The silver linings abound for an Eastern Washington University football team that ended the 2018 season with an appearance in the NCAA Division I Championship Game in Frisco, Texas.
 
A variety of individual and school records were broken when the dust cleared from EWU's 38-24 loss to North Dakota State on Saturday (Jan. 5) as the Bison wrapped up their seventh title in the last eight years since EWU won in its first try in 2010.
 
Kicker Roldan Alcobendas closed his illustrious career with a NCAA Football Championship Subdivision record and a variety of other school marks. Eastern's running game, led by senior Sam McPherson and sophomore quarterback Eric Barriere, also broke a variety of records as well.
 
Eastern rallied from deficits of 17-3 in the first half and 31-17 in the second half to pull within seven of NDSU with 2:19 to play. But the Bison scored a late touchdown on a third-and-seven play and the Eagles were left with a 12-3 record and an eight-straight win short of a national title.
 
"We played our tails off," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "I thought we more than held our own for a lengthy period of time. We came in aggressively. We played aggressive. We coached aggressive. And we left here aggressive."
 
McPherson closed his career with 158 yards on 18 carries versus the Bison, including a 75-yard touchdown in the third quarter. He finished with 1,510 yards on the season to rank fourth in single season school history and his 2,159 career yards ranks 11th.

Eastern as a team averaged 4.8 per rush against NDSU to finish with a school-record 6.62 on the season and break the previous record of 6.41 set in 2001. The Eagles also added to previous team records they broke for rushing yards (3,839) and rushing touchdowns (41).
 
Barriere had just 10 rushing yards – scoring on a 5-yard run -- but that was enough for him to finish the season with 613 rushing yards and break the previous record for a quarterback of 606 set by Gage Gubrud in 2016. Barriere is now 9-2 as a starter, including 8-2 this season as an injury replacement for Gubrud. Eastern was 8-0 when he rushed for at least 20 yards this season.
 
"On the last touchdown we went down the field (80 yards on four plays) and that's what Eric Barriere is going to bring to us in the future," said Best of Barriere's season-ending performance that included 198 passing yards and two interceptions. "He was a puppy in this game and so was I. We all make mistakes, and to succeed you've got to fail. And he didn't fail today. He succeeded with small hurdles along the way."
 
A 40-yard field goal in the second quarter by Alcobendas helped him set the record for the best perfect record of field goals made in the history of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. He finished the year as the only player in FCS to be perfect on the season, finishing 16-of-16 to break the previous record of 15-of-15 set by Jon Scifres of Missouri State in 2004.
 
He also converted all three of his extra points and punted five times for a 45.2 average with a long of 58 and one downed inside the NDSU 20-yard line. That punting performance helped him establish new EWU season and school records for punting average – both at 44.9 per kick.
 
He finished with a school-record 119 kick scoring points in 2018 after having previously broken the record of 103 set by Josh Atwood in 1997. The 119 points ranks second in Big Sky history, just three from the league record of 122. Alcobendas finished with a school-record 320 career points which is sixth in Big Sky history. His streak of 70-straight extra points broke his own single season record of 63 consecutive in 2016. He set the career record for extra points in a row with 85 from 2016-17.
 
The Bison have now won 121 of 134 games since 2010, and have won all seven times they have advanced to the championship game since then (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018). Eastern won in 2010 in its only previous title game appearance, and knocked off NDSU in the quarterfinals 38-31 in overtime that season in Cheney. The Eagles are 90-30 since 2010, a percentage of .750 that trails only the Bison at .903 and the .778 percentage (70-30) of Ivy League member Harvard, which does not participate in the playoffs.
 
"Everyone wanted to know if we were going to walk out of here losing 48-14 with our chins held high," added Best. "We're competitors and we earned the right to play in this game, too. And I'm excited to protect our players -- they earned this opportunity. And we fell short. Very close but short."
 
 

Other Eagle Milestones in 2018 . . .

 
* Eastern won 12 games for just the fifth time in school history, with the record coming during EWU's national championship season in 2010 when the Eagles were victorious 13 times. Eastern won 12 games in 1997, 2013 and 2016, and had 11 in 2012, 2014 and 1967. Thus, this is the sixth time in the last nine seasons (2010-2018) that Eastern has been victorious at least 11 times.
 
* Senior wide receiver Nsimba Webster closed his career with four catches for 92 yards against NDSU. He finished his career with eight 100-yard performances, and ended with 156 catches to rank 15th in school history and with 2,233 yards to rank 17th. His 18 career TD receptions ranks 16th.
 
* Senior linebacker Ketner Kupp and sophomore linebacker Chris Ojoh each had 11 tackles, one game after each had eight tackles versus Maine in the semifinals. Kupp finished his career with 10 career games in double figures in tackles and a total of 267 to rank 14th in school history. His team-leading 115 tackles in 2018 ranks as the 13th-most in school history. Ojoh, who was making just the eighth start of his career, has four performances with at least 10 tackles, including two with a career-high 11. Ojoh had a sack versus North Dakota State and finished the season with 105 tackles to rank 27th all-time at EWU.
 
* Gage 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 (Matt Nichols, Vernon Adams Jr., and Erik Meyer) in the 10,000-yard passing club, with a 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. Finishing 21-7 in 28 games as a starter, Gubrud had a school-record 10 400-yard passing performances in his career and owns school records with 13 performances of at least 400 yards of total offense and six with at least 500.
 
