­­­­#5/3 Ranked Eastern Washington Univ. "Eagles" versus #4/7 University of California Davis "Aggies"   Saturday, Nov. 10 • 1:05 p.m. Pacific Roos Field (8,500) • Cheney, Wash.
TV:	Live regionally on SWX
Webcast:	http://watchbigsky.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://ewustats.com
Weekly Coaches Show:	Shows Mondays at the new M&D (Movie and Dinner) complex at Northern Quest Resort & Casino are at 6 p.m. via 700-AM ESPN, 105.3-FM & tunein radio, with video highlights and commentary by head coach Aaron Best at 5:30 p.m.
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.

Two teams with a great opportunity at garnering a coveted automatic berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs will be on the same field this week.
 
A Big Sky Conference showdown that has been building the entire season takes place Saturday (Nov. 10) at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash., when the No. 5/3 Eastern Washington University football team takes on No. 4/7 UC Davis in a showdown of teams ranked in the top five nationally.
 
Kickoff is 1:05 p.m. in a game that will be televised regionally on SWX and may be viewed at http://watchbigsky.com. Fans can also listen to the game on 700-AM ESPN, 105.3-FM, via the web at tunein.com and via mobile phone app, with pre-game coverage starting one hour prior to kickoff.
 
It will be Senior Day, as 27 EWU players and their families will be honored in pre-game introductions. Between them, those seniors have nearly 1,000 games and more than 400 starts worth of experience -- 967 and 411 to be exact for an average of 36 games and 15 starts per player.
 
The Eagles are now 5-1 in the Big Sky and 7-2 overall, and are one of four teams with one loss or less in the standings. The lone undefeated team in the league is UC Davis (6-0, 8-1 overall), which maintained sole possession of first in the league after last week's 42-20 home win over Northern Arizona. Other one-loss teams in the league are Idaho State (5-1 and 6-3 overall after a 48-45 win at Portland State) and Weber State (5-1 and 7-2 overall after a 26-14 home win over Sacramento State).
 
This week's game will play a big part in determining the league champion and automatic berth in to the FCS Playoffs which begin on Nov. 24. Weber State plays at Idaho State on Nov. 17 in another key game. The Eagles close the regular season on Nov. 16 at Portland State (4-5/3-3).
 
"We talk about it all the time how we want to get everybody's best shot and how we want to give everybody our best shot," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best said of EWU's third-straight year with a matchup of top 10 teams and 16th in school history (8-7 record). "You have two great teams playing on our home field, and we're excited."
 
The Eagles have won their seven games this season by an average of 31.0 points per game and an average score of 47-16. The lone blemish was a 14-6 loss to Weber State, which was the first time in 10 years the Eagles have failed to score a touchdown, something they've done efficiently most of the season behind a rushing attack that gained 308 yards in a 48-13 win over Northern Colorado last week. Quarterback Eric Barriere accounted for 309 yards of offense and four touchdowns for an Eagle offense now leading the nation in total offense at 532.4 yards per game.
 
Defensively against the Bears, Eastern had six sacks and three interceptions in the same game for the first time since at least 1996. With six-straight games of allowing 17 or fewer, Eastern allows just an average of 15.3 points per conference game to lead the league, and ranks 19th overall in FCS with a 21.1 average per game. But they'll be tested this week versus a UC Davis offense which ranks fourth in FCS in passing (326.2), fifth in scoring (43.1) and eighth in total offense (485.0). The Aggies feature quarterback Jake Maier who is fifth nationally in passing (301.6) and second with 27 touchdown passes, and receiver Keelan Doss who ranks second nationally with an average of 8.8 catches per game (79 total for 779 yards and seven TDs).
 
"Both teams have earned the right for this game to be very important – they all mean the same but some of them are just more important," said Best. "We're going to enjoy every moment and we've earned the right to hold serve at home. UC Davis is a very good program in their own right, and this is what you want as a competitor and athlete. When the lights are bright, you want them to burn a little brighter. We'll let it fly on Saturday against a great opponent."
 
The Eagles have won all six of the all-time meetings against the Aggies, including the notorious "Fog Bowl" in the first meeting in 2005 which helped clinch the Big Sky Conference co-championship with Montana and Montana State, and clinch EWU the automatic berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs (then known as I-AA). Eastern had a come-from-behind 41-38 victory at UC Davis in 2017, but the Aggies have won 10 of 14 games since then.
 
Eastern remains fifth in this week's STATS NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Top 25 poll, but moved up a notch to third by the coaches. Right with the Eagles are Weber State (3/4) and UC Davis (4/7). Earlier this season Eastern had its highest rankings in four years when it was fourth by STATS and third by the coaches prior to falling at Weber State.
 
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 guaranteed. But winning a 10th Big Sky title and making a 13th appearance in the FCS Playoffs is the quest for the 2018 Eagles, who are hungry to make that happen. 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
 
 
 
 

Game Notes

 
Eagles Equals its Highest Ranking of the Season in the Coaches Poll, With Weber State and UC Davis in Top 10 Too
 
Eastern moved up one position in one of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Top 25 polls, jumping to third by the American Football Coaches Association and remaining fifth in the STATS poll of sportswriters, broadcasters and sports information directors. 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 this week are Weber State (3 STATS/4 AFCA), UC Davis (4/7) and poll newcomer Idaho State (24/25). The Eagles host UC Davis on Nov. 10 in Cheney in what should be a key game for both schools with league championship and playoff implications, and Idaho State hosts Weber State on Nov. 17. Eastern 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, 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.
 
 
Championship and Playoff Talk Continues for Eagles
 
Two victories is all that stands in the way of a 10th Big Sky Conference title and a 13th appearance in the FCS Playoffs for the Eagles.
 
At 7-2 on the season and 5-1 in the Big Sky, the Eagles close the regular season with Senior Day at home against UC Davis on Nov. 10 followed by a Friday night meeting with Portland State on Nov. 16. The Eagles are a perfect 6-0 versus UC Davis. Eastern is 19-20-1 against Portland State, but have won the last two, five of the last six and seven of the last nine versus the Vikings.
 
There are 10 automatic playoff bids given to conferences, including the Big Sky, with an additional 14 teams receiving at-large bids. The first tiebreaker in the league, head-to-head competition, applies to not only league games, but non-conference games played between conference members. The second tiebreaker is record against common conference opponents, then record against common non-conference opponents. Sagarin ratings will be used as the final tiebreaker, or, in the unlikely event of a tie, a coin toss.
 
