nicholls is eighth in FCS in third down conversion, while EWU is 17th; Nicholls has the fourth-most first downs in FCS with 290 while EWU is 12th with 262.
 
"They can score points and they have experience on both sides of the ball," said Best. "They are extremely dynamic on defense and their special teams are good in their own way. We have to play our brand of football, prepare well and give it our best shot on Saturday."

Nicholls defeated EWU 37-14 on Sept. 2, 2004, in Thibodaux, La., in the lone previous meeting between the two schools. The Eagles are 5-7 all-time versus current members of the Southland and have a two-game winning streak.
 
The Eagles wrapped up their 10th Big Sky Conference title and extended their winning streak to four games with a dominating 74-23 victory over Portland State Nov. 16 at Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, Ore. Eastern will enter the playoffs on a four-game winning streak which includes a 219-70 advantage on the scoreboard – an average score of 54-17. Most notably, Eastern is averaging 604.3 yards of offense, compared to 331.5 for opponents, including a 307.2 to 128.3 advantage in rushing. Eastern has more than doubled its opponents in rushing yards (1,229-513) and turnovers forced (13-4).
 
This is the 12th-straight season the Eagles will have finished 5-3 or better in the Big Sky, with a 12th-straight winning season and 21st in the last 23 years. 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.
 
 
Links to EWU Football Information
 
A complete Season Outlook of Eagle Football: http://goeags.com/news/2018/8/2/football-season-outlook-eastern-working-out-kinks-after-base-built-in-2017.aspx?path=football
A .pdf version of the 2018 EWU Football Fact Book & Archives: http://goeags.com/sports/2016/1/8/FB_Other%20Links-Archives.aspx
More Information on the Eastern Football Team: http://goeags.com/index.aspx?path=football
 
 
 

EWU Championship Information & Postseason History

 
EWU Playoff Ticket Information
 
The deadline for current season ticket holders to claim their season seats and tailgate parking spots for all potential home playoff games is Wednesday, Nov. 21, at 4 p.m. Pacific time. Tickets for the general public will go on sale Friday, Nov. 23 starting at 9 a.m. Tickets may be purchased at www.goeags.com/tickets or 509-359-6059. Beginning Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 9 a.m. EWU students may pick up one ticket per student ID (one student ID per person), at the EWU Bookstore while supplies last.
 
 
Eagles Haven't Played a Road Playoff Game Since 2009
 
The 9-2 Eagles received a No. 3 seed and a second-round game after ending the year with a four-game winning streak. The No. 3 seed guarantees the Eagles have the potential to host at least two games up to the National Championship game. Eastern hasn't played a true playoff road game since 2009 when it fell at Stephen F. Austin in the first round, and has gone 10-4 since then with playoff berths in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016. Eastern won the 2010 NCAA Division I title on a neutral field in Frisco, Texas.
 
Four Big Sky Conference teams advanced to the playoffs and all four of them are among the final 16 teams alive heading into the second round. Eastern could potentially host No. 6 seed UC Davis in the quarterfinals and play at No. 2 seed Weber State (9-2) in the semifinals. Defending champion North Dakota State (11-0), which has captured six of the last seven titles since EWU won in 2010, received the overall No. 1 seed and is on the opposite side of the bracket along with No. 4 Kennesaw State (10-1).
 
Montana State (8-4) rolled past Incarnate Word 35-14 in Bozeman on Nov. 24 in a first-round game, leading from start to finish in beating the Southland Conference foe. The Bobcats, who were led by Troy Andersen with 164 yards passing and 84 rushing yards, plays at NDSU next.
 
The Eagles were the 2010 NCAA Division I Champions after winning three home games in the playoffs and then defeating Delaware 20-19 for the title in Frisco, Texas. Eastern also hosted three games in 2012, 2013 and 2016, but lost in the semifinals all three seasons. Eastern hosted two more playoff games in 2014, falling in the quarterfinal round.
 
"We like to be at home – playing at home means you did a little bit more during the regular season," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best.
 
 
Eagles Ranked in the Top 12 in Both Playoff Appearances and Victories, Even After Snub in 2017
 
The Eagles will be making their 13th tournament appearance to rank 12th in FCS history, and have a 16-11 record all-time to rank 11th in wins. Head coach Aaron Best and his team had the mantra all season of "Leave No Doubt" after the team was denied a berth last year after finishing 7-4 overall and 5-2 in the league.
 
"The standard around here are Big Sky championships and playoff berths, so when we don't do that like last year it hurts," he explained. "I've been here 20-plus years and have been a part of a lot of victories, so it hurt when I couldn't tell those players last year why we didn't get in. The natural response is we didn't do enough on our resume to get in, but this year we didn't want to put it anybody else's hands. We weren't going to let a committee or people decide our fate. We decided our own fate, and here we are and being in the bracket and being allowed to play it out."
 
 
Eagles Continue Big Sky Success Impressive Consistency
 
Consistency has been a cornerstone of EWU Football, and the Eagles have cemented a 15-year run of winning the league title and/or advancing to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs at least every other year. Since 2004, Eastern has advanced to the playoffs and/or won the league title at least every other year, and hasn't had back-back-empty seasons since 2002 and 2003.
 
Eastern clinched its 10th Big Sky title and 13th appearance in the FCS Playoffs in what is now 35 years as a member of the FCS (formerly I-AA). Since 2010 when EWU won the NCAA Division I title, the Eagles have won league titles six times (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018) and advanced to the playoffs all six of those seasons. From 2004 to 2009 Eastern advanced to the playoffs four times (2004, 2005, 2007, 2009), and won the league title twice (2004, 2005). Eastern has three other playoff berths in school history (1985, 1992, 1997) and two other titles (1992, 1997), and has only had two multi-year stretches in which they accomplished neither. Those were both six-year stretches from between 1986-1991 and 1998-2003.
 
The Eagles have been impressive – if not dominant – in the league in the last 12 years (2007-2018), winning 80 percent of their games (77-19) and six 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 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). After a 14-6 loss at Weber State, Eastern has rebounded for victories over Idaho (38-14), Northern Colorado (48-13), UC Davis (59-20) and Portland State (74-23). A crowd of 8,789 was on hand for the UC Davis game – the 30th-straight sellout at Roos Field (crowd of 8,600 or more) and 42nd in history.
 
 
EWU Playoff History & Tidbits
 
• Eastern will make a 13th appearance in the playoffs in 2018, becoming just the 12th team in FCS to have 13 or more appearances. The other appearances for the Eagles came in 1985, 1992, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016. With a 6-5 record during an injury-ravaged season in 2011, Eastern fell a victory shy of making its first back-to-back-to-back appearances, but accomplished that feat in 2012-13-14. The Eagles were also 6-5 in 2015 and missed the postseason, and 7-4 in 2017 when they were also passed over.
 
• This is Aaron Best's first playoff appearance as head coach, but 10th overall. He was a player in 1997, then coached in 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and now 2018). He has been a part of 22 playoff games (14-8), with 19 as a coach (12-7) and one as a player (2-1). He has been involved in 18 of those games at home (12-6), just three on the road (1-2) and was offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2010 when the Eagles won the NCAA Division I title with a 20-19 victory over Delaware on a neutral field in Frisco, Texas.
 
• Eastern now has 10 playoff berths in a 15-year span (2004-18), ranking the Eagles as one of only three schools among 123 in FCS to accomplish that feat. New Hampshire (2004-05-06-07-08-09-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17) made the playoffs for the 14th-straight time in 2017. The third team was Montana (2004-05-06-07-08-09-11-13-14-15) with 10 appearances in that stretch.
 
• The Eagles have five appearances in the last seven years (2012-18), with only six other teams on that list (Jacksonville State, New Hampshire, North Dakota State, Sam Houston State, South Dakota State and James Madison).
 
• The Eagles have a 16-11 record in their 12 playoff appearances, ranking 11th all-time for wins. Eastern has advanced to the semifinals in the FCS Playoffs five times (1997, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016), and has won its opener nine times (1985, 1997, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016). The Eagles won the title in 2010 in its first and only appearance in the championship game. The Eagles have received first-round byes in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 (the playoffs were expanded to 20 teams in 2010 and to 24 teams in 2013).
 
2017 – (No. 3 seed, ranked #4)
    #14 Nicholls – (Second Round/Cheney)
2016 – (No. 2 seed, ranked #3)
    #13 Youngstown State – L, 38-40 (Semifinals/Cheney)
    #12 Richmond – W, 38-0 (Quarterfinals/Cheney)
    #14 Central Arkansas – W, 31-14 (Second Round/Cheney)
2014 – (No. 4 seed, ranked #4)
    #7/No. 5 seed Illinois State – L, 46-59 (Quarterfinals/Cheney)
    #12 Montana - W, 37-20 (Second Round/Cheney)
2013 – (No. 3 seed, ranked #3)
    #5 Towson – L, 31-35 (Semifinals/Cheney)
    #20 Jacksonville State – W, 35-24 (Quarterfinals/Cheney)
    #13 South Dakota State – W, 41-17 (Second Round/Cheney)
2012 – (No. 2 seed, ranked #4)
    #5 Sam Houston State – L, 42-45 (Semifinals/Cheney)
    #16 Illinois State – W, 51-35 (Quarterfinals/Cheney)
    Wagner – W, 29-19 (Second Round/Cheney)
2010 – (No. 5 seed, ranked #1)
    #5 Delaware - W, 20-19 (Championship/Frisco, Texas)
    #10 Villanova - W, 41-31 (Semifinals/Cheney)
    #25 North Dakota State - W, 38-31 in OT (Quarterfinals/Cheney)
    #9 Southeast Missouri State - W, 37-17 (Second Round/Cheney)
2009 – (ranked #13)
    at #12 Stephen F. Austin - L, 33-44 (First Round)
2007 – (ranked #14)
    at #15 Appalachian State - L, 35-38 (Quarterfinals)
    at #3/No. 2 seed McNeese State - W, 44-15 (First Round)
2005 – (ranked #15) -
    at #7 Northern Iowa - L, 38-41 (First Round)
2004 – (ranked #14)
    #9 Sam Houston State - L, 34-35 (Quarterfinals/Cheney)
    at #1/No. 1 seed Southern Illinois - W, 35-31 (First Round)
1997 – (No. 3 seed, ranked #4)
    #9/No. 8 seed Youngstown State - L, 14-25 (Semifinals/Spokane)
    #5/No. 5 seed Western Kentucky - W, 38-21 (Quarterfinals/Spokane)
    #17/No. 14 seed Northwestern State - W, 40-10 (First Round/Spokane)
1992 – (ranked/seeded #14)
    at #3 Northern Iowa - L, 14-17 (First Round)
1985 – (ranked/seeded #11)
    at #4 Northern Iowa - L, 14-17 (Quarterfinals)
    at #5 Idaho - W, 42-38 (First Round)
 
 

2018 Honors

 
Club Opens for Aaron Best as Big Sky Conference co-Coach of the Year
 
In just his second year on the job – and 22nd as an Eagle -- Aaron Best has joined the club. Becoming the fifth different Eastern football head coach to win the honor, Best was selected on Nov. 21 as the Big Sky Conference co-Coach of the Year as selected by his peers in the league, sharing the honor with UC Davis head coach Dan Hawkins.
 
Best guided Eastern to a 9-2 record overall and 7-1 mark in the Big Sky to share the league title with UC Davis and Weber State. In two years at the helm, he has compiled a 16-6 record overall and 13-3 mark in the league.
 
"This has everything to do with the people we are surrounded with daily, and the resources available to us," said Best. "I can't be happier for our 10 assistants and the people behind the scenes who are able to make the days happy and productive. You are only as good as your staff members and your supporting cast."
 
Beau Baldwin, Paul Wulff, Mike Kramer and Dick Zornes are the four coaches who came before him, and all were honored at least once. Best played for Kramer, who won in 1997, and then served as an assistant coach under Paul Wulff (2001, 2004, 2005) and Beau Baldwin (2012, 2013).
 
"I'm happy and thrilled for Aaron," said Baldwin, who left EWU two years ago to become offensive coordinator at Cal. "He's very deserving, and it's amazing what he's done after the change that occurred from 2016 to 2017 with the coaching staff. He still was able to do a great job in 2017 and back that up this year. It says a lot about his leadership and the guys 100 percent buying in."
 
"To be mentioned in the same breath as Coach B, Coach Wulff, Coach Kramer and Coach Zornes, there are very few words to be able to describe that," Best said. "I've never envisioned this. Obviously, you want your team to have success, and this is a coaching staff award that comes as a result."
 