Specifically, if Eastern beats UC Davis and Portland State and finishes 7-1, and ISU also wins out, Eastern Washington garners the auto bid. If UC Davis wins out, they received the automatic bid based on potential tiebreakers with Weber State or Idaho State. If UC Davis loses to EWU and finishes 7-1, and EWU and WSU win out, Weber State is the auto bid. If UC Davis and Weber State are the only 7-1 teams the next tiebreaker would be record against common opponents since they did not play each other. Idaho State cannot get the auto bid with one conference loss even if they win out.
 
Eastern actually played a ninth Big Sky foe when EWU started a home-and-home series with Northern Arizona on Sept. 8 and that could have e utilized to break a potential tie in the final conference standings. Eastern beat NAU 31-26, and the return game will come two years later in Cheney, Wash., on Sept. 19, 2020. The two teams didn't play in 2017, and Eastern now has a 21-12 all-time series lead against NAU. The last time EWU and NAU played in a non-conference game came in 1986 – the year before the Eagles joined the league.
 
The NCAA Division I Football Championship game will be played in Frisco, Texas, on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 9 a.m. Pacific time on ESPN2.
 
The Eastern football team was ranked ninth on Oct. 31 by the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in its first and only Top 10 rankings of the regular season it will announce prior to the announcement of selections on Nov. 18.
 
With three weeks remaining in the regular season, the committee slotted three Big Sky teams – UC Davis at No. 3, Weber State at No. 4 and Eastern Washington at No. 5. The Big Sky tied the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) with three selections each.
 
This is the third consecutive year that the committee has publicly released a mid-season ranking. The pairings for the 24-team NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 9:30 a.m. Pacific time by ESPNU. Eastern is chasing its 10th Big Sky title and 13th appearance in the FCS Playoffs in school history. Since 2010 when EWU won the NCAA Division I title, the Eagles have won league titles five times (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016) and advanced to the playoffs all five of those seasons.
 
FCS Committee Top 10: 1. North Dakota State; 2. James Madison; 3. UC Davis; 4. Weber State; 5. Elon; 6. Kennesaw; 7. South Dakota State; 8 Wofford; 9. Eastern Washington; 10. Delaware.
 
 
Eastern Will Honor Huge Class of 27 Seniors Saturday Versus UC Davis
 
If the number 27 isn't monstrous enough, 967 and 411 is.
 
Eastern will honor a large group of 27 seniors Saturday when the Eagles play UC Davis, representing 967 games worth of experience and 411 career starts. Broken down, the list includes 13 seniors on defense who have a collective total of 509 games played and 237 starts; the offense has 375 games worth of experience and 174 starts. In addition, kicker/punter Roldan Alcobendas and long snapper Curtis Billen have 38 and 45 games worth of experience, respectively, on special teams.
 
"It's one of those games players will always remember," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "We'll impress upon the seniors to be thankful and that tears are okay in that moment. That's what it's all about – 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. It will be fun."
 
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) – 38
#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) – 39/7
#39 - Curtis Billen – Long Snapper - 6-2 - 215 - Sr. - 3L* - Everett, Wash. (Mariner HS '14) – 45
#74 - Beau Byus – Offensive Tackle - 6-5 - 265 - Sr. - 2L* - Spokane, Wash. (Central Valley HS '14) – 31/5
#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) – 32/7
#11 - Terence Grady – Wide Receiver - 6-5 - 205 - Sr. - 3L* - Kent, Wash. (Kentwood HS '14) – 40/13
#63 - Jack Hunter – Offensive Guard - 6-4 - 295 - Sr. - 2L* - Spokane, Wash. (Gonzaga Prep HS '14) – 34/21
#91 - Jonah Jordan – Defensive Tackle - 6-1 - 265 - Sr. - 3L* - Spokane, Wash. (Mead HS '14) – 37/8
#33 - Cole Karstetter - Rover - 5-11 - 205 - Sr. - 3L* - Spokane, Wash. (Ferris HS '14) – 33/23      
#66 - Kaleb Levao – Offensive Guard - 6-4 - 310 - Sr. - 2L* - Aberdeen, Wash. (Aberdeen HS '14) – 33/13
#1 - Josh Lewis - Cornerback - 6-0 - 190 - Sr. - 3L* - Lakewood, Wash. (Steilacoom HS '14) – 45/30
#70 - Matt Meyer – Offensive Guard - 6-5 - 315 - Sr. - 2L/TR* - Lynden, Wash. (Lynden HS '13 & Wash. St. Univ.) – 30/17
#31 - Brandon Montgomery - Cornerback - 5-10 - 185 - Sr. - 2L* - Tacoma, Wash. (Wilson HS '14) – 33/0
#99 - Jay-Tee Tiuli – Defensive Nose Tackle - 6-4 - 320 - Sr. - 3L* - Seattle, Wash. (Federal Way HS '14) – 45/20
#18 - D'londo Tucker - Cornerback - 6-0 - 180 - Sr. - 3L* - Federal Way, Wash. (Federal Way HS '13) – 44/17
#5 - Nsimba Webster – Wide Receiver - 5-10 - 180 - Sr. - 3L* - Antioch, Calif. (Deer Valley HS '14) – 38/20
#6 - Nzuzi Webster - Cornerback - 5-10 - 180 - Sr. - 3L* - Antioch, Calif. (Deer Valley HS '14) – 47/26
#90 - Keenan Williams – Defensive End - 6-3 - 265 - Sr. - 3L - Cheney, Wash. (Cheney HS '15) – 40/24

Senior Co-Captains . . .
#75 - Spencer Blackburn - Center - 6-2 - 290 - Sr. - 2L* - Bellingham, Wash. (Meridian HS '14) – 33/31
#4 - Mitch Fettig - Safety - 6-1 - 200 - Sr. - 3L* - Olympia, Wash. (Olympia HS '14) – 42/41
#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) – 42/21
#20 - Sam McPherson – Running Back - 5-10 - 200 - Sr. - 3L - Bothell, Wash. (Bothell 'HS '15) – 39/6
 
 
Average Score in Seven Victories Thus Far is 47-16
 
The Eagles have now won their seven games this season by an average of 31.0 points per game – 334-117 for an average score of 47-16. Eastern's defensive effort in league play is unprecedented – Eastern has never held Big Sky opponents to 17 points or less in six-straight games until now, which is a span of 32 seasons and 244 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 Southern Utah 55-17 on Oct. 6, The Eagles had 50 points or more for the third time this season and the 58th time in school history, and are now 55-3 in those games. The point total equaled EWU's 23rd-most. Earlier this season, EWU scored the fourth-most in school history – a record versus a FCS opponent -- in a 70-17 win over Cal Poly. Eastern has had 20 50-point games in the last 6+ seasons (including three in 2017 and three thus far in 2018), with one in 2015, six in 2014, three in 2017 and two each in 2013 and 2012.
 