Wulff also won the honor in his second year at the helm, while Kramer won in his fourth. Best's conference winning percentage of .813 is currently slightly better than Baldwin (.806), who won his first coach of the year honor in his fifth season at the helm. Zornes, who coached 15 seasons from 1979-93, won his honor in EWU's sixth year in the league after joining the Big Sky in 1987. Zornes and Best are both graduates of Eastern as well.
 
"The award means a ton, but team awards and individual player awards trump the coach of the year award," Best added. "It's humbling to be recognized by your peers in anything, but especially as intense as college football head coaching is. I've only found that out in two years."
 
Best has guided Eastern to a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Football Championships -- his first playoff appearance as a head coach, but 10th overall. He was a player in 1997, then coached in 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and now 2018.
 
"We are very proud of Coach Best for his leadership of our football program," praised EWU Director of Athletics Lynn Hickey. "He is a person of impact with his students, on our campus as a whole, and within the entire Cheney/Spokane community. He is an outstanding coach with a tireless work ethic -- but most importantly is a really good person who stands by his values.  He has guided his staff and team through a lot of adversity this year due to injuries, but has inspired them to move forward and leave no doubt that they were champions.  This is a very well-deserved honor for coach personally, but also for the excellent staff he has surrounded himself with."
 
What the Eagles accomplished this season was not lost on Kramer himself, a former veteran coach in the Big Sky and now retired. Eastern lost All-America quarterback Gage Gubrud at mid-season, but have won their last four games by a dominating 219-70 advantage on the scoreboard.
 
"Aaron and his staff weathered the loss of one of the iconic players in Big Sky history," said Kramer, who was also head coach at Montana State and Idaho State. "That is leadership. They never wavered and the best is still ahead of them in 2018."
 
"It's a sign of a very senior-laden team, and guys who don't flinch because they've experienced a ton of rocks on the windshield along their journey," explained Best. "It's great to connect and integrate former Eagles with our current Eagles, and coach Kramer talked to our team last summer. We are all connected in some way and know how special this place is, and he told the team three words that I'll never forget: 'Take the Candy.' He's had some very special teams along the way, and he felt like a couple of those teams didn't take the candy in terms of understanding how privileged they are, how well-equipped they are and how talented they are. Our team did that this year – they did take the candy and now it's time to take more candy."
 
Best has been a part of 22 playoff games (14-8), with 19 as a coach (12-7) and one as a player (2-1). He has been involved in 18 of those games on the road (12-6), just three on the road (1-2) and was offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2010 when the Eagles won the NCAA Division I title with a 20-19 victory over Delaware on a neutral field in Frisco, Texas.
 
 Best himself is a product from the state of Washington, and that has long been a trademark of the Eagle program as "Washington's Team." The Eagles have 105 players in their program, and 82 of them – 78 percent – are from the state of Washington. Eastern's coaching staff is Washington-based as well, with eight of the team's 11 full-time coaches (73 percent) hailing from the Evergreen State. Best is a 1996 graduate of Curtis High School in Tacoma, Wash., and shares the same alma mater with Brian Strandley (1990) and Jay Dumas (1992).
 
Best made his head coaching debut versus Texas Tech in a 56-10 loss on Sept. 2, 2017 in Lubbock, Texas. It came versus the same team Baldwin made his EWU head coaching debut against back on Aug. 30, 2008, in a 49-24 Red Raider victory. Interestingly, Baldwin also graduated from Curtis, six years earlier than Best in 1990. Best was making his debut as Baldwin's offensive line coach in that 2008 game.
 
"The thing I like the most about coach Best is that he is authentically going to do it his way," added Baldwin. He's not going to do it like anyone else before him. It's what he believes in and it's rubbing through. The team sees that and respects that. The team and staff have bought into his vision and that's why they are in the position they are now at 9-2 and a No. 3 seed nationally. It's all been earned, and I couldn't be happier with the job he's done since the moment he stepped in. I can't wait to watch the rest of the season unfold."
 
 
Led by Defensive MVP Jay-Tee Tiuli, Eagles Earn 23 Honors on All-Big Sky Conference Team
 
You can read between the lines with this highly-decorated list of Eastern all-stars. All 10 Eagle offensive and defensive linemen – including nose tackle Jay-Tee Tiuli as Defensive MVP – were among the 21 EWU players recognized with a total of 23 honors on the All-Big Sky Conference football team announced Nov. 20 by the league office.
 
Tiuli, a 6-foot- 4, 320-pound senior from Federal Way (Wash.) High School, was joined by 15 other Eastern seniors to be honored, including two-way first-team All-Big Sky performer Roldan Alcobendas as both a kicker and punter. Senior wide receiver Nsimba Webster and senior defensive end Keenan Williams joined Tiuli and Alcobendas as first-team performers.
 
Seven players earned second-team accolades, including senior center Spencer Blackburn for the third-straight year. Junior offensive tackle Chris Schlichting, senior offensive guard Kaleb Levao, running back Sam McPherson, senior linebacker Ketner Kupp, senior cornerback Josh Lewis and freshman redshirt defensive end Mitchell Johnson were also second teamers.
 
On the third team were senior offensive tackle Beau Byus, senior offensive guard Jack Hunter, sophomore quarterback Eric Barriere, senior safety Mitch Fettig, senior tight end Henderson Belk as a fullback and senior long snapper Curtis Billen as a special teams player. Four Eagles received honorable mention – junior running back Antoine Custer Jr., junior defensive tackle Dylan Ledbetter, senior cornerback D'londo Tucker and senior cornerback/nickel back Nzuzi Webster, who was recognized by the league at safety.
 
"We're very proud of these players, and it is very team driven," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "When you do well as a team on a particular side of the ball it's noticed by the league's coaches. We had an outstanding season in all three phases – offense, defense and special teams – and the all-league team reflects that."
 
Tiuli is just the sixth Eagle to earn player of the year honors on that side of the ball, joining J.C. Sherritt (2010), Greg Peach (2008), Joey Cwik (2005), Chris Scott (1997) and Jason Marsh (1993). Eastern has won 14 honors on offense, including the first co-MVP tandem in 2016 when Cooper Kupp and Gage Gubrud were honored. That capped a stretch in which EWU won the MVP honor on offense in 12 of 17 years.
 
"The league has spoken by naming him as the defensive MVP, and they certainly saw what we see every day at practice," Best said. "Congratulations goes to him, as well as his teammates because he makes a ton of those players on that side of the ball better. And that's why we are where we are defensively with a huge progression from where we were the last couple of years."
 
Tiuli is only the 10th Big Sky Conference interior lineman to win the defensive award since 1974 -- 45 years. He's only the second in the league since Scott from EWU won it in 1997.
 
"It's hard to do but it's well-earned," said Best. "He's a player we count on – he's our bell-cow. It shows his versatility in not only stopping the run, but getting to the quarterback."
 
Tiuli was a dominant force in the middle, and finished the 2018 regular season with 29 tackles, four sacks, two passes broken up, a quarterback hurry, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He has started 22 of the 47 out of a possible 47 games he has played the last four seasons at EWU, and has had 106 total tackles with 12 1/2 sacks, four quarterback hurries, four passes deflected, a pair of forced fumbles and a fumble he recovered for a touchdown. He had to redshirt in 2017 because of an injury, but before the start of that season he earned third team preseason All-America honors from STATS.
 
"That redshirt year last year really vaulted him into the elite company of this league," Best said. "I have a lot of respect for the coaches around the league for selecting him. Hopefully when it comes to All-America nominations and selections he'll get recognition from a national standpoint."
 
Eastern finished as the Big Sky co-champions with a 7-1 record, and owned the best point differential in the league of 31.1 points per game. Eastern averaged 48.0 on offense and 16.9 on defense to lead the league in both categories, with UC Davis having the next-best margin at a plus 17.4 per game.
 
Eastern's offensive line was as veteran and experienced as any other position for the Eagles. Blackburn, a second-team All-Big Sky choice the last two seasons, has started 33 of the 35 games he has played as an Eagle, including the last 33. Schlichting has started all 36 games he has played.
 
In addition, Hunter has started 23 of 36 games played; Levao 14 of 34 games; and Byus seven of 33, giving EWU a total 113 starts and 174 games played among that quintet (average of 23/35). And that doesn't even account for the contributions of Belk, who started nine of 41 games thus far in his career.
 
Eastern enters the postseason second in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense at 553.2 yards per game, trailing only Davidson with an average of 561.9. Eastern is also up to ninth in FCS in rushing offense (274.1), compared to 15th in passing (279.1). Eastern is the only FCS team to rank in the top 15 in all three categories, and is also averaging 45.2 points on the season to rank fourth.
 
"Getting all five offensive lineman some sort of recognition is huge, and has been accomplished very few times here," Best said. "Kudos to (offensive line) coach Jase Butorac and company for getting that done."
 
The Eagles led the league in offense with an average of 557.4 yards per league game, and was also second in defense at 346.6. That average advantage of 210.8 was also the best in the league by more than triple that of UC Davis with an advantage of 66.7.
 
"We had a good mix, although I would have liked to see a few more on the first team offensively," added Best of the entire squad of honorees. "We did some really good things in the conference with our running game and ranked second in the country in total offense. Nsimba obviously represents us well at the wide receiver position."
 
"Defensively we were very decorated on the defensive line, at linebacker and in the secondary," Best said. "With Mitch on the list as a freshman and Keenan as a senior, we had bookend defensive ends honored, with the senior going out with a bang as a first team selection."
 
"We were happy to see on special teams Roldan earn first team as a kicker and then doubling as a punter, and Curtis Billen getting recognized for paying his dues for four years here as a long snapper," added Best, with Billen serving as EWU's long snapper for all 47 out of 47 games the last four years. "It's incredible because he's been as consistent as anybody, and this is a huge honor for a player not too many people know about in the world of long snapping."
 
 
Pair of Eagle Senior Co-Captains on Academic All-District 8 Squad
 
Eastern football senior co-captains Sam McPherson and Spencer Blackburn were selected in November to the Google Cloud Academic All-District 8 Football Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). They now advance to the national ballot to select Academic All-America honors.
 
Most recently, Cooper Kupp earned Academic All-America honors back-to-back in 2015 and 2016 for the Eagles, who have had eight different players win 12 Academic All-America honors since 1989. A total of 67 have now been honored since then on the All-District squad, which includes NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football players from schools in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii and British Columbia.
 
McPherson is a running back with a 3.75 grade point average as a mechanical engineering major, and Blackburn is a center with a 3.67 GPA in professional accounting. McPherson graduated from Bothell (Wash.) High School in 2015, and Blackburn graduated in 2014 from Meridian HS in Bellingham, Wash.
 
 
 

Game Notes

 
 
Similarities Abound When Eagles & Colonels Clash
 
Eastern is the only school to rank in the top 15 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in both overall offense and defense, but Nicholls has numbers to rival those of the Eagles.
 
Eastern is averaging 553.2 yards on offense to rank second in FCS, broken down with 274.1 rushing (ninth) and 279.1 passing (15th). Defensively, Eastern is allowing 370.0 per game to rank 49th, including 146.7 on the ground (36th) and 223.3 through the air (76th).
 
The Colonels counter with an offense that is ranked 11th in FCS at 481.8 per game, with averages of 247.8 on the ground (12th) and 234.0 through the air (44th). They have allowed an average of 329.6 per game to rank 24th in the nation, including rankings of sixth in rushing defense (94.4) and 89th passing (235.2).
 
The results are similar scoring statistics – Eastern is fourth nationally in scoring (45.2) and 21st defensively (21.2), while Nicholls is 23rd on offense (33.3) and 11th on defense (20.2). Additionally, Nicholls is eighth in third down conversions (47.5 percent), fourth in first downs (290) and fifth in sacks (3.33 per game with a total of 40). Eastern is 17th in third downs (43.7 percent), 12th in first downs (262), 37th in sacks (2.45) and fifth in defensive touchdowns (four).
 
Southland Conference Player of the Year Chase Fourcade led a trio of stars on offense for Nicholls, ranking 17th nationally in total offense (279.5), including 232.0 passing and 47.5 on the ground. He passed for 21 touchdowns to rank 20th in FCS, and he rushed for 11 scores to rank 14th in FCS in points responsible for (14.0 per game). He has season totals of 2,784 yards passing and 570 rushing.
 