 
Eagles Leading FCS in Total Offense, Plus in Top 20 in Rushing and Passing
 
Eastern is back as the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision leader in total offense at 532.4 yards per game. The Eagles are 13th in rushing offense (251.7), compared to 19th in passing (280.8). Eastern joins Jacksonville State as the only FCS teams to rank in the top 20 in all three categories. The Gamecocks – a team EWU is scheduled to play in 2019 and 2021 – are sixth (514.2), 19th (229.9) and 16th (284.3), respectively.
 
Eastern is averaging 40.4 points per game to rank ninth, and EWU is 19th in scoring defense (21.1). There are actually seven FCS teams ranked in the top 20 in both, led by Princeton with a ranking of second both scoring (46.1) and defense (9.1) and Kennesaw State which leads in scoring (47.1) and is third in defense (10.8). Among the other teams are James Madison at 35.0 (15th) and 12.6 (sixth); North Dakota State at 37.8 (13th) and 12.2 (fifth); Jacksonville Sate at 40.7 (sixth) and 18.6 (11th); South Dakota State at 43.5 (fourth) and 19.8 (13th).
 
In addition, EWU is now 48th in total defense (374.0), 42nd in rushing defense (144.7) and 80th in passing defense (229.3). Eastern is 26th in passing efficiency (144.53), has the 16th-most first downs in FCS with 210 and is ninth with three defensive touchdowns.
 
Sam McPherson, the lone senior among the group of four tailbacks, is ranked fourth FCS for average per carry (7.57), is 34th with an average of 86.7 yards per game and has 780 total rushing yards to rank 28th. Receiver Nsimba Webster is 17th in receiving yards (822), 22nd in receiving yards per game (91.3), 23rd in catches (5.8 per game) and 56th in TD receptions (five).
 
Kicker Roldan Alcobendas is just one of two players in FCS to be perfect kicking field goals (12-of-12, with Adam Lippy of North Carolina Central 10-of-10). Alcobendas is ninth in FCS in scoring (9.1 per game) and is 20th with an average of 1.33 field goals per game. He is one punt short of leading the nation in punting with a 46.9 average – he has 32 punts but would need 33 to meet the minimum of 3.6 per game. His season (46.9) and career averages (46.7) are both on pace to set school records of 44.9 and 43.8, respectively.
 
 
Eagles Now 48-10 on The Red Turf, Including 38-6 in the Regular Season
 
After winning its first four homes games in 2018, Eastern is now 48-10 overall at Roos Field since 2010. Eastern has lost just six regular season games at "The Inferno" – 38-6 (86.4 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 82.8 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 159-65 record (70.9 percent) in 224 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 26-15 Since 2010 Versus Ranked Opponents, 8-7 All-Time in Top 10 Matchups
 
This will be the 16th time in school history EWU has played a matchup of top 10 teams in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, including the third-straight season. Eastern is 8-7 in the previous 15 games, including a 4-3 mark in the regular season and 4-4 in the playoffs. A year ago, No. 7 Eastern fell 40-13 at home to No. 2 North Dakota State, and the year before that played two games when EWU was ranked eighth. A week after beating Washington State, the Eagles went on the road and lost 50-44 in overtime to top-ranked NDSU before returning home to beat No. 10 Northern Iowa 34-30.
 
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 EWU's most recent game versus a ranked foe.
 
The Eagles have now played 124 games against ranked teams in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision since becoming a member of that classification in 1983 (then known as I-AA). Eastern is 55-69 (.444) in those games, including a 17-42 mark (.288) versus top 10 foes. Since 2010, though, the Eagles are 26-15 overall (.634) and 8-7 (.533) versus top 10 teams.
 
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 continued that in 2017. 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 33-7.
 
In November and beyond since 2004, the Eagles are now 46-15, including a 13-8 record in the FCS Playoffs. Since 2010, Eastern is 31-8 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.
 
 
Eagles Seek to Continue Big Sky Success
 
The Eagles have been impressive – if not dominant – in the league in the last 11+ years, winning 80 percent of their games (75-19) and five titles. In that span, Eastern has had no league finish below 5-3 and five of them have included 7-1 or 8-0 records. Eastern got 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). A crowd of 10,023 was on hand for the Idaho game – the 29th-straight sellout at Roos Field (crowd of 8,600 or more).
 
 
Defense Allowing Just 15.8 Points in League, With a Stretch of Nearly 90 Minutes Without Allowing a Point
 
Eastern's defense has been impressive during league play, with EWU allowing only 92 points for a league-leading 15.3 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 has allowed 30 points in the first quarter of its five Big Sky games thus far, 14 in the second, 34 in the third and 14 in the fourth. Eastern has pitched a shutout in 12 of 24 quarters, and had a stretch of five-straight goose eggs ended in the third quarter versus Idaho on Oct. 27. 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 at least 1996. The seven sacks 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 five league games thus far, Eastern has allowed the fewest points per game (15.3) while ranking second in total defense (344.8), third in passing defense (181.8) and second in rushing defense (163.0). Overall, Eastern is 19th in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in scoring defense (21.1), 48th in total defense (374.0), 42nd in rushing defense (144.7) and 80th in passing defense (229.3).
 
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
 
Eastern's running game has been a mainstay this season, averaging a league-leading 6.7 yards per carry (on school-record pace) compared to 3.5 for opponents. All five EWU running backs are averaging at least 6.6 per carry – junior Dennis Merritt 9.2, senior Sam McPherson 7.6, junior Tamarick Pierce 7.1, junior Antoine Custer Jr. 6.6 and true freshman Isaiah Lewis 7.4.
 
Quarterback Eric Barriere is averaging 6.3 per carry, despite getting sacked 10 times in his last three games. One game earlier against 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 ended with a 578 yards of total offense – 41st-most in school history – against Northern Colorado on Nov. 3, including 308 on the ground and 270 through the air. Eastern averaged 6.3 on the ground and 6.7 overall. It was EWU's third performance this season with at least 300 rushing yards, one of only 14 times since 1987 when EWU became a member of the Big Sky Conference EWU has had at least 300. Only twice in that span – 1999 and 2001 – has EWU had two performances of at least 300.
 