In his team's first-round playoff victory, Fourcade completed 21 of 31 passes for 337 yards and two touchdowns while adding 82 yards rushing and two more scores. The Colonels had 606 yards of total offense, with Dontrell Taylor recording his fourth 100-yard game on the ground with 124 yards and two touchdowns. Damion Jeanpiere Jr. fueled the passing game with 143 yards and a TD on seven receptions. Taylor is 43rd in FCS with an average of 79.8 rushing yards per game (878 total with eight touchdowns). Jeanpiere is 56th with an average of 69.0 receiving yards per game (828 yards total on 51 catches with three touchdowns and an average of 19.7 yards per reception). Dai'Jean Dixon leads the Colonels with 51 catches for 735 yards.
Defensively, safety Khristian Mims has 65 tackles for the season and safety Corey Abraham has 49. Linebacker Evan Veron has 46 with seven sacks.
 
 
Eagles Equal Their Highest Rankings of the Season at End of Regular Season
 
At the end of the regular season, Eastern held steady at fourth in the STATS NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Top 25 poll of sportswriters, broadcasters and sports information directors, and remained third by the American Football Coaches Association. Entering the postseason matching its highest rankings of the season, Eastern was also a high of third in the coaches poll and was fourth in the STATS ranking before a 14-6 loss at Weber State on Oct. 13. Eastern dropped five positions in each poll after that loss, but remained in the top 10 on Oct. 15.
 
Also ranked nationally from the Big Sky Conference to end the regular season were Weber State (3 STATS/4 AFCA), UC Davis (7/10) and Montana State (23/24). The Eagles beat UC Davis 59-20 on Nov. 10 in Cheney in in a key game for both schools with league championship and playoff implication. However, EWU suffered a 14-6 loss at Weber State on Oct. 13, allowing the Wildcats to earn the automatic berth in the FCS Playoffs. Eastern, which beat MSU 34-17 on the road back on Sept. 29, also pulled out a 31-26 victory on Sept. 8 at Northern Arizona, which at the time was ranked 18th by STATS and 20th by the AFCA.
 
In reaching its highest rankings of the season on Oct. 8 and again on Nov. 5, 12 and 19, the Eagles haven't been ranked third in the coaches poll since 2016, when EWU was also as high as third in the STATS rankings (to end the regular season). Eastern was as high as fourth in both polls in 2015, but in 2014 were ranked second for nine weeks in the coaches poll, plus were second for eight weeks by STATS after entering the preseason with the No. 1 ranking. Eastern also spent at least one week in the top spot in the STATS poll in 2012 and 2011, as well as in 2010 when EWU finished first in both polls after winning the NCAA Division I championship.
 
The Eastern and Weber State game on Oct. 13 was picked in the preseason by STATS as the most important Big Sky game of the season on its list of Pivotal FCS Conference Games in 2018. The Eagles were seventh and the Wildcats were eighth in the AFCA preseason poll, and WSU was one slot better than EWU in the STATS preseason poll (8th/9th). Eastern is picked to win the Big Sky Conference title by the league's head coaches and media with WSU second.
 
Eastern ranked as high as fourth nationally in rankings released by a trio of preseason publications. Hero Sports pegged the Eagles as the No. 4 team in FCS, ranking behind defending champion NDSU, JMU and Kennesaw State. Eastern was sixth in the Athlon Sports rankings, and is the top-ranked Big Sky team in both polls. Eastern was 14th in the Street & Smith's top 25.
 
 
EWU Outscores Last Four Opponents 219-70, Averaging More Than 600 Yards Per Game
 
A 219-70 advantage on the scoreboard – an average score of 54-17 – only scratches the surface of how dominating the Eagles have been during their four-game winning streak. Most notably, Eastern is averaging 604.3 yards of offense, compared to 331.5 for opponents, including a 307.2 to 128.3 advantage in rushing.
 
Sophomore quarterback Eric Barriere has averaged 268.0 passing and 73.2 rushing for an average of 341.1 yards of total offense per game. Sam McPherson has averaged 81.2 yards on the ground and Antoine Custer Jr. has averaged 75.2, with the Eagles rushing for a total of 17 touchdowns and Barriere passing for another 11. His favorite receivers have been Nsimba Webster (22-341) and Andrew Boston (14-113), with eight other Eagles catching the TD receptions.
 
Defensively, Eastern has forced 13 turnovers while having just four giveaways on offense. The Eagles have had nine interceptions, and for the first time since at least 1987 has had at least three in three-straight game. The Eagle defense also has 10 sacks, 26 passes broken up and 16 quarterback hurries in just those four games. Sophomore linebacker Chris Ojoh has started the last three games and leads the way during the winning streak with 30 tackles, four quarterback hurries, a sack, a forced fumble and a pass broken up.
 
In a 59-20 win over UC Davis, the Eagles finished with their most passes broken up (13) – the second-most in school history behind the school-record 14 EWU had in 1984 versus Montana State. Eastern also equaled the most turnovers forced since 2010 with five against UCD. One game earlier in a 48-13 win at Northern Colorado, the Eagles finished with the rare combination of three interceptions and six sacks. Only one other time in EWU's recorded history has that happened, and the six sacks were the most in a league game since 2014. Eastern's three interceptions equaled the most since 2009, and D'londo Tucker was the first player to have two in the same game since 2014.
 
Eastern started the winning streak with a 38-14 victory over Idaho following a bye week. The Eagles jumped out to a 31-0 halftime lead and held the Vandals scoreless for the first 38:27 of the game. Eastern finished with five sacks, six quarterback hurries and broke up five passes in holding Idaho to 204 yards passing and 159 on the ground.
 
 
Eastern Honored Huge Class of 27 Seniors Versus UC Davis on Nov. 10
 
If the number 27 isn't monstrous enough, 1,010 and 443 is.
 
Eastern honored a large group of 27 seniors on Nov. 10 when the Eagles played UC Davis. Those 27 seniors now represent 1,010 games worth of experience and 443 career starts. Broken down, the list includes 13 seniors on defense who have a collective total of 531 games played and 254 starts; the offense has 393 games worth of experience and 189 starts. In addition, kicker/punter Roldan Alcobendas and long snapper Curtis Billen have 39 and 47 games worth of experience, respectively, on special teams. The group of seniors won 33 of 40 Big Sky Conference games and 45 games overall in the last five years, starting in 2014 when many of the seniors were redshirts.
 
"It's one of those games players will always remember," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "They've gotten this far in the journey and they need to be commended. It's not just football, but it's about life, school, studying and meetings – you can go on and on and on."
 
No. – Name – Position – Height – Weight – Year – Experience Entering 2018 – Hometown (High School) – Games/Starts
#37 - Roldan Alcobendas – Kicker/Punter - 6-0 - 170 - Sr. - 3L* - Camas, Wash. (Camas HS '13) – 39
#46 - Conner Baumann – Defensive End - 6-2 - 250 - Sr. - 3L* - Bellevue, Wash. (Newport HS '14) – 35/2
#85 - Henderson Belk – Tight End - 6-4 - 245 - Sr. - 3L* - Mukilteo, Wash. (Kamiak HS '14) – 41/9
#39 - Curtis Billen – Long Snapper - 6-2 - 215 - Sr. - 3L* - Everett, Wash. (Mariner HS '14) – 47
#74 - Beau Byus – Offensive Tackle - 6-5 - 265 - Sr. - 2L* - Spokane, Wash. (Central Valley HS '14) – 33/7
#59 - Kurt Calhoun - Linebacker - 6-2 - 235 - Sr. - 3L* - Zillah, Wash. (Zillah HS '14) – 34/18
#80 - Zach Eagle – Wide Receiver - 5-8 - 175 - Sr. - 2L* - Camas, Wash. (Camas HS '14) – 25/13
#35 - Roy Ebong – Wide Receiver - 5-8 - 175 - Sr. - SQ* - New York, N.Y. (Kingston HS '13) – 1/0
#92 - Nick Foerstel – Defensive End - 6-3 - 240 - Sr. - 3L* - Tumwater, Wash. (Tumwater HS '14) – 34/9
#11 - Terence Grady – Wide Receiver - 6-5 - 205 - Sr. - 3L* - Kent, Wash. (Kentwood HS '14) – 42/15
#63 - Jack Hunter – Offensive Guard - 6-4 - 295 - Sr. - 2L* - Spokane, Wash. (Gonzaga Prep HS '14) – 36/23
#91 - Jonah Jordan – Defensive Tackle - 6-1 - 265 - Sr. - 3L* - Spokane, Wash. (Mead HS '14) – 39/9
#33 - Cole Karstetter - Rover - 5-11 - 205 - Sr. - 3L* - Spokane, Wash. (Ferris HS '14) – 35/25
#66 - Kaleb Levao – Offensive Guard - 6-4 - 310 - Sr. - 2L* - Aberdeen, Wash. (Aberdeen HS '14) – 35/14
#1 - Josh Lewis - Cornerback - 6-0 - 190 - Sr. - 3L* - Lakewood, Wash. (Steilacoom HS '14) – 47/32
#70 - Matt Meyer – Offensive Guard - 6-5 - 315 - Sr. - 2L/TR* - Lynden, Wash. (Lynden HS '13 & Wash. St. Univ.) – 32/18
#31 - Brandon Montgomery - Cornerback - 5-10 - 185 - Sr. - 2L* - Tacoma, Wash. (Wilson HS '14) – 35/0
#99 - Jay-Tee Tiuli – Defensive Nose Tackle - 6-4 - 320 - Sr. - 3L* - Seattle, Wash. (Federal Way HS '14) – 47/22
#18 - D'londo Tucker - Cornerback - 6-0 - 180 - Sr. - 3L* - Federal Way, Wash. (Federal Way HS '13) – 46/19
#5 - Nsimba Webster – Wide Receiver - 5-10 - 180 - Sr. - 3L* - Antioch, Calif. (Deer Valley HS '14) – 39/22
#6 - Nzuzi Webster - Cornerback - 5-10 - 180 - Sr. - 3L* - Antioch, Calif. (Deer Valley HS '14) – 49/26
#90 - Keenan Williams – Defensive End - 6-3 - 265 - Sr. - 3L - Cheney, Wash. (Cheney HS '15) – 42/26
Senior Co-Captains . . .
#75 - Spencer Blackburn - Center - 6-2 - 290 - Sr. - 2L* - Bellingham, Wash. (Meridian HS '14) – 35/33
#4 - Mitch Fettig - Safety - 6-1 - 200 - Sr. - 3L* - Olympia, Wash. (Olympia HS '14) – 44/43
#8 - Gage Gubrud - Quarterback - 6-2 - 205 - Sr. - 3L* - McMinnville, Ore. (McMinnville HS '14) – 32/28
40 - Ketner Kupp - Linebacker - 6-0 - 225 - Sr. - 3L - Yakima, Wash. (Davis HS '15) – 44/23
#20 - Sam McPherson – Running Back - 5-10 - 200 - Sr. - 3L - Bothell, Wash. (Bothell 'HS '15) – 41/7
 
 
Average Score in Eight Victories Thus Far is 51-17
 
The Eagles have now won their eight games this season by an average of 34.1 points per game – 467-160 for an average score of 51-17. Eastern's defensive effort in league play is unprecedented – Eastern has never held Big Sky opponents to 23 points or less in eight-straight games until now, which is a span of 32 seasons and 246 games. In 1997 and 2008 the Eagles had a stretch of four-straight league games, and overall EWU had six in a row to begin the 1997 campaign. The overall record came in 1981 when EWU held its last nine opponents to 14 or less and allowed only 97 points for the season (9.7 per game).
 
In beating Portland State 74-23 on Nov. 16, the Eagles had 50 points or more for the fifth time this season and the 60th time in school history, and are now 57-3 in those games. Earlier this season, EWU scored what was then the fourth-most in school history – a record versus a FCS opponent -- in a 70-17 win over Cal Poly. Eastern has had 21 50-point games in the last 6+ seasons (including five thus far in 2018), with six in 2014, three in 2017, two each in 2016, 2013 and 2012 and one in 2015.
 
 
 
Eagles Second in FCS in Total Offense, Plus in Top 15 in Rushing and Passing
 
Eastern is second in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense at 553.2 yards per game, trailing only Davidson with an average of 561.9. Eastern is also up to ninth in FCS in rushing offense (274.1), compared to 15th in passing (279.1). Eastern is the only FCS team to rank in the top 15 in all three categories. Three others -- Jacksonville State, Idaho State and South Dakota State -- are close. The Gamecocks – a team EWU is scheduled to play in 2019 and 2021 – are sixth (499.0), 11th in passing (289.5) and 25th in rushing (209.5). Idaho State is eighth (491.2), 12th (287.2) and 28th (204.0), respectively, and South Dakota State is fifth (511.2), 17th (278.3) and 18th (232.9).
 
Eastern is averaging 45.2 points per game to rank fourth, and EWU is 21st in scoring defense (21.2). There are actually four FCS teams ranked in the top 20 in both, led by Kennesaw State ranked first in scoring (48.6) and seventh in defense (14.8). Princeton is second in scoring (47.0) and is fourth in defense (13.0). Among the other teams are James Madison at 35.1 (15th) and 13.9 (sixth); and North Dakota State at 41.2 (seventh) and 12.2 (third). Nicholls is 11th in scoring defense (20.2) and 23rd in scoring offense (33.3).
 
In addition, EWU is now 49th in total defense (370.0), 36th in rushing defense (146.7) and 76th in passing defense (223.3). Eastern is 18th in passing efficiency (146.33), has the 12th-most first downs in FCS with 262 and is fifth with four defensive touchdowns.
 
Receiver Nsimba Webster is 19th in FCS receiving yards (1,021), 19th in receiving yards per game (92.8) and 31st in catches (5.5 per game with a total of 60). Running back Sam McPherson is ranked second in FCS for average per carry (7.75), is 27th with an average of 91.6 yards per game, has 1,008 total rushing yards to rank 24th and is 36th with nine rushing touchdowns.
 
Kicker Roldan Alcobendas is the only player in FCS (minimum of one attempts per game) to be perfect kicking field goals (13-of-13). Alcobendas is sixth in FCS in scoring overall and first in kick scoring (9.3 per game), and is 19th with an average of 1.30 field goals per game. His 45.9 punting average is second in FCS, ranking only behind a punter who plays for a school in Florida (Chris Faddoul, Florida A&M, 46.8). The season (45.9) and career averages (45.8) for Alcobendas are both on pace to break school records of 44.9 and 43.8, respectively.
 
 
Eagles Now 49-10 on The Red Turf, Including 38-6 in the Regular Season
 
After winning all five of its regular season home games in 2018, Eastern is now 49-10 overall at Roos Field since 2010. Eastern has lost just six regular season games at "The Inferno" – 39-6 (86.7 percent), plus are 10-4 in playoff games. The only regular season losses at home for EWU since then are to conference foes Montana State (2011), Portland State (2011 and 2015), Northern Arizona (2015) and Weber State (2017), as well as North Dakota State.
 
The stadium has been known as "Roos Field" since 2010 when a new red synthetic Sprinturf surface made its debut. Eastern finished a perfect 8-0 in its debut season at "The Inferno," including three playoff victories. Eastern has won 83.1 percent of its games since the red turf was installed in 2010 – including a 4-0 record versus rival Montana.
 
The North Dakota State game on Sept. 9, 2017, was the 50th at Roos Field since the red turf surface was installed in 2010. In 2016, Eastern finished 7-1 in the 50th season of football at EWU's current stadium location, which opened in 1967. Eastern has a 162-65 record (71.3 percent) in 227 games at Roos Field (formerly Woodward Field) since 1967, with the Eagles utilizing Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane as the school's main home field from 1983-89.
 
 
Eastern is 27-15 Since 2010 Versus Ranked Opponents, Including 4-3 All-Time in Top 5 Matchups
 
A 59-20 victory over UC Davis on Nov. 10 was the seventh occasion all-time that Eastern has played a fellow top 5 opponent, and EWU is now 4-3 in those games. The last time it happened was in 2013 when No. 3 EWU lost to No. 5 Towson 35-31 in the semifinals of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs. The Eagles had two other top 5 matchups that year. The Eagles are 9-34 all-time versus top 5 opponents, including 2-7 versus No. 1 (4-6 and 0-1 since 2010).
 
The UC Davis meeting was also the 16th time in school history EWU has played a matchup of top 10 teams in FCS, including the third-straight season. The Eagles are now 9-7 in those games -- including a 5-3 mark in the regular season and 4-4 in the playoffs Eastern is 18-42 in 60 games all-time versus top 10 opponents, but is 9-7 since 2010. Eastern is now 56-69 in 125 games against ranked teams in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision since becoming a member of that classification in 1983 (then known as I-AA). Since 2010, though, the Eagles are 27-15 overall.
 
Earlier this season, Eastern defeated a ranked NCAA Football Championship Subdivision opponent for the first time since 2016 when the Eagles 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. Eastern, however, fell 14-6 to No. 13 Weber State on Oct. 13, 2018, in Ogden, Utah, in another game versus a ranked foe.
 
In 2017, Weber State was the second ranked FCS foe Eastern played that year and the first in Big Sky Conference play. Prior to beating EWU 28-20, Weber State was ranked 19th in the STATS Top 25 poll, and 14th by the coaches. Eastern was 11th in both at the time. Earlier, Eastern lost 40-13 to second-ranked North Dakota State (the Eagles were ranked seventh).
 
Eastern was 6-2 against ranked teams in 2016, having lost to top-ranked North Dakota State by a 50-44 score in overtime and then falling 40-38 to 13th-ranked Youngstown State in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs. Eastern defeated Northern Iowa, ranked 10th at the time, by a 34-30 score on Sept. 17, beat No. 25 Northern Arizona 50-35 on Sept. 24, defeated No. 16 Montana 35-16 on Oct. 29 and knocked off No. 14 Cal Poly 42-21 on Nov. 5. In the playoffs, EWU beat No. 14 Central Arkansas 31-14 on Dec. 3 and was victorious over No. 12 Richmond 38-0 on Dec. 10.
 
Overall, EWU has faced the No. 1 team in FCS nine times, winning twice (35-31 in 2004 over Southern Illinois in the FCS Playoffs and 30-21 in 2002 over Montana at Albi Stadium in Spokane, Wash.
 
 
Eagles Seek to Continue November Excellence
 
The month of November has long been a successful month for Eastern, and they have continued that in 2017 and 2018. Since 2004, EWU has lost just seven regular season games in November (Weber State in 2017; NAU, Portland State and Montana in 2015; Sac State and Weber State in 2006; and Cal Poly in 2005), with an overall record of 35-7 and a current five-game winning streak in the month.
 
In November and beyond since 2004, the Eagles are now 48-15, including a 13-8 record in the FCS Playoffs. Since 2010, Eastern is 33-8 overall in November and beyond, with the lone setbacks coming in 2017 to Weber State; 2016 to Youngstown State in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs; 2015 to Portland State, Montana and Northern Arizona; 2014 to Illinois State in the playoff quarterfinals; 2013 to Towson in the playoff semifinals; and 2012 to Sam Houston State in the playoff semifinals. Until losing to Northern Arizona on Nov. 7, 2015, Eastern had won its last 19 regular season games in November, dating back to a 15-13 loss to Sacramento State on Nov. 1, 2008.
 
 
Defense Allows Just 16.9 Points in League, With a Stretch of Nearly 90 Minutes Without Allowing a Point
 
Eastern's defense was impressive during league play, with EWU allowing only 135 points for a league-leading 16.9 average per game – with seven of those points coming on a punt return touchdown. Included was an 89:52 stretch of not allowing a point, spanning two games. The school record for fewest average points in a Big Sky season came in 1992 when the Eagles surrendered just 16.4 per game (115 total) in seven league games (6-1 record).
 
Eastern had three interceptions in each of the last three regular season games, the first time that has happened since 1987 when EWU joined the league. The Eagles forced a season-high five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles) against UC Davis in a 59-20 win on Nov. 10, equaling the most since forcing six (four fumbles, two interceptions) in a 41-31 victory over Villanova on Dec. 18, 2010, in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs. It was Eastern's third five-turnover performance in league play since forcing six (four fumbles and two interceptions) in a 36-27 victory over Montana on Sept. 18, 2010, in the inaugural game on EWU's red turf at Roos Field. In addition, the Eagles finished with 13 passes broken up versus UCD – the second-most in school history behind the school-record 14 EWU had in 1984 versus Montana State.
 
Eastern allowed 40 points in the first quarter of its eight Big Sky games, 35 in the second, 44 in the third and 16 in the fourth. Eastern pitched a shutout in 14 of 32 quarters, and had a stretch of five-straight goose eggs ended in the third quarter versus Idaho on Oct. 27. It would have been 15, but the Eagles gave up a defensive two-point conversion in the fourth quarter of EWU's finale versus Portland State. In the game versus the Vandals, 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.
 
In the next game versus Northern Colorado on Nov. 3, Eastern's had a rare occurrence of three interceptions and six sacks. In fact, that many of each in the same game has not happened since 1985 when EWU had three picks and seven sacks in a 31-19 win over Weber State. The six sacks versus UNC were the most in a league game since Oct. 19, 2014, when EWU had seven versus Northern Colorado, and overall, EWU had 10 versus Fordham in 2017 and six against Richmond in 2016. Only six times since 2005 has EWU had at least six sacks in a game. The three interceptions were the most in a league game since EWU had five versus Portland State in 2009. Eastern has had three on eight occasions since then. The two interceptions by D'londo Tucker was the first time EWU has had a player have two in the same game since 2014 when a trio of players accomplished that feat.
 
In eight league games, Eastern allowed the fewest points per game (16.9) while ranking second in total defense (346.6), second in passing defense (185.4) and second in rushing defense (161.2). Overall, Eastern is 21st in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in scoring defense (21.2), 49th in total defense (370.0), 36th in rushing defense (146.7) and 76th in passing defense (223.3).
 
Eastern held Idaho scoreless for the first 38:27 of the game. One game earlier in a 14-6 loss at Weber State, Eastern's defense held the Wildcats to just one offensive touchdown and scoreless for the final 51:25 of the contest. The Eagles 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 and the Eagles recorded six three-and-outs, and forced and recovered a fumble on another WSU possession.
 
 
Running Game on School-Record Pace for Average Per Carry at 7.1 to Rank Second in FCS
 
Eastern's running game has been a mainstay this season, averaging a league-leading 7.1 yards per carry compared to 3.6 for opponents. Only Davidson's 7.44 average per rush is better in FCS, and the Eagles are on pace to break the school record of 6.4.
 
All five EWU running backs are averaging at least 6.5 per carry – junior Tamarick Pierce 8.5, junior Dennis Merritt 8.2, senior Sam McPherson 7.8, junior Antoine Custer Jr. 6.5 and true freshman Isaiah Lewis 7.4. Quarterback Eric Barriere is averaging 7.4 per carry, that despite 11 sacks in his last five games. He had a career-high 99 yards versus Portland State on Nov. 16, including a 66-yard TD on the game's third play. Versus Southern Utah, he finished with 98 yards on the ground after recording the longest run in school history by a quarterback (ninth-longest overall) with an 85-yard touchdown run.
 
Eastern finished with 378 yards on the ground versus Portland State, including a 14.0 average per rush. It was EWU's fifth performance this season with at least 300 rushing yards, something EWU has accomplished just 11 other times since 1987 when EWU became a member of the Big Sky Conference. Only twice in that span – 1999 and 2001 – has EWU had two performances of at least 300 in the regular season. The Eagles had 626 total yards versus the Vikings for an average of 10.8 per play.
 
One game earlier, Eastern ended with 669 yards of total offense – sixth-most in school history – against UC Davis on Nov. 10, including 372 on the ground and 297 through the air. Eastern averaged 5.9 on the ground and 7.1 overall, with Sam McPherson leading the way with 133 yards on just six carries (22.2 per rush).
 
Besides its 7.1 average per rush as a team, EWU has a total of 3,015 rushing yards this season (274.1 per game) and is averaging 7.6 per offensive play (553.2 per game). Eastern's all-time records for rushing yards and average in a single season came in 1950 when it rushed for 3,130 total in 10 games (313.0 average). As a member of FCS, the record is 225.4 set in 2001 when Jesse Chatman averaged 190.5 single handedly. The EWU season record for average yards per rush is 6.4 set in 2001, and the record for average yards per play of 7.7 was set in 2013. Eastern's records for total offense came in 2013 when it averaged 533.5 and had 8,002 total. Eastern has never averaged more rushing yards than passing yards in a single season as a member of FCS, and the last time it happened overall was in 1981 (226.5 rushing and 145.0 passing).
 