Besides its 6.7 average per rush as a team, EWU has a total of 2,265 rushing yards this season (251.7 per game) and is averaging 7.4 per offensive play (532.4 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 five 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.
 
So far this season, McPherson has 780 yards (86.7 per game and 7.6 per rush) and seven touchdowns; Custer has 425 and four scores in six games played (70.8/6.6); Pierce has 328 yards (36.4/7.1) and four TDs; Merritt has 212 (23.6/9.2) with a pair of scores; and Lewis has 52 (26.0/7.4). Barriere has added 294 yards on the ground (36.8/6.3) with five 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. "Every one of those guys makes the players up front of them better. It's not an offensive line that makes the tailback better, it's the tailback that makes the offensive line better. It took me about five years into my coaching career to figure that out. It doesn't matter as much what you have up front, it matters what you have behind."
 
Through eight games this season, Eastern is the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision leader in total offense at 532.4 yards per game. The Eagles are 13th in rushing offense (251.7), compared to 19th in passing (280.8). McPherson, the lone senior among the group of four tailbacks, is ranked fourth FCS for average per carry (7.57), is 34th with an average of 86.7 yards per game and has 780 total rushing yards to rank 28th.. 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 1,617 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns in his 30-game career (20 as a starter), and scored on runs of 62 and 43 yards versus Cal Poly and 2 and 13 yards against SUU. He also has 512 receiving yards on 59 catches and 499 on kickoff returns for a total of 2,628 all-purpose yards (87.6 per game). His career 23.8 average returning kickoffs is currently 11th in school history and he's scored a total of 21 touchdowns as an Eagle.
 
McPherson has now rushed for 1,429 yards and 10 touchdowns in his 39-game career (six as a starter), with 533 receiving on 56 catches and a total of 2,124 all-purpose yards (54.5 per game). He's scored 15 TDs in his EWU career.
 
The Eagles have had a 100-yard rusher in six of their last 11 games dating back to 2017, including three by McPherson and three by Custer. The most recent performance came on Nov. 3 versus Northern Colorado when Custer had 122 on a 308-yard day for the Eagles. 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 11 games (9-2 record) dating back to the 2017 season, the Eagles have rushed 429 times for 2,794 yards and 29 touchdowns, with averages of 254.0 per game and 6.5 per rush. By contrast, Eastern has attempted 372 passes for 3,099 yards and 26 touchdowns, with averages of 281.7 per game and 8.3 per play. In total, Eastern is averaging 535.7 yards per game and 7.4 per play with 55 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 46-0 Since 2010 When Winning the TO Battle
 
In the last 10+ seasons (2008-18), the Eagles are now 55-1 when they've won the turnover battle, 22-6 when they've been tied and 21-31 when they've lost (total of 97-38). 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 46-0 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 85-29 (74.6 percent), with 23 of those 29 losses (79 percent) coming in games EWU has lost the turnover battle and 54 percent of EWU's wins coming when they've won the turnover battle (78 percent when including ties).
 
In the last six games, Eastern has a plus-four turnover advantage (11 takeaways and seven giveaways), but in the first three the Eagles were a negative six (two takeaways and eight giveaways). For the season, EWU is 69th with a negative 0.22 margin per game (13 takeaways, 15 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, but won the battle 1-0 in beating Idaho 38-14 and 3-2 in defeating Northern Colorado 48-13.
 
So far in 2018, Eastern is 5-0 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

 
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) 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."
 
 
Barriere Now 4-1 as a Starter After Engineering Back-to-Back 48-13 and 38-14 Victories
 
Sophomore Eric Barriere is now 4-1 as a starter after leading EWU to 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 engineered a 31-0 halftime lead and 38-14 victory over Idaho on Oct. 27.
 
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. He averaged 5.8 yards per rush and was sacked just twice. In the first three possessions for each team, Eastern had 171 yards and an average of 8.6 per play, compared to just 23 yards and 1.9 average for Northern Colorado.
 
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.
 
So far in eight games played in 2018, Barriere has completed 87-of-145 passes (60.0 percent) for 1,002 yards and seven touchdowns, with 47 rushes for 294 yards (6.3 per carry) and three scores. In his 13-game career, he has completed 59.6 percent of his passes (102-of-171) for 1,140 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions, and has rushed 65 times for 342 yards and six more TDs.
 
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 Continues to Add to Records
 
Roldan Alcobendas continues to add to his Eastern kick scoring record, and is making some history as a punter as well.
 
Thus far in 2018, Alcobendas is just one of two players in FCS to be perfect kicking field goals (12-of-12, with Adam Lippy of North Carolina Central 10-of-10). Alcobendas is ninth in FCS in scoring (9.1 per game) and is 20th with an average of 1.33 field goals per game. He is one punt short of leading the nation in punting with a 46.9 average – he has 32 punts but would need 33 to meet the minimum of 3.6 per game. His season (46.9) and career averages (46.7) are both on pace to set school records of 44.9 and 43.8, respectively. His 82 kick scoring points this season already ranks ninth in school history, and the 100 he had in 2016 ranks third.
 
In his 38-game career, Alcobendas has scored 283 points to rank 11th in Big Sky Conference history move past Troy Griggs (231 from 1998-01) and Mike Jarrett (236 from 2008-11) for the all-time EWU lead. Alcobendas has also established EWU career records for extra points made (187) and attempted (193), breaking the previous records held by Jarrett (2009-11) with 143 makes and 150 attempts. Alcobendas has made 32-of-43 field goals in his career to rank third in school history for field goals made and sixth in attempts. In his career, he has 107 kickoffs for a 57.4 average (6,143 total yards) with 17 touchbacks.
 
Alcobendas has twice been rewarded this season (three in his career) with ROOT Sports Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player honors. His most recent honor came 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.
 
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.
 
 
Fettig Nearing Tackles Record for Defensive Back
 
Senior co-captain Mitch Fettig has started 41 of the 42 games he's played in his Eastern career, and is chasing the school record for tackles by a defensive back. He has 275 tackles to rank 13th in school history – just 13 from the school record by a defensive back of 288 set by Julian Williams from 1997-00. He recently passed the 263 by cornerback T.J. Lee (2010-13), who now plays for the BC Lions in the Canadian Football League.
 
Fettig also has six interceptions and 12 passes broken up in his career. 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 two 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.
 
 
Junior Chris Schlichting Has Started All 34 Games in His Career
 
Eastern junior offensive tackle Chris Schlichting has started in each of EWU's 34 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 nine thus far this season. Senior center Spencer Blackburn has a streak of 31 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 entered the year boasted a starting five with 88 starts between them. Currently they have 127, including 34 by Schlichting; 31 by Blackburn; 28 by Taylor; 21 by Jack Hunter and 13 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.
 