Eastern has had seven rushing performances this season of at least 248 yards, with 380 versus Southern Utah on Oct. 6 and two weeks earlier having the second-most rushing yards in school history with 441 versus Cal Poly on Sept. 22. The EWU running game has come a long way since 2016 when quarterback Gage Gubrud led the Eagles in rushing as a sophomore in 2016.
 
Custer has 560 and eight scores in eight games played (70.0/6.5); Pierce has 492 yards (44.7/8.5) and seven TDs; Merritt has 270 (24.5/8.2) with a trio of scores; and Lewis has 52 (26.0/7.4). Barriere has added 453 yards on the ground (45.3/7.4) with six scores, and Gubrud has 169 (33.8/5.5) and a pair of touchdowns.
 
"I would argue with anybody that the top four backs we have in Antoine, Sam, Tamarick and Dennis all rival anybody in this league," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best earlier this season.
 
Through 11 games this season, Eastern is second in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense at 553.2 yards per game. The Eagles are also up to ninth in FCS in rushing offense (274.1), compared to 15th in passing (279.1). Sam McPherson, the lone senior among the group of four tailbacks, is ranked second in FCS for average per carry (7.75), is 27th with an average of 91.6 yards per game, has 1,008 total rushing yards to rank 24th and is 36th with nine rushing touchdowns. He handled the bulk of the rushing load in EWU's first three games, with Custer making his 2018 debut versus Cal Poly after suffering a preseason hamstring injury.
 
In the milestone performance against Cal Poly, Custer had 133 and two touchdowns on just eight carries (16.6 per rush). Merritt had 92 with an 81-yard touchdown run; McPherson had 84 on eight carries; Pierce added 52 on five rushes; and Gubrud even had 50 yards on four totes.
 
Custer, a preseason All-Big Sky Conference selection, was a second team all-league pick in 2017 when he rushed for 776 yards and 10 touchdowns. He now has 1,752 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns in his 32-game career (21 as a starter), and scored on runs of 62 and 43 yards versus Cal Poly, 2 and 13 yards against SUU and a pair of 1-yard plunges versus UC Davis. He also has 542 receiving yards on 62 catches and 499 on kickoff returns for a total of 2,793 all-purpose yards (87.3 per game). His career 23.8 average returning kickoffs is currently 11th in school history and he's scored a total of 23 touchdowns as an Eagle.
 
The Eagles have had a 100-yard rusher in eight of their last 13 games dating back to 2017, including four by McPherson and four by Custer. Besides McPherson's 133 versus Portland State, Custer had an even 100 in a 372-yard outing versus UC Davis had 122 and an even 100 on a 308-yard day on Nov. 3 versus Northern Colorado. Eastern had 248 against Northern Arizona on Sept. 8, including 161 on 22 carries by McPherson and 80 yards by Gubrud. One game earlier against Central Washington, McPherson had 185 yards on just 15 carries and Merritt added 75 as the Eagles finished with 328 as a team. At the time, the 328 were the most rushing yards EWU has had in its last 147 games dating back to a 331-yard performance in a 47-22 win over Idaho State on Sept. 25, 2004. Eastern finished with 677 yards of offense (349 passing) against Central and had 570 versus NAU (322 passing).
 
"When you start getting rushing yards like that, it's not just first and second level blocking, but it's third level blocking," explained Best. "Receivers don't just catch balls here, they block downfield too."
 
In Eastern's last 13 games (11-2 record) dating back to the 2017 season, the Eagles have rushed 519 times for 3,544 yards and 40 touchdowns, with averages of 272.6 per game and 6.8 per rush. By contrast, Eastern has attempted 434 passes for 3,642 yards and 32 touchdowns, with averages of 280.2 per game and 8.4 per play. In total, Eastern is averaging 552.8 yards per game and 7.5 per play with 72 total offensive touchdowns.
 
Last year, Eastern ended the season with 728 yards against Portland State (440 passing/228 rushing) and one game before that had 376 against North Dakota (132 passing/244 rushing). McPherson had 118 yards on eight carries on just one half of action against UND, with Antoine Custer Jr. contributing another 70 on 19 carries. Custer had 177 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries against PSU to end the season.
 
 
Eastern Now 48-0 Since 2010 When Winning the TO Battle
 
In the last 10+ seasons (2008-18), the Eagles are now 57-1 when they've won the turnover battle, 23-6 when they've been tied and 21-31 when they've lost (total of 101-38). 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 48-0 since 2010 when they've won the turnover battle, 20-5 when they've been tied and 19-24 when they've lost. That's a collective record of 87-29 (75.0 percent), with 24 of those 29 losses (83 percent) coming in games EWU has lost the turnover battle and 55 percent of EWU's wins coming when they've won the turnover battle (78 percent when including ties).
 
In the last eight games, Eastern has a plus-11 turnover advantage (20 takeaways and nine giveaways), but in the first three the Eagles were a negative six (two takeaways and eight giveaways). For the season, EWU is 28th in FCS with a plus 0.45 margin per game (22 takeaways, 17 giveaways).
 
Eastern opened the 2018 season by losing the turnover battle against Central Washington 3-1, but winning on the scoreboard 58-13. The Eagles were tied 1-1 against NAU in turnovers, but prevailed 31-26. Washington State scored 24 points on four Eastern turnovers, with the Eagles failing to register a takeaway. Eastern won the turnover battle 2-1 in its 70-17 romp past Cal Poly, 2-1 at Montana State in a 34-17 win and 2-1 at home against Southern Utah. Eastern lost the turnover battle 2-1 in a 14-6 loss at Weber State when the Eagles threw two fourth-quarter interceptions.
 
During its current four-game winning streak, Eastern has a 13-4 advantage in turnovers forced. The Eagles won the battle 1-0 in beating Idaho 38-14 and 3-2 in defeating Northern Colorado 48-13. Eastern forced five turnovers – equaling its most since 2010 – and had only one giveaway in a 59-20 victory over UC Davis on Nov. 10. The Aggies had entered the game with a plus-12 margin, ranking them fifth in FCS. Eastern ended the regular season with a 4-1 advantage over Portland State, including EWU's third-straight game with three interceptions, the first time EWU has accomplished that feat since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1987.
 
So far in 2018, Eastern is 7-0 it when it wins the turnover battle, 1-2 when it has more turnovers and 1-0 when tied. In 2017, EWU was 3-0 when it won the turnover battle, 3-3 when it lost and 1-1 when it was tied. Eastern finished the 2017 season at minus 10 turnovers for the season, ranking EWU 105th out of 123 FCS schools in turnover margin (-0.91 per game), 90th in turnovers lost (23) and 105th in turnovers gained (13).
 
 
 

Player Notes

 
 
Barriere Wins Pair of Honors to Conclude Regular Season with 5-1 Record as a Starter
 
Quarterback Eric Barriere certainly had the Midas touch to end the regular season on Nov. 16 in Hillsboro, Ore., and as a result earned a pair of player of the week honors. He was not only the Big Sky Conference co-Offensive Player of the week, but College Football Performance Awards named Barriere as its FCS National Player of the Week. He accounted for 40 points and 315 yards of offense in EWU's 74-23 victory at Portland State in directing EWU to its 10th Big Sky Conference football title in school history.
 
Barriere scored on a 66-yard touchdown on the game's third offensive play, setting the stage for what was to come for the Eagles. Including his six rushes for 99 yards and 15 pass completions for 216, he averaged 15.0 yards on those plays. with a touchdown every 3.5 times he rushed or completed a pass. He completed 15-of-27 passes for a career-high five touchdowns and an efficiency rating of 176.5. Including his rushing touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversion passes, he accounted for 40 points for the Eagles as he now receives his first postseason action as an Eagle.
 
"He'll be in his first playoff game, and what a better opportunity to play at home in front of our fans," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "There's no pressure because he's been our starter for the last six games, and I'm so proud of him. This is what we all envisioned at the end of his career as a junior and senior, but now he gets to play in his sophomore year."
 
Taking over as EWU's starter from injured Gage Gubrud in Eastern's sixth game of the season, Barriere is now 5-1 as a starter this season and 6-1 in his career. He has led the Eagles to four-straight victories in which the Eagles have out-scored opponents 219-70. So far in 10 games played in 2018, Barriere has completed 118-of-202 passes (58.4 percent) for 1,503 yards and 13 touchdowns, with 61 rushes for 542 yards (7.4 per carry) and six scores.
 
"He's been awesome and his teammates trust him," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best on the injury replacement for All-American Gage Gubrud. "He prepares well and he's a playmaker. He may not be as fluid in the pass game and as concrete with certain things that Gage was exposed to, but he's definitely a dynamic playmaker."
 
In his 15-game career, he has completed 58.3 percent of his passes (133-of-228) for 1,641 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions, and has rushed 79 times for 501 yards and seven more TDs. He has a passing efficiency rating of 138.2 this season and 134.7 in his career.
 
"His leadership will continue to grow, but we didn't expect that as a sophomore in the shoes he's in," Best continued. "It's going to take time, and it took Gage some time. The thing I'm most impressed with by Eric is that he's very unflappable for the most part. No matter if he throws a good ball or a bad ball, he's very competitive and he expects a lot out of himself. A lot of times you wouldn't know that from his mannerisms because he always smiles. That what makes him who he is."
 
Gubrud started for the Eagles in the first five games before suffering a season-ending foot injury against Montana State on Sept. 29. Barriere took the reins after that, and they've produced nearly identical total offense numbers. Gubrud averaged 283.2 passing and 33.8 rushing for a total of 317.0 per game; Barriere has averaged 248.3 passing and 68.2 rushing for a 316.5 average. Gubrud accounted for 17 touchdowns (13 passing, 2 rushing), and Barriere has had 18 (12 passing, six rushing).
 
"He came here because we win and he wanted to be a part of a highly-productive, quarter-back driven football team," added Best. "He just got the opportunity to have the keys thrown up to him a little sooner than expected. Why wouldn't you rev that thing up? We tell him to go warm-up the car and drive it."
 
Barriere guided a 59-20 victory over fourth-ranked UC Davis on Nov. 10, in which EWU scored 21-straight points to take the lead for good in the first half. He also engineered a 48-13 win at Northern Colorado on Nov. 3 in a game the Eagles took a 20-0 halftime line. One game earlier, he led the Eagles to a 31-0 halftime lead and 38-14 victory over Idaho on Oct. 27.
 
In the sixth start of his career, Barriere completed 16-of-30 passes for 285 yards and a score against UCD, and finished with 60 yards rushing to give him 345 yards of total offense. Versus UNC, Barriere accounted for 309 yards of total offense for EWU – 245 passing and 64 rushing. He completed 24-of-36 passes and TD passes of 4 and 19 yards, plus he scored runs of on 9 and 15 yards.
 
Against the Vandals, he 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. Barriere and the Eagles had a near-perfect first half versus UI, scoring 31 points and having a 364-129 advantage in total offense.
 
In a 55-17 win over Southern Utah on Oct. 6 in his first start this season, he passed for 233 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 98 and two more TDs in just three quarters of action. He completed 13-of-21 passes and had his rushing yardage on five carries with no sacks. Making just his second career start, he completed a 48-yard pass on the first offensive play of the day for the Eagles, then later had an 85-yard rush for a touchdown – a school record for a quarterback and ninth-longest overall all-time -- to give the Eagles a 31-10 lead in the second quarter. He accounted for three of EWU's seven touchdowns, rushing for two scores and passing for another.
 
However, in a 14-6 loss at Weber State on Oct. 13, Eastern was held without a touchdown for the first time in 10 years. Barriere completed 19-of-42 passes for 185 yards and was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter to squelch Eagle drives. He had a net rushing gain of 18 yards despite getting sacked four times.
 
Barriere was also thrown to the fire during his redshirt freshman season when he made the first start of his career against North Dakota on Nov. 11, 2017, and led the Eagles to a 21-14 win. The 2016 graduate of La Habra (Calif.) High School had 185 yards of total offense, had a touchdown pass and scored once on the ground on a fourth down play to end the first half. He completed 13-of-23 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown, and rushed 15 times for 55 yards. He was sacked only once and had no turnovers. He rushed for a pair of first downs, and passed for another eight. Barriere helped Eastern to a turnoverless game, but had to recover his own fumble late in the game that was followed by a key 67-yard punt by Jordan Dascalo that was downed at the UND 3-yard line. Had Barriere not recovered the fumble, UND would have taken over at the EWU 31 trailing just 21-14.
 