Blackburn, with 31 starts and 33 games played in his career, is among several returning All-Big Sky Conference performers with extensive experience as starters in the Eagle program. Most notably, Fettig has started 41 of the 42 games he's played. Ketner Kupp, with 208 tackles in his career to rank 36th in school history, has played in 42 games and has started 21. 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. Nose tackle Jay-Tee Tiuli has started 20 of the 45 games he has played in his career, and has had 100 total tackles with 12 1/2 sacks, four quarterback hurries, three passes deflected and a fumble 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.
 
A total of 15 players have started at least 18 games. The others include cornerback Josh Lewis (30 starts/45 played), cornerback Nzuzi Webster (26/47), defensive end Keenan Williams (24/40), rover Cole Karstetter (23/33) and Kurt Calhoun (18/34) on defense; and quarterback Gage Gubrud (28/32), running back Antoine Custer Jr. (20/30) and wide receiver Nsimba Webster (20/38) on offense.
 
 
 
One Webster on a Roll, Another Ranked Fifth in School History
 
The Webster twins are making their mark in Eastern history through their junior seasons.
 
With 27 passes broken up in his career, senior cornerback Nzuzi Webster is ranked fifth in school history one ahead of Julian Williams (1997-00) and two ahead of T.J. Lee III (2010-13). In his 47-game career (26 as a starter), he has 155 total tackles and a pair of interceptions. In the 2017 season, he had 31 tackles and seven passes broken up.
 
His twin brother Nsimba Webster, a senior wide receiver, 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.
 
In his 38-game career (20 as a starter), he has caught 124 passes for 1,676 yards and 12 touchdowns, and could eventually approach Eastern's career leaders lists in several categories. He had a touchdown catch in five-straight games in 2017 from Sept. 30 to Nov. 4, and for the season he caught 59 passes for 693 yards and five scores.
 
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.
 
 
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 has 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 562 Career Starts
 
Eastern's experience is not questioned, with 39 total players with a total of 562 games of starting experience – 20 players on defense, 19 players on offense and 270 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 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 (281 starts by 20 players): Mitch Fettig 41, Josh Lewis 30, Nzuzi Webster 26, Keenan Williams 24, Cole Karstetter 23, Ketner Kupp 21, Jay-Tee Tiuli 20, Kurt Calhoun 18, Dylan Ledbetter 16, D'londo Tucker 17, Tysen Prunty 10, Jonah Jordan 8, Jim Townsend 6, Nick Foerstel 7, Dehonta Hayes 4, Jack Sendelbach 4, Chris Ojoh 2, Conner Baumann 2 (including 1 as a fullback), Andrew Katzenberger 1, Anfernee Gurley 1.
 
Current Starts on Offense (281 starts by 19 players): Chris Schlichting 34, Spencer Blackburn 31, Gage Gubrud 28, Tristen Taylor 28, Jack Hunter 21, Antoine Custer Jr. 20, Nsimba Webster 20, Matt Meyer 17, Zach Eagle 13, Terence Grady 13, Kaleb Levao 13 (including 1 as defensive lineman), Henderson Belk 7, Andrew Boston 8, Jayce Gilder 6, Sam McPherson 6, Eric Barriere 5, Beau Byus 5, Jayson Williams 4, Johnny Edwards IV 2.
 
 
 

Series History

 
* The Eagles have won all six of the all-time meetings against the Aggies, including the notorious "Fog Bowl" in the first meeting in 2005. That 24-7 game at fog-shrouded Roos Field (then Woodward Field) featured near-zero visibility from the pressbox. It also helped clinch the Big Sky Conference co-championship with Montana and Montana State, and clinch EWU the automatic berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs (then known as I-AA). The Bobcats upset Montana 16-6 in Bozeman that same day, opening the door for the Eagles to garner its second-straight league title and playoff berth. The Eagles found out the outcome of the MSU-UM game in the second quarter, then rested many of its starters in the second half. In the other meetings, Eastern won in Cheney in 2007 by a 41-31 score, and then prevailed 31-28 in a Big Sky Conference game in 2012. In 2014, Eastern won at UC Davis 37-14, and romped 63-30 in 2016 in Cheney. The most recent game was a come-from-behind 41-38 victory at UC Davis in 2017. The Aggies have won nine of 13 games since. 7-1 + 2-3.
 
 
Looking Back . . . #10 Eastern Washington 41, UC Davis 38
 
Eastern rallied from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter by scoring 21 points in the period and went on to spoil the upset hopes of UC Davis with a heart-stopping 41-38 victory over the Aggies Saturday Oct. 7 at Davis, Calif. It was the third Big Sky Conference win in three tries for the Eagles and their 11th-straight dating back to the 2016 season. Quarterback Gage 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 Nic 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. It was Eastern's 23rd victory since 2010 when trailing or tied in the fourth quarter. The Aggies finished with a 551-501 advantage in total offense, but Eastern had 205 in the fourth quarter alone. The Eagles managed only 13 points in the first 41 minutes of the game, having five three-and-outs in that span. Eastern, however, had a five touchdown drives of 73 yards or more, and another of 55. Gubrud completed 33-of-53 passes as he finished with 452 passing yards – his fourth-straight game with at least 399. He completed passes to 10 different receivers, and his six touchdown passes were one away from the school record. It was the 15th 300-yard performance of Gubrud's 23-game Eastern career and his ninth of at least 400.  Wide receiver Nsimba Webster caught six passes for 102 yards and a touchdown, recording his third 100-yard receiving performance of his career. Tight end Talolo Limu-Jones had three catches for 66 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns, and Sblendorio finished with seven catches, 82 yards and a score. Six Eagles had nine or more tackles, led by defensive end Keenan Williams with a career-high 12 tackles. Cornerback Josh Lewis had a career-high 11 tackles, as did linebacker Ketner Kupp. Linebacker Kurt Calhoun and safety Mitch Fettig each had nine. Two Eagles made starting debuts against UC Davis -- Anfernee Gurley at rover and Sam McPherson at running back. In his first series as a starter, McPherson gathered in a 40-yard touchdown pass. Gurley finished with nine tackles. The Eagles fell behind 31-20 with 11:38 to play, but Eastern scored two touchdowns within a 1:57 span to take a 34-31 advantage with 9:23 to play. The first score was a 71-yard TD pass from Gubrud to Webster. After a rare three-and-out by the Aggies, Eastern struck again on a four-play, 55-yard drive. Gubrud hit Limu-Jones for a 46-yard gain, then they hooked up for a 6-yard TD. Webster capped the scoring spurt with a two-point conversion pass from Gubrud. After UC Davis regained the lead, EWU went on a game-winning 12-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 6-yard TD pass from Gubrud to Sblendorio.
 
 
Looking Back Further
* In 2016, Eastern erupted for 35 points in the third quarter and rolled past UC Davis 63-30 on Oct. 1, 2016, at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash. The Eagles scored all of their points in the first 49:44 of the game en route to EWU's highest-scoring game since 2001 when the Eagles had 63 versus Cal State Northridge and 66 two games earlier versus Simon Fraser. The 63 points equaled EWU's best against a member of FCS and in a Big Sky game. Quarterback Gage Gubrud had 254 passing yards in the third quarter alone, and finished with 486 to come five from the school record (at the time) of 491. Eastern had 627 yards of total offense – the ninth-most in school history (at the time) – including a 131-0 advantage after two possessions each for the Eagles and Aggies. Already the FCS leader in career touchdown receptions, Cooper Kupp broke the FCS record for career receiving yards as he surpassed the previous mark of 5,250 set by Elon's Terrell Hudgins from 2006-09. Kupp finished with 12 catches for 274 yards and TD receptions of 71 and 32 yards, coming one yard from his own school record of 275. Shaq Hill and Kendrick Bourne each had two touchdown grabs and 82 receiving yards, with Hill catching seven and Bourne finishing with eight. D'londo Tucker made his first start of the season and had a pair of tackles, a pass broken up and an interception he returned 27 yards for a touchdown. His return gave EWU a 56-30 lead eight seconds into the fourth quarter. Miquiyah Zamora led Eastern with 10 tackles and Jay-Tee Tiuli had four, including a pair of sacks and a quarterback hurry.
 
* In 2014, it wasn't easy – and sometimes excruciating – but Eastern got by UC Davis 37-14 in its first-ever game in Davis., Calif., on Sept. 27 at Aggie Stadium. The victory came in EWU's Big Sky Conference opener as the defending league champions. The Eagles scored the first three times they had the ball in the third quarter, after having only three possessions total in the first half. As a result, the Eagles turned a 9-7 halftime lead into a 30-7 advantage late in the third quarter. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. led the way with 298 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns. Eastern out-gained UC Davis in total offense 475-260. In the pivotal third quarter, EWU had a 203-11 advantage until a 70-yard pass play by the Aggies on the final play of the period. Mario Brown, starting in place of injured starter Quincy Forte (shoulder), rushed for 78 yards on 13 carries and scored a touchdown. His 45-yard run led to his own 6-yard TD rush to give the Eagles a 30-7 lead. He also returned three kickoffs for 64 yards and a caught a pass for five, giving him a game-high 147 all-purpose yards. Wide receiver Nic Sblendorio made the first start of his career and had one catch, and defensive end Samson Ebukam had a pair of sacks and three total tackles for the Eagles. His first sack led to a punt that helped lead to an EWU field goal that gave the Eagles the lead for good. His second sack slowed a drive with UC Davis at its own 44-yard line with a minute left in the first half.
 
* In 2012, the Eagles were out-scored 22-0 in the second quarter, regained the lead in the fourth quarter then blocked a field goal in the final minute to preserve a 31-28 victory. The Aggies were poised to pull off the upset with a long drive on their final possession, but Eastern's David Gaylord blocked a 52-yard field goal attempt by Brady Stuart with 46 seconds left to preserve the Eagle win and keep Eastern's Big Sky Conference championship hopes alive. Eastern led early 14-3 and had a 141-31 advantage in total offense. But over the next 18 1/2 minutes, UC Davis converted four of five third downs and rolled up 247 yards of offense to take a 25-14 lead at halftime. In that same time span, Eastern had only 37 yards of offense and only one first down, and had to punt on its final three possessions. Eastern quarterbacks Vernon Adams Jr. and Kyle Padron combined to complete 19-of-31 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown, but the Eagles were out-gained in total offense 435-361. Adams scored the go-ahead points for Eastern with a 9-yard run with 8:13 left in the game. Redshirt freshman safety Jordan Tonani had seven tackles, an interception and a pass broken up.
 
* In 2007, Eastern had 478 yards of offense and two interceptions on defense that led to second-half touchdowns to defeat UC Davis 41-31 on Sept. 15. The two teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards of offense as UC Davis finished with 517. However, a third-quarter interception by sophomore Kevin Hatch and a fourth-quarter interception by freshman redshirt Lonnie Hosley turned out to be the biggest plays of the game for the Eagles. Eastern trailed early 14-6, but roared back behind three rushing touchdowns by junior Dale Morris. Morris had 85 yards rushing on 17 carries, and Alexis Alexander added 122 yards and a touchdown, also on 17 carries. Eastern also had a good day through the air as sophomore quarterback Matt Nichols completed 25-of-42 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns. Fellow sophomores Aaron Boyce (9-107), Brynsen Brown (7-82) and Tony Davis (5-35) combined for 21 receptions for 224 yards.
 
* In the 2005 meeting, Eastern scored four-straight times in the first half and went on to defeat UC-Davis 24-7. Eastern quarterback Erik Meyer, who would go on to win the Payton Award, left the game for good late in the second quarter after completing 11-of-19 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Plus, he had a 67-yard run on his only carry of the game that set-up an Eagle score. All-America wide receiver Eric Kimble also left the game before halftime after finishing with five catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. Eastern punted on its first possession, then scored touchdowns on drives of 45, 80 and 78 yards. UC Davis scored its only touchdown on a 50-yard interception return by Nolan De Graff in the third quarter. Eastern finished with 329 yards of total offense, while UC Davis finished with 308.
 