By contrast, Vernon Adams Jr. – a former Eagle who Barriere draws comparisons to – had 75 yards passing (7-of-12) and 62 rushing (five carries) in his starting debut in 2012 at Weber State in a 32-26 victory. Before the UND game, Barriere had appeared in three games in 2017 and was 1-of-2 for 13 yards and an interception, all coming against Texas Tech on Sept. 2.
 
 
Sixth-Year Senior Roldan Alcobendas Up to 11th in Big Sky History in Kick Scoring
 
Making history at every turn, Roldan Alcobendas continues to add to his Eastern kick scoring record, and is making some history as a punter as well. He earned first team All-Big Sky Conference honors as both a kicker and punter for EWU in 2018.
 
Earlier this season he moved past Troy Griggs (231 from 1998-01) and Mike Jarrett (236 from 2008-11) for the all-time EWU lead for kick scoring. Alcobendas has also established EWU career records for extra points made (195) and attempted (201), breaking the previous records held by Jarrett (2009-11) with 143 makes and 150 attempts. Alcobendas has made 33-of-44 field goals in his career to rank third in school history for field goals made and fifth in attempts. In his career, he has 107 kickoffs for a 57.4 average (6,143 total yards) with 17 touchbacks.
 
Alcobendas has been rewarded three times this season (four in his career) with ROOT Sports Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors. His most recent honor came when he scored 11 points for the Eagles – just two from his career high – in EWU's 59-20 win over UC Davis on Nov. 10. He kicked a 24-yard field goal to remain perfect on the season at 13-for-13. He also converted all eight of his extra points and punted five times for a 39.8 average with four of his punts downed inside the UCD 20-yard line – three inside the 10. The average field position for UC Davis after his punts was their own 15-yard line, including the 5, 7, 9 and 19. Aside from two long touchdown runs of 46 and 69 yards, UCD got to EWU's red zone just once all day, and the Aggies had to settle for a field goal.
 
He also earned the honor after he kicked a pair of field goals in EWU's 14-6 loss at 13th-ranked Weber State on Oct. 13, and also added a punting record to his resume. He averaged 60.3 yards on seven punts in Eastern's defensive battle, including a school-record 78 yarder with the wind in the second quarter and another of 72 yards with the wind in the third. He also had a wind-aided punt of 63 yards, and a punt into the wind of 60. Two of his punts were downed inside the 10-yard line of Weber State. He now owns two of the top three punts in school history, with the previous record set by Jake Miller against Washington State on Sept. 8, 2012, with a punt of 74 yards. The 60.3 average for Alcobendas versus the Wildcats nearly broke the Big Sky record of 61.5 set by Eddie Johnson of Idaho State in 2002 versus Cal Poly. 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.
 
He originally broke the school record for career kick scoring against Montana State on Sept. 29 and received his second career ROOT Sports Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player award on Oct. 1 as a result. He suffered a knee injury in 2014 at Bobcat Stadium, then returned two years later and won his first Big Sky POW honor in 2016 after a performance in Bozeman. He scored 11 points in 2016 and had 10 more in this year's 34-17 victory. In 2018, he converted field goals of 24 and 25 yards versus the Bobcats, converted four extra points and punted four times for a 46.8 average with a long of 60. Three of his punts were downed inside the MSU 20-yard line, including a key 59-yarder in the fourth quarter. In all, the average field position for MSU after his punts was the 14-yard line.
 
"It was a proud, proud moment to watch him put the ball through the pipes and get the record," Best said of his 24-yarder that gave EWU a 17-10 second-quarter lead versus the Bobcats. "We didn't mention it before or during the game, but after the game we talked about that. What an accomplishment for him after everything he's overcome in six years here, but it feels like about 10 years."
 
Alcobendas entered the season as one of 34 placekickers nationwide to be named to the watch list for the 2018 Fred Mitchell Award. The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award will be chosen at the end of the year based on excellence on the football field and in the community.
 
As a bonus for his past suffering, the 2013 graduate of Camas (Wash.) High School received a sixth year to complete four years of eligibility because of injuries that cost him a pair of seasons. Alcobendas had to sit out both the 2013 and 2015 seasons because of knee injuries – one suffered while playing in his senior year of soccer.
 
"What he's accomplished here isn't just the points, it's the adversity he's faced and overcome," said Best. "He came here to Eastern with an injury in soccer and that set him back a little bit, then he had the injury at Montana State in 2014 that set him back a little more. He's battled through everything and has earned everything."
 
He finished the 2016 season 9-of-15 kicking field goals and made 73-of-74 extra points. He made his last 63 extra points in a row in 2016 to shatter the previous season record of 47. His 73 total extra points made in 2016 were one behind the Big Sky Conference record of 74 set by former Eagle Kevin Miller in 2013. He also averaged 54.6 yards on 44 kickoffs with seven touchbacks.
 
He missed his first extra point attempt of the game against UC Davis on Oct. 7, 2017, ending his school-record string of consecutive career extra points made at 85. In the 2017 season, he made 46-of-47 extra point attempts and 10-of-14 field goals. He also handled kickoff duties much of the season, and averaged 59.8 yards on 39 kicks in 2017 with seven touchbacks.
 
Returning to the venue he suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2014, Alcobendas made field goals of 48 and 31 yards and had a career-high 11 total points in EWU's 41-17 victory over Montana State in 2016 to earn Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors. His 48-yarder was the best of his career, and equals the 23rd-longest in school history. He also had a 31-yarder blocked and made all five of his extra point attempts to account for 11 of EWU's points. In addition, he averaged 64.0 yards in three kickoffs, including one touchback.
 
 
Junior Chris Schlichting Has Started All 36 Games in His Career
 
Eastern junior offensive tackle Chris Schlichting has started in each of EWU's 36 games in his last two-plus seasons for the Eagles. He started all 14 games as a redshirt freshman in 2016, all 11 in 2017 and 11 thus far this season. Senior center Spencer Blackburn has a streak of 33 consecutive starts since taking over the position in the fourth game of the 2016 season. Junior offensive tackle Tristen Taylor had started 28-of-28 games as an Eagle until a season-ending knee injury kept him out of the lineup on Sept. 22 versus Cal Poly. Safety Mitch Fettig had started 33-straight games until sitting out the Northern Colorado game on Nov. 3
 
Eastern's offensive line entering the year boasted a starting five with 88 starts between them. Currently they have 134, including 36 by Schlichting; 33 by Blackburn; 28 by Taylor; 23 by Jack Hunter and 14 by Kaleb Levao. However, against Cal Poly and the team's subsequent games, Taylor was unavailable because of a season-ending knee injury and former tight end Beau Byus is now starting in his place. Converted guard Matt Meyer had to start at tackle in place of Byus on Oct. 13, then has started instead of Levao on Nov. 10.
 
A total of 16 players have started at least 18 games. The others include cornerback Josh Lewis (32 starts/47 played), cornerback Nzuzi Webster (26/49), defensive end Keenan Williams (26/42), rover Cole Karstetter (25/35) and Kurt Calhoun (18/34) on defense; and quarterback Gage Gubrud (28/32), running back Antoine Custer Jr. (21/32), wide receiver Nsimba Webster (22/40) and guard Matt Meyer (18/32) on offense.
 
 
With Careers Nearing an End, Webster Twins Contribute Mightily in Late-Season Wins
 
The Webster twins are making their mark in Eastern history, and both had a huge game on Nov. 10 when EWU defeated fourth-ranked UC Davis 59-20. They enter the 2018 postseason with 89 games played between them, with a collective total of 49 starts.
 
Nsimba Webster, a senior wide receiver who earned first team All-Big Sky honors in 2018, became the 20th player in school history to go over the 1,000-yard mark for receiving in a single season. He currently ranks 19th in FCS receiving yards (1,021), 19th in receiving yards per game (92.8) and 31st in catches (5.5 per game with a total of 60). In his 40-game career (22 as a starter), he has caught 132 passes for 1,875 yards and 13 touchdowns.
 
Nzuzi Webster has 26 tackles with five passes broken up and an interception he returned for key 45-yard touchdown in EWU's victory over UC Davis on Nov. 10. In his 49-game career (27 as a starter), he has 159 total tackles and a trio of interceptions. A third team selection as a sophomore in 2016 and honorable mention in 2018, he also has 27 passes broken up in his career to rank fifth in school history.
 
 Nzuzi's third career interception was returned 45 yards for a key touchdown in the third quarter versus UC Davis to give the Eagles a 28-17 lead. He also had three tackles and recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter, and as a result earned ROOT Sports Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors.
 
Nsimba caught three passes against UC Davis for 103 yards, including grabs of 32, 35 and 36 yards. It was the seventh 100-yard performance of his career and fourth of the season. He then followed that with five catches for 96 yards and a 68-yard score versus Portland State, plus had a 57-yard punt return in the win. He opened the 2018 season in blazing fashion with 10 catches, two touchdowns and a career-best 212 yards to rank as the ninth-most in school history. He followed that victory over Central Washington with two more touchdowns on seven catches for 176 yards in a win over nationally-ranked Northern Arizona.
 
The twins are from Antioch, Calif., and were 2014 graduates of Deer Valley High School where they helped the Wolverines to an 11-2 record and semifinal appearance in the 2013 CIF Division I North Coast Section Playoffs. They lost to eventual champion De La Salle 57-27, whose roster included future Eagle Antoine Custer Jr. (who rushed for 1,141 yards and 14 TDs as his team's Sophomore of the Year). Nsimba passed and ran for 50 touchdowns as a senior and Nzuzi contributed greatly on offense, defense and special teams. Former Eagle and current Buffalo Bill Taiwan Jones ('07) also attended Deer Valley High School.
 
 
Fettig Six Tackles From Record for Defensive Back
 
Senior co-captain Mitch Fettig has started 43 of the 44 games he's played in his Eastern career, and is chasing the school record for tackles by a defensive back. He has 282 tackles to rank 13th in school history – just six 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.
 
Fettig also has six interceptions and 17 passes broken up in his career – including three break-ups in EWU's 59-20 victory over UC Davis on Nov. 10. A 2014 graduate from Olympia HS, Fettig was a third team All-Big Sky selection as a junior and earned honorable mention in 2016. He has played in all but three possible games as an Eagle, having missed a pair with injuries as a freshman in 2015 and EWU's game in 2018 versus Northern Colorado. But he started all 14 games in 2016, all 11 in 2017 and the first eight in 2018 for a streak of 33 Eagle games in a row which was ended Nov. 3 at UNC.
 
 
More Player Notes & Superlatives
 
A first-team All-Big Sky performer, senior Keenan Williams has 142 tackles, 8 1/2 sacks and three forced fumbles in his 42-game career (26 as a starter).
 
Senior cornerback Josh Lewis has started 32 out of the 47 games he's played as an Eagle, and has career totals of 126 tackles, eight interceptions and 20 passes broken up to rank 10th in school history.
 
One of the team's co-captains, Ketner Kupp led the Eagles in tackles with 69, and also broke-up three passes and had four quarterback hurries. He has 221 tackles in his career to rank 29th in school history, has played in 44 games and has started 23. He is the younger brother of four-time EWU FCS All-American Cooper Kupp, who now plays for the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL.
 
Redshirt freshman Mitchell Johnson burst on the scene in 2018 and responded with 25 tackles with four sacks, an interception, two passes broken up, a pair of quarterback hurries, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.
 
A sixth-year senior, D'londo Tucker has 89 tackles, six interceptions and also has 20 PBUs in his 46-game career (19 as a starter). He finished the 2018 regular season with a team-high four interceptions to go along with his 32 tackles and seven pass breakups.
 
Defensive tackle Dylan Ledbetter has 8 1/2 sacks in his 36-game career (17 as a starter), with totals of 112 tackles, five passes broken up and three blocked kicks. His father, Mark, played as a linebacker at Washington State and lettered from 1986-89. He played in the Aloha Bowl on Dec. 25, 1988 and had eight tackles with a sack. He went on the play in the World League after signing a free agent contract with New Orleans in the NFL, and then played in the Canadian Football League for Sacramento, Birmingham and Calgary.
 
 
Total of 64 Players Play in Opener, Including Debuts by 16
 
A total of 64 Eagles played in EWU's opener versus Central Washington, including 16 players making their debuts in an Eastern uniform. Of the newbies, redshirt freshman Andrew Boston received the first start of his career in his first game, and finished with one catch for 10 yards. He is from Puyallup, Wash., and is a 2017 graduate of Emerald Ridge High School. Tre Weed was the only true freshman to see action for the Eagles, and he ended up returning four punts for 43 yards with a long of 22.
 
 
78 Percent of EWU's Roster are Players from Washington
 
The Eagles have 105 players in their program, and 82 of them – 78 percent – are from the state of Washington. Eastern's coaching staff is Washington-based as well, with eight of the team's 11 full-time coaches (73 percent) hailing from the Evergreen State. Head coach Aaron Best is a 1996 graduate of Curtis High School in Tacoma, Wash., and shares the same alma mater with Brian Strandley (1990) and Jay Dumas (1992).
 
 
32-Game Career Ends for Gubrud With Impressive 21-7 Record as a Starter and Big Sky Total Offense Per Game Record
 
Eastern head coach Aaron Best announced after the Idaho game on Oct. 27 that All-America quarterback Gage Gubrud will be lost for the season with a lower leg injury which required surgery on Oct. 31. Gubrud suffered the injury late in the game versus Montana State on Sept. 29 and has been replaced ever since by sophomore Eric Barriere.
 
"Eric Barriere is our quarterback moving forward and Gage Gubrud will be shelved for the rest of the season," said Best after his team jumped out to a 31-0 halftime lead over Idaho and won 38-14. "Everybody has Gage's best interests in mind, and that's where we stand going forward."
 
Gubrud finished his career as the owner of 21 school records, eight Big Sky Conference marks and three in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, most coming in a sensational sophomore campaign in 2016. With 11,026 yards of total offense in his career, Gubrud averaged 344.6 yards of total offense per game to rank third all-time in FCS and break the Big Sky record of 328.9 set by Dave Dickenson of Montana with 11,513 yards in 35 games from 1992-95.
 
Gubrud 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. His average of 312.0 per game was a school record, and ranks third in Big Sky history and 20th in FCS.
 
His 11,026 yards of total offense ranks third in EWU history and 12th all-time in the Big Sky Conference. Gubrud also had 87 touchdown passes in his 32-game career to move into third in school history past Erik Meyer (2002-05) with 84. There are no official lists for TD passes in the 55-year history of the league, but it's believed he's tied for eighth.
 
At No. 4 in school history in career passing yards with 9,984, Gubrud ranks only behind 10,000-yard passers Matt Nichols (12,616, #1 in Big Sky), Vernon Adams Jr. (10,438, unranked) and Erik Meyer (10,261, unranked). He is also third in total offense with 11,026 yards, ranking behind Nichols (13,308, #1 in Big Sky) and Adams (11,670, #7), but surpassing Meyer (10,942, #13).
 
Finishing 21-7 in 28 games as a starter, he was also third in school history in completion percentage (.646), third in efficiency rating (155.8), third in touchdown passes (87), second in completions (753) and second in attempts (1,165).
 
Gubrud had a school-record 10 400-yard passing performances in his career, three more than Adams with seven. He had back-to-back-to-back 400-yard performances on three occasions, and Adams, Jordan West and Matt Nichols are the only other quarterbacks in EWU history to have accomplished that feat two games in a row. Gubrud's 19 300-yard passing performances are tied with Nichols (19) and are one behind Adams (20) for the school record.
 
Gubrud owns school records with 13 performances of at least 400 yards of total offense and six with at least 500. He owns eight of the top 10 single game total offense performances in school history (1-2-3-4-6-7-8-10), plus the Nos. 14, 20 and 29 performances. He owns nine of the top 19 passing performances (1-2-4-7-13-15-16-18-19), plus Nos. 23, 40 and 45.
 
"It's incredible – not just for this team but for this athletic department and university," said Best of Gubrud's contributions. "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 (Eastern Kind of Guy), and we highly respect his work. It's just unfortunate his career was cut short due to a physical ailment."
 
In five games in 2018, Gubrud had 1,585 yards of total offense – 1,416 through the air and 169 on the ground. He completed 61.9 percent of his passes (99-of-160) and had a 156.8 passing efficiency rating. Although he no longer meets the minimum number of games played to be ranked nationally, in FCS stats released on Oct. 7 he was 12th in average points responsible for (18.0), 15th in passing efficiency (156.8), ninth in total offense (317.0 per game) and 12th in passing (283.2 per game).
 
 
Eastern Has 39 Players With Combined 606 Career Starts
 
Eastern's experience is not questioned, with 39 total players with a total of 606 games of starting experience – 20 players on defense, 19 players on offense and 303 on both sides of the ball.
 
Thus far in 2018, seven players have made starting debuts, including Jim Townsend at defensive end and Andrew Boston at wide receiver versus Central Washington in EWU's opener. Senior Nick Foerstel made his first start at Washington State at defensive end, then senior offensive tackle Beau Byus, junior linebacker Andrew Katzenberger and sophomore linebacker Chris Ojoh made their starting debuts versus Cal Poly. Against Southern Utah on Oct. 6, Dehonta Hayes made the first start of his career and finished with a career-high 11 tackles.
 
The Eagles entered the season with 32 total players returning with a total of 364 games of starting experience (182 on each side), including 15 on defense and 17 on offense. Of the players lost from the 2017 team, four had at least 20 starts. They collectively had 128 starts, including 98 on defense and 26 on offense.
 
Current Starts on Defense (303 starts by 20 players): Mitch Fettig 43, Josh Lewis 32, Nzuzi Webster 26, Keenan Williams 26, Cole Karstetter 25, Ketner Kupp 23, Jay-Tee Tiuli 22, D'londo Tucker 19, Kurt Calhoun 18, Dylan Ledbetter 17, Tysen Prunty 10, Nick Foerstel 9, Jonah Jordan 9, Jim Townsend 6, Dehonta Hayes 6, Jack Sendelbach 4, Chris Ojoh 4, Conner Baumann 2 (including 1 as a fullback), Andrew Katzenberger 1, Anfernee Gurley 1.
 
Current Starts on Offense (303 starts by 19 players): Chris Schlichting 36, Spencer Blackburn 33, Gage Gubrud 28, Tristen Taylor 28, Jack Hunter 23, Nsimba Webster 22, Antoine Custer Jr. 21, Matt Meyer 18, Terence Grady 15, Zach Eagle 13, Kaleb Levao 14 (including 1 as defensive lineman), Andrew Boston 10, Henderson Belk 9, Sam McPherson 7, Eric Barriere 7, Beau Byus 7, Jayce Gilder 6, Jayson Williams 4, Johnny Edwards IV 2.
 
 
 
 

Series History & Notes

 
* The Eagles are 0-1 all-time versus Nicholls, having lost 37-14 to the Colonels on Sept. 2, 2004, in Thibodaux, La., in the lone previous meeting between the two schools. A massive thunderstorm and downpour about 1 1/2 hours before kickoff caught the Eagles off-guard and soaked EWU's footballs they used during the game. The Colonels took a 30-0 lead at halftime and went on to rush for 245 yards and win the turnover battle 6-1 in the victory. Eastern lost the next week at Air Force, but then ended up sharing the league title to advance to the FCS Playoffs for the first time since 1997. Eastern knocked off top-seeded and No. 1 ranked Southern Illinois 35-31 in the first round – then lost at home to Sam Houston State 35-34.
 
* Eastern is 5-7 all-time versus current members of the Southland Conference, including a 3-3 record in the playoffs. Eastern has won the last two meetings versus foes from that league – 31-14 over Central Arkansas in a 2016 playoff victory in the second round and 56-35 to open the 2014 season versus Sam Houston State. Perhaps the team's biggest victory over a Southland foe came in the first round of the 2007 playoffs when the Eagles won at second-seeded and No. 3 ranked McNeese 44-15.
 
 
 

Recent Game Recap

 
#4/3 Eagles Clinch 10th Big Sky Title With 74-23 Win at Portland State
 
During a season of "Leave No Doubt," the Eagles left no doubt against Portland State. Jumping out to an early 14-0 lead and never looking back, No. 4/3 Eastern clinched its 10th Big Sky Conference title and 13th playoff berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision with an overwhelming 74-23 victory versus Portland State Nov. 16 at Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, Ore. With their fourth-straight dominating performance versus Big Sky competition, the Eagles rolled to 624 yards of offense while holding PSU to 304. The Eagles had a 4-1 turnover advantage against the Vikings with three interceptions (third-straight game with three) and a fumble recovery. Sophomore quarterback Eric Barriere accounted for six touchdowns and 315 yards of offense in the win, and senior receiver Nsimba Webster had touchdowns of 68 yards receiving and 57 on a punt return in the victory. En route to becoming the first Eagle running back to go over the 1,000-yard mark in five years, senior Sam McPherson rushed for 133 yards. Eastern's 74 points is the most ever versus a Big Sky Conference or FCS opponent, eclipsing the 70 EWU scored versus Cal Poly earlier this year. It was fourth-most overall, ranking only behind games played back in 1908 and 1914 and another in 1966. A 66-yard touchdown rush by Barriere on EWU's third offensive play set the tone for EWU. The Eagles scored on an 80-yard drive the next time they had the ball, then poured it on from there. Eastern scored 13 points in the second quarter to take a 27-14 lead at halftime, then scored 27 points in the third quarter to break it open. Sophomore linebacker Chris Ojoh made the fourth start of his career and had a team-leading nine tackles, and Josh Lewis, D'londo Tucker and Calin Criner all had interceptions. Nick Foerstel added four tackles with a sack.
 
 
 

Other 2018 Team Notes

 
Depth Paves Way to Replace Quartet of Players Against UNC
 
Eastern's "Next Man Up" mentality was in full force on Nov. 3 when Eastern rolled to a 20-0 halftime lead and beat Northern Colorado on the road 48-13. Four Eastern veterans who had a collective 136 games played in their careers and 115 total starts – averages of 34 games and 29 starts – missed the game but were more than adequately replaced by underclassmen. Eastern out-gained the Bears 578-259 in total offense.
 
Replacements were sophomore linebacker Chris Ojoh, sophomore quarterback Eric Barriere, junior safety Dehonta Hayes and senior offensive tackle Beau Byus. Ojoh replaced Kurt Calhoun (34 games/18 starts) and had a team-high seven tackles with a sack, two quarterback hurries and another tackle for loss. Barriere started his fourth-straight game in place of Gage Gubrud (32/28) and had 308 yards of total offense and accounted for four touchdowns. Hayes replaced Mitch Fettig (42/41 at the time) and finished the UNC game with five tackles, an interception and a pass broken up. Byus continues to replace Tristen Taylor (28/28), who was lost for the season after three games.
 
"The culture that we have is that you need teammates and competitive depth each year so you can minimize the gap of the player going out and the player coming in," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "I think our coaches have done a fabulous job to get those players ready and they've taken it upon themselves to be ready and to be able to be coached. Some of the hardest coaching is to a player who thinks he should be playing but is backing up. We have to keep them both engaged, and in our mindset if you earn reps during the week you get reps on Saturday. We don't play just 11 players on both sides, so players who practice well will get an opportunity to play. That gives them a chance on Saturday to build their resume that much further."
 
 
EWU Plays in 400th Game as FCS Member
 
The Washington State game on Sept. 15 was Eastern's 400th game as a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, dating back to 1984 when EWU became a member of that classification (then known as I-AA). The Eagles have now won 60.5 percent of its 408 games in 34+ seasons in FCS, with a 246-160-2 record.
 
 
Five Seniors Selected as Co-Captains for the 2018 Season
 
On a team chock full of veterans, seniors Gage Gubrud, Spencer Blackburn, Sam McPherson, Mitch Fettig and Ketner Kupp have been selected by their teammates as Eastern football captains for the 2018 season. The five seniors are among the 28 seniors playing under second-year head coach Aaron Best.
 
Gubrud is a 2014 graduate of McMinnville (Ore.) High School and was a captain in 2017 as well. The other four are products from the state of Washington -- Blackburn is a 2014 graduate of Meridian HS in Bellingham, Wash.; McPherson graduated in 2015 from Bothell HS; Fettig graduated in 2014 from Olympia HS; and Kupp graduated from Davis HS in Yakima, Wash., in 2015.
 
 
NCAA Passes Legislation to Allow True Freshmen to Play Four Games and Still Redshirt
 
The days of four years of eligibility are a thing of the past – now it's 4 1/2. The NCAA Division I Council passed a proposal in June of 2018 that will allow players to participate in any four games in a season and still use a redshirt that year. The change, not retroactive, took effect in 2018.
 