 
 
 

 
Recent Game Recap

 
Another First Half Shutout Helps No. 5/4 Eastern Past UNC 48-13
 
Eastern opened up a 20-0 halftime lead and went on to beat Northern Colorado 48-13 Nov. 3 at Nottingham Field in Greeley, Colo. With the offense piling up 578 yards, the defense had three interceptions and six sacks to hold UNC to 259 yards on the day. Senior D'londo Tucker had two of the interceptions for the Eagles. Eastern got off to a quick start, taking advantage of the wind, field position and great defense to go on drives of 89 and 60 yards, ending with field goals of 22 and 23 yards by Roldan Alcobendas. Those were sandwiched around a 24-yard touchdown run by Sam McPherson, which came on the first play after a 27-yard punt by UNC and a 21-yard return by Calin Criner. In the first three possessions for each team, Eastern had 171 yards and an average of 8.6 per play, compared to just 23 yards and 1.9 average for Northern Colorado. The Bears scored the first time they had the ball in the second half, but the Eagles countered with two touchdowns within 1:32 of each other. An eight-play, 66-yard drive was capped by a 15-yard touchdown run by Eric Barriere. Junior Dehonta Hayes then intercepted a UNC pass, setting up a 4-yard TD pass from Barriere to redshirt freshman tight end Dylan Ingram – his first score as an Eagle. In the fifth start of his career, Barriere completed 24-of-36 passes for 245 yards, and rushed for another 64 yards and a touchdown. He averaged 5.8 yards per rush and was sacked just twice. Senior Nsimba Webster led the Eagles with seven catches for 80 yards, and junior Jayson Williams added a career-high five grabs for 51 yards. Junior running back Antoine Custer Jr. had the fifth 100-yard rushing performance of his career and second of the season, finishing with 122 on 16 carries (7.6 per carry). McPherson added 61 rushing yards on 11 carries, including 24 on a first-quarter touchdown run. Tucker also had two passes broken up and a tackle, and sophomore linebacker Chris Ojoh made the second start of his career and finished with a team-high seven tackles, including a sack. Junior safety Dehonta Hayes had five tackles, an interception and a pass broken up. Jay-Tee Tiuli, Josh Lewis, Andrew Katzenberger, Chris Ojoh, Brandon Montgomery and Keith Moore all recorded sacks for EWU. Sixth-year senior kicker Roldan Alcobendas had field goals of 22 and 23 yards in the first half to remain perfect on the season at 12-for-12. He also converted all six of his extra points and punted twice for a 43.0 average.
 
 

Other 2018 Team Notes

 
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 60.3 percent of its 406 games in 34+ seasons in FCS, with a 244-160-2 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.
 
 
Eagles Have Impressive 51-9 Big Sky Record Since 0-2 Start in 2011
 
The Eagles have won 51 of their last 60 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 46 of their last 53 versus conference foes, and are 56-9 since the 0-2 start in 2011. Including three wins at the end of the 2009 season, Eastern has a 62-12 record in league games since then.
 
What's perhaps most impressive is Eastern's ability to consistently win on the road, with records of 22-5 on the road, 24-3 at home and 44-8 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-joins 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 Set School Record with 10,000+ Fans Per Game
 
The Eagles set a school record with an average of 10,123 fans per game in 2017 (50,617 in five games), besting the previous record of 9,577 set in five home games in 2015. Eastern's 2016 average attendance was 8,435 (67,477 in eight home games). Eastern had its fifth-most fans in school history against MSU (11,301), No. 8 against Sacramento State (10,917), No. 17 versus North Dakota State (10,231) and No. 23 against Weber State (9,451). Eastern had 8,717 fans at their home finale versus Portland State, ranking 32nd and giving EWU 25 consecutive sell-outs and 37 total in school history (crowds of 8,600 or more). The Eagles have extended that to 29 in 2018 -- versus Central Washington with 8,658 fans in EWU's 2018 opener, 9,156 on hand for EWU's game versus Cal Poly on Sept. 22, 8,887 against Southern Utah on Oct. 6 and the 21st-largest crowd in school history with 10,023 on hand for the Idaho game on Oct. 27.
 
 
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. 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.
 

Eastern Has Hit Speed Bumps Before on Way to Deep Playoff Runs
 
The coming weeks will determine Eastern's postseason fate, but even the speed bump they had on Oct. 13 has occurred previously when the Eagles have enjoyed deep playoff runs to at least the quarterfinals of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs. Particularly noteworthy is that in all five of those seasons – 1992, 1997, 2010, 2012 and 2014 -- the Eagles won at least a share of the Big Sky Conference title and appeared in the FCS Playoffs.
 
In 1992, Eastern fell to Idaho 38-21 on Oct. 17 in a battle between unbeaten teams for first place in the league standings, then three weeks later were in Louisiana for a non-league game when the Eagles learned the Vandals had lost at Montana. The very next week, Eastern edged Boise State 14-13 at home to wrap-up a share of EWU's first-ever Big Sky title and advance to the FCS Playoffs for the second time.
 
The 1997 team advanced to the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs, but had a 17-7 loss at Montana State on Oct. 4 before winning eighth-straight games and finishing 12-2 after losing in the semifinals. In 2010, Eastern also lost at Montana State, this time 30-7 on Sept. 25, before winning its last 11 games and winning the national title with a 13-2 record.
 
More recently, in 2012, Eastern lost 30-27 at Southern Utah on Nov. 3, but then won five-straight to advance to the semifinals of the playoffs and finish 11-3. Two years later, Eastern also finished 11-3 after suffering a 28-27 loss at Northern Arizona on Oct. 25 and then winning four-straight to advance to the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
 
In the 14-6 loss at Weber State on Oct. 13, two field goals by Roldan Alcobendas helped avoid EWU's first shutout since 2006. It was the first time in almost 10 years to the day since EWU had a touchdown-less day, with the last coming in a 19-3 loss to Montana on Oct. 11, 2008. In fact, EWU scored 632 touchdowns in the 128 games in between, as EWU played its second-straight game without All-America quarterback Gage Gubrud (lower leg injury) versus WSU.
 
 
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).
 
 
10 of 13 Eagles Selected to 2017 All-Big Sky Team Return, Plus Two From 2016
 
The Eagles had 13 players honored on the All-Big Sky Conference team in 2017, but even more noteworthy is the number 10. That's the number of selections returning for the 2018 campaign, as only a trio of seniors were on the list of Eagles selected by the league's head coaches for yearly honors in the Big Sky.
 
However, one of them, special teams standout Anfernee Gurley, will redshirt the 2018 season after suffering a knee injury in preseason practices. He went on to earn first team Freshman All-America honors from Hero Sports in 2017.
 
Four of six second team selections return, including quarterback Gage Gubrud, who was also one of 25 finalists for the Walter Payton Award presented by STATS to the top offensive player in FCS. The other second team selections back are center Spencer Blackburn, running back Antoine Custer Jr., and kickoff return specialist Dre' Sonte Dorton. Custer also earned honorable mention honors on the sophomore All-America team as chosen by Hero Sports.
 
All six of EWU's third team or honorable mention selections are back, including wide receiver Nsimba Webster, safety Mitch Fettig and Gurley on the third team. Running back Sam McPherson, cornerback Josh Lewis, and sophomore offensive guard Tristen Taylor received honorable mention and are back. In addition, Jay-Tee Tiuli returns after earning first team All-Big Sky honors in 2016 before having to redshirt in 2017 after an early-season injury.
 
Also on the 2016 All-Big Sky squad was third team cornerback Nzuzi Webster, thus giving EWU 12 players who have previously won all-league accolades. Blackburn also earned second team honors in 2016, and Fettig and Taylor were both honorable mention that season.
 
2017 All-Big Sky Selections Returning in 2018
Second Team -- #Quarterback - 8 - Gage Gubrud - 6-2 - 205 - Jr. - 3L* - McMinnville, Ore. (McMinnville HS '14)
Second Team -- Running Back - 28 - Antoine Custer Jr. - 5-9 - 190 - So. - 2L - Berkeley, Calif. (De La Salle '16)
Second Team -- ~Center - 75 - Spencer Blackburn - 6-2 - 285 - Jr. - 2L * - Bellingham, Wash. (Meridian HS '14)
Second Team -- Return Specialist - 87 - Dre' Sonte Dorton - 5-10 - 185 - So. – 1L* - Pasco, Wash. (Chiawana HS '15)
Third Team -- Wide Receiver - 5 - Nsimba Webster - 5-10 - 180 - Jr. - 3L* - Antioch, Calif. (Deer Valley HS '14)
Third Team -- ^Safety - 13 - Mitch Fettig - 6-1 - 200 - Jr. - 3L* - Olympia, Wash. (Olympia HS '14)
Third Team -- Special Teams - 34 - Anfernee Gurley - DB - 5-10 - 180 - Fr. – 1L - Everett, Wash. (Archbishop Murphy HS '17)
Honorable Mention -- ^Offensive Guard - 65 - Tristen Taylor - 6-6 - 315 - So. - 2L * - Stockton, Calif. (Stagg HS '15)
Honorable Mention -- Running Back - 20 - Sam McPherson - 5-10 - 200 - Jr. - 2L - Bothell, Wash. (Bothell 'HS '15)
Honorable Mention -- Cornerback - 1 - Josh Lewis - 6-0 - 190 - Jr. - 2L* - Lakewood, Wash. (Steilacoom HS '14)

• Jay-Tee Tiuli (first team) and Nzuzi Webster (third team) were honored in 2016.

#Big Sky MVP & First Team All-Big Sky in 2016. ~Second Team All-Big Sky in 2016. ^Honorable mention All-Big Sky in 2016. *Has used redshirt year.
 
 
Gubrud Earns Honors in First Two Weeks of the Season
 
Senior quarterback Gage Gubrud was honored for a pair of 300-yard passing performances in the first two weeks of the season. He currently owns three FCS records, eight Big Sky marks and 21 school records, most set during the 2016 season.
 
He had 402 yards of total offense – 322 passing and 80 rushing – in EWU's nail-biting 31-26 victory over Northern Arizona on Sept. 8. He completed 18-of-33 passes and had four touchdowns and no interceptions, as he finished with his 13th game with at least 400 yards of total offense and his 18th with at least 300 passing. He helped Eastern finish with 570 yards of total offense. That enabled him to win Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors from the league for the seventh time in his career, and he also earned the same honor from College Sports Madness.
 
One week earlier versus Central Washington in a 58-13 win on Sept. 1, an 82.3 percent passing performance helped the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-American receive FCS Performer of the Week honors by College Football Performance Awards.  He completed 19-of-23 passes, finishing with 337 yards with no interceptions and five touchdown passes. It was part of a 677-yard onslaught by the Eagle offense – fifth-best in school history.
 
Gubrud's completion percentage versus CWU was close to the record of 90.5 percent (19-of-21) set by Erik Meyer in 2004, and Gubrud also averaged 14.2 yards per attempt and 17.2 per completion. Those records, respectively, are 18.0 set by Meyer in 2004 and 26.0 set by Vernon Adams Jr. in 2012. The first play offensive play of the game started the avalanche for the Eagles when Gubrud found Webster for a 50-yard touchdown pass. Eastern scored 20 points on its first 12 plays in the game, and out-gained CWU 187-50 in those 12 plays (15.6 per play). Gubrud completed nine of his first 10 passes in that stretch for 172 yards and a pair of scores.
 
During Eastern's five-game winning streak from Sept. 16 to Oct. 14 in 2017, Gubrud had 2,071 passing yards (414.2 average per game) while completing 69 percent of his passes. He passed for 19 touchdowns and accounted for another four (three rushing, one receiving). In his best five-game stretch in 2016, he completed 69 percent of his passes for 2,160 yards (432.0 average) and 20 touchdowns in five victories from Sept. 24 to Oct. 29.
 
In addition, he had an impressive string of 222 passes without an interception in 2016, going four full games in 2016 from Sept. 24 to Oct. 22 without a pick. He had what was then a school-record 551 yards of total offense in the first start of his career, a 45-42 season-opening victory over Washington State of the Pac-12 Conference.
 
 

 
More Aaron Best Comments

 
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 it's a special today they will never forget the rest of their lives."
 
On EWU's Defense Versus UC Davis Offense: "It will be good. It's like the old adage whether great pitching can defeat great hitting in baseball. You can go round-and-round on it, but it's a great offense we're facing with a great defense that we have. We've shown that for nine games, and they've shown it for nine games as far as putting our 2018 resumes out there. It will be a different type of offense than what we've seen the last few weeks. They are a non-run first team, but they do lean on their guys up front and their backfield is more than capable of stretching any play from a 4-yard gain to a 60-yard gain. They'll give us everything under the sun offensively, so we'll have to be ready and give it our best shot."
 
On UNC Win: "I feel good, really good. Much like against Idaho, I thought we dominated in the first half on both sides of the ball and on special teams. They were very similar games. We took a step forward in this game – even after a few lulls in the third quarter we got out of it and put some more points on the board and stretched the lead even further. Special teams played incredible today. Our running game was intact and we stopped the run for the most part. We got in the quarterback's face and harassed him all day. From the sideline view, there wasn't a lot of bad play out there – we were pretty clean overall."
 
On Defense: "We feel good, but I'm not sure about really good yet – we still have a few games to go to put on the resume. We have a good defense and a good team – there are no bones about it. These players continue to do it every week. They are motivated and the more motivation the better. We have a ton of seniors and juniors on defense, and whether it's a home game or road game, you have to bring a defense and a running game. We packed both of those against Northern Colorado. It you can stop the run and score points on offense, that's a great recipe for success."
 
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."