Eagle head coach Aaron Best said he and his coaching staff will make decisions on a game-by-game basis on which, if any, of the team's 23 true freshmen will play. The team will allow selected "Eagle-Shirts" to suit up and possibly play, but the No. 1 focus will be on making sure those players are physically and mentally ready to play Division I football. In Eastern's first two games, Tre Weed was the only true freshman among the 65 players who saw action. On Sept. 15, tight end Aiden Nellor saw action on special teams. Nellor played again on Sept. 22, and was joined by defensive lineman Joshua Jerome and running back Isaiah Davis. Jerome had nine tackles in his debut, and Davis carried once for five yards. Weed, Nellor, Jerome and Davis all played again versus Southern Utah on Oct. 6, but no true freshmen played at Weber State on Oct. 13. Anthony Stell has played in three games since then, and Zion Fa'aopega made his Eagle debut on Nov. 16 versus Portland State.
 
 
Eagles Have Impressive 53-9 Big Sky Record Since 0-2 Start in 2011
 
The Eagles have won 53 of their last 62 Big Sky games since a 0-2 start in 2011. At one point the Eagles had won 44 of 50 league games, and the only Big Sky school which has come close to that in the 55-year history of the league was Montana, which won 50 of 55 games from 1995-2002 and 46 of 51 from 2003-2009.
 
Including four non-conference victories (two versus MSU, and one each against Cal Poly and Northern Arizona) and a playoff win (Montana), the Eagles have won 48 of their last 55 versus conference foes, and are 58-9 since the 0-2 start in 2011. Including three wins at the end of the 2009 season, Eastern has a 64-12 record in league games since then.
 
What's perhaps most impressive is Eastern's ability to consistently win on the road, with records of 23-5 on the road, 25-3 at home and 45-8 overall in the last six-plus seasons since 2012. Since then, Eastern has defeated every Big Sky team on the road at least once, including former Big Sky member North Dakota and a 2012 non-league road victory at Idaho, which re-joined the league in 2018. Until losing at Southern Utah in October of 2017, the Eagles had won their previous road game versus all 13 other league members.
 
 
Eagles Continue Stretch of Success in FCS Statistics in Passing and Total Offense
 
In EWU's last 14 seasons (2004-2017), EWU has ranked in the top 10 in passing 12 times, total offense on 10 occasions and scoring five times. Eastern is poised to add to that with current rankings of No. 2 in total offense and No. 4 in scoring in FCS in 2018. In school history, EWU has won two FCS titles for total offense (2001, 1997), as well as three passing offense titles (2016, 2015, 2011) and two for scoring offense (2014, 2001).
 
In the 2017 season, Eastern was eighth in FCS in passing (320.5 per game) and fifth in total offense (476.7), and was also 14th in scoring (34.5) and 11th in third down conversions (46.1 percent).
 
Quarterback Gage Gubrud was second in FCS in total offense per game (357.8), and was fourth in passing yards per game (334.2), third in FCS in points responsible for per game (19.4), fourth in completions per game (26.1) and 13th in total passing touchdowns (26). In 2016 he led FCS in both passing and total offense (368.6 and 411.0, respectively).
 
 
Eagles Have Now Won 23 Games Since 2010 When Trailing or Tied in Fourth Quarter
 
Eastern has now won 23 games since 2010 when trailing or tied in the fourth quarter, including two in the 2017 season, two in 2016 and 2015, one in 2014, two in 2013, six in 2012, two in 2011 and six during EWU's national championship season in 2010.
 
Three of the 23 comebacks have been against Montana, including Eagle victories in 2017 (48-41), 2012 (32-26) and 2010 (36-27). In the 2017 season, No. 11 Eastern trailed 24-6 at halftime but scored 42 points in the second half to stun the Grizzlies. In the second half, Eastern scored on touchdowns on five of its six possessions after intermission, and had a dominating 259-68 yardage advantage in the third quarter. After knotting the game at 27 and 34, Eastern took the lead for good on a tie-breaking 3-yard TD pass from Gage Gubrud to Nic Sblendorio with 6:53 left. Eastern expanded it to 48-34 on a 10-yard TD run by Antoine Custer Jr. with 2:12 to play. The defense did its part by recording three key stops in the fourth quarter Gubrud broke his own school record with a 549-yard passing performance, finishing with four touchdowns through the air and one on the ground. His 560 yards of offense were also a record, as he eclipsed his own previous records of 520 passing and 551 total yards. The 549 team passing yards were also a school record, breaking the previous mark of 526 set in 2015 versus Northern Iowa.
 
At UC Davis on Oct. 7, No. 10 Eastern rallied from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter by scoring 21 points in the period and went on to win a heart-stopping 41-38 victory over the Aggies at Davis, Calif. Gubrud engineered scoring drives of 71, 55 and 75 yards in the final quarter, and finished with six touchdown passes and 452 yards passing. He passed 6 yards to Sblendorio for a game-winning TD with 1:37 to play, followed by a missed 49-yard field goal by the Aggies that could have knotted the game. Gubrud passed for 452 yards and six touchdowns in the win.
 
 
Four Eagles Make NFL Rosters, Two as Starters With Rams
 
Four former Eagles were in uniform when the NFL regular season began in September, including a pair of starters with the Los Angeles Rams.
 
Cooper Kupp is a starting receiver for the Rams after bursting onto the scene last year with 62 catches for 869 yards and five touchdowns to earn All-Rookie honors by the Pro Football Writers Association. He and his wife, Anna, and their newborn son, Cooper Jamison, actually attended the MSU game on Sept. 29, 2018, to watch his brother Ketner Kupp play. Cooper returned to a venue he caught nine passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore in 2014, and 13 for 154 and a score in his senior year in 2016. In all, Kupp caught 42 passes for 617 yards and seven touchdowns in four victories versus the Bobcats. It was the first time in the last two years with the Rams that Kupp was able to see the Eagles play. Just two days prior to attending the EWU-MSU game, he caught nine passes for a career-high 162 yards and had the first two-touchdown day of his career versus Minnesota. He had a 70-yard TD reception in the 38-31 victory, giving him 24 catches for 348 yards and four touchdowns in the first four games – all wins – for the Rams.
 
Ebukam is a starter at outside linebacker after finishing with 31 tackles, a pair of sacks and a forced fumble in 16 games (two as a starter). Kendrick Bourne, also a rookie last year, is a backup wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers and had his first regular season touchdown in the NFL on Sept. 16, 2018. He had 16 receptions for 257 yards as a rookie, all coming in the last eight games of the season. Veteran running back Taiwan Jones remains on the Buffalo Bills roster as he enters his eighth season in the NFL.
 
Aaron Neary had spent his rookie season with the Rams, even starting once at center in the regular season, but was cut at the end of training camp in 2018. He was then with the Cleveland Browns for less than a week until being released before the team's regular season opener, then was picked back up by the Rams for their practice squad.
 
Veteran Jake Rodgers, who last played for EWU in 2014, was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and rookie Albert Havili was released by the Bills after starting the preseason with the San Diego Chargers.
 
With Kupp, Ebukam, Bourne and Neary, Eastern had four rookies play in the regular season in the NFL in 2017 – certainly extremely rare if not unprecedented by a FCS school. As NFL 53-man rosters were announced for 2018, STATS reported there were 157 players from 71 different FCS schools on regular season rosters, but Eastern is the only Big Sky school with more than two. Eastern has the sixth-most in FCS, trailing only Harvard (8), North Dakota State (6), James Madison (6), Illinois State (6) and Delaware (6).
 
Eastern also has five Eagles active in the Canadian Football League, including quarterbacks Bo Levi Mitchell (Calgary), Matt Nichols (Winnipeg) and Vernon Adams Jr. (Montreal). Linebacker J.C. Sherritt (Edmonton) and T.J. Lee III (British Columbia) are also active in the league, but released in 2018 were Victor Gamboa (Ottawa), Shaq Hill (Edmonton), Cassidy Curtis (British Columbia) and Tevin McDonald (British Columbia).
 
Mitchell led the Calgary to the 2018 Grey Cup title after leading the Stampeders to the title back in 2014. He was the CFL's Most Outstanding Player in 2018 after throwing a league-best 35 touchdowns passes. He was 24-of-36 passing for 253 yards and two TDs in a 27-16 victory over Ottawa in the Grey Cup on Nov. 25 in Edmonton, Alberta.
 
 
 
 

More Aaron Best Comments

 
On All-Big Sky Running Backs: "Seeing Sam as a second team running back was phenomenal after watching him become our first 1,000-yard rusher since Quincy Forte. It was great to see his teammate in the backfield, Antwan Custer, get honorable mention too after being banged up early in the year."
 
On Emotions This Season Compared to Last Year: "The feelings were different. We knew we would be hearing our name this year, but we didn't know where we would be in the bracket. Last year we were hoping to see our name anywhere and we didn't, so it was a little more emotional last year than this year. It's great to see the Big Sky get three seeds in the top eight – really the top six. The Big Sky is well-represented with Montana State also getting a ticket. This conversation is more fun than the one we had 365 days ago."
 
On Seniors Embracing Leave No Doubt Mantra: "A lot of it has to do with our 27 seniors. A quarter of our team – 27 out of 105 – are seniors. They got stung as juniors, and it's a lot easier when you echo something when it's heard and driven home by a quarter of the team. It truly helps when you have that type of veteran leadership on both sides of the ball. We learned from going 7-4 – we said we needed to get to eight to give us a better chance and leave no doubt. We got to nine so we exceeded those expectations.
 
On Innovation & Depth on Offense: "We're not boring – we're among the national leaders in total offense for a reason. We're innovative and coach Bodie Reeder does a great job. Earlier this season everybody wanted to know what we were going to do without Gage Gubrud. I'm passionate when I say that it's the people in place – we have competitive depth here and when you miss a piece you don't have to reach very far. Eric Barriere has filled in amicably and he's only going to get better as his career goes on. It's fun to have trick plays and we practice and make them good during the week."
 
On UC Davis Win: "All-in-all it was awesome. We have to embrace the challenges, and that's what sports are all about. You want to play the best to see if you can become the best. And we did that against UC Davis. Everybody outside of Eagle Nation didn't give us a chance – and we love it. We are a complete team and we've showed that. I'm going to continue to beat our drum – this team is selfless and they showed how well they can execute. And to be at home made for a ruckus environment, even though it was a little chilly, the advantage went to us. We did what we were capable of doing, and I'm proud of each and every player on our team. Everybody was prepared and focused, and for the most part executed the way they are supposed to."
 
On Defense: "Our defense has been good from game one. We aren't with all of our starters and we continue to make strides. When you create turnovers, are decent on third down and when you stop a team and make them one-dimensional, it bodes well for us."
 
On Senior Day: "Having 27 seniors is a high number, but they have all those games under their belts too. We have a couple of sixth-year guys with a few more games than the average fifth-year senior would have. But it's an incredible group. To be able to rely on a quarter of your team to perform on and off the field is like having 27 other assistant coaches out there. We are very privileged and very thankful for everything they've done not only on the rectangle, but in the classroom, weight room and in the community. They mean a ton and Senior Day is a special day they will never forget the rest of their lives."
 
On Barriere: "He's not a veteran yet, but he's growing up in front of our eyes. I commend him 100 percent. He's a great man, his preparation was awesome and he's a great team player. 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 Idaho Victory: "We were hitting on a lot of cylinders, and we could have hit on a few more. Giving up 14 points is not a shutout, but those are things our defense and team is wanting to do that now. We've gotten close enough a few times this year that we have that as a legitimate expectation each and every week. We've grown immensely physically, mentally and emotionally on defense and as a team in the last year and half. And it shows on the field."
 
On Northern Arizona Win: "This was a game against a playoff team from last year, and we got a win on their home field, in a playoff-like atmosphere, all in a non-league game against a non-league opponent. Our team did a great job stopping the two-point play late (to hold onto a five-point lead). We prepared for 7,000 feet and we had a 94-yard run by Sam McPherson to put the game on ice. We're really proud that we played dogfight football against a great opponent. And the last two minutes we buckled down and made enough plays. We used and needed all of our players. Whatever their role was, we told them to do as well in that role as they could and not be complacent in your role. These games are going to come down to the fourth quarter as they should. It's exciting for us as coaches, for fans and for people to ask questions about the decisions that are made in opportunistic moments."