* You have to go back more than 20 years to find a defense that has been stingier than this year's team. A year after allowing 33.4 points per game, the Eagles finished the season allowing 22.7 for the team's best performance since 1997. That season, on their way to a semifinal appearance in the FCS Playoffs (then I-AA), Eastern allowed just 17.4 points per game. Eastern's nine games of allowing 20 points or fewer in 2018 equals the school record also set in 1997, 1981, 1964 and 1949.
 
 

Records Broken by the Eagles in 2018 . . .

Below are records were broken by the Eagles (does not include season records previously set by Gage Gubrud in the 2016 season):

Scoring: 647 (previous record 618 in 2014)
Touchdowns: 86 (previous record 84 in 2014)
Games Scoring 50 or More Points: 6 (ties record of six in 2014)
Games Allowing 20 or Fewer Points: 9 (ties record of 9 in 1997, 1981, 1964 & 1949)
Rushing Yards: 3,839 (previous record 3,130 set in 1950)
Rushing Touchdowns: 41 (previous record 32 set in 2014)
Rushing Yards Per Carry: 6.62 (previous record 6.41 set in 2001)
Rushing Attempts: 580 (previous record 572 in 1997)
Passes Broken Up: 70 (previous record is 67 set in 2010)
Season Rushing Yards by a Quarterback: Eric Barriere, 613 (previous record 606 set by Gage Gubrud in 2016)
Career Punting Average: Roldan Alcobendas, 44.9 (previous record 43.8 set by Jake Miller in 2011-14)
Season Punting Average: Roldan Alcobendas, 44.9 (equals record 44.9 set by Jake Miller in 2014)
Season Kick Scoring: Roldan Alcobendas, 119 (previous record 103 by Josh Atwood in 1997)
Career Kick Scoring: Roldan Alcobendas, 320 (previous record 236 by Mike Jarrett in 2009-11)
Career Extra Points Made: Roldan Alcobendas, 212 (previous record 143 by Mike Jarrett in 2009-11)
Career Extra Points Attempted: Roldan Alcobendas, 218 (previous record 150 by Mike Jarrett in 2009-11)
* Career Total Offense Per Game: Gage Gubrud, 344.6 (previous record 315.4 by Vernon Adams Jr. from 2012-14)
Career Passing Per Game: Gage Gubrud, 312.0 (previous record 288.7 by Bo Levi Mitchell from 2010-11)
* Single Game Average Per Rush: 14.7 (previous Big Sky record was 11.1 set by Portland State vs. UC Davis in 2013)
^ Single Game TD Passes: Eric Barriere, 7 vs. Maine 12/15/18 (ties record of 7 by Vernon Adams Jr. vs. Washington on 9/3/16)
^ Single Game TD Receptions: Nsimba Webster, 4 vs. Maine 12/15/18 (ties record of 4 set by three other players)
* Longest Punt: Roldan Alcobendas, 78 vs. Weber State 10/13/18 (previous record 74 by Jake Miller vs. Washington State on 9/8/12)
* Longest Run by a Quarterback: Eric Barriere, 85 vs. Southern Utah 10/6/18 (previous record 80 by Jack Perrault vs. Western Washington in 1942).
*Also Big Sky Conference Record. ^Also FCS Playoffs Record.
 
 

Records Broken by Gage Gubrud . . .

(except for career records, all set in 2016 = 3 FCS, 8 Big Sky, 21 EWU)
#Also Big Sky Record or currently on record pace. *Also EWU Record.
 
BSC – *Career Total Offense Per Game – 344.6 (2015-18) . . . previous school record 315.4

• His average total offense per game broke the Big Sky record of 328.9 set by Dave Dickenson of Montana with 11,513 yards in 35 games from 1992-95 and ranks third in FCS history.

EWU – Career Passing Yards Per Game – 312.0 (2015-18) . . . previous school record 288.7

• Gubrud also ranks 10th all-time in FCS and third in Big Sky history.The league record for passing per game is 327.8 set by Drew Miller of Montana with 5,900 yards in 18 games from 1999-2000. Gubrud finished with 11,026 yards of total offense (12th in Big Sky history/third all-time at EWU), 9,984 passing yards (fourth all-time at EWU) and 87 touchdown passes (eighth in Big Sky history/third all-time at EWU).

EWU – Career 400-Yard Passing Performances – 10 Total
EWU – Career 400-Yard Total Offense Performances – 13 Total
EWU – Career 500-Yard Total Offense Performances – 6 Total
FCS – #*Season Passing Yards – 5,160 (2016) . . . old FCS record 5,076, BSC/EWU 4,994
FCS – *Most Games of 300 Yards of Total Offense – 12 (2016) . . . ties Vernon Adams Jr. in 2013
FCS – *Most Games with 300+ Passing Yards in a Season - 11 . . . old record 10
BSC – *Season Total Offense – 5,766 (2016) . . . 2nd in FCS history; old BSC/EWU 5,559
BSC – *Total Offense Per Game – 411.9 (2016) - 5th in FCS history
BSC – *Season Total Offensive Plays – 704 (2016) . . . old record 618
BSC – *Season Passing Completions – 386 (2016) . . . old record 319
BSC – *Season Passing Attempts - 570 (2016) . . . old record 505
EWU – *Season Passing Yards Per Game – 368.6 (2016) . . . 9th in FCS history
EWU – Season Rushing Yards by a QB – 606 (2016) . . . old record 605 by V. Adams '13
BSC – *Game Passing Completions – 47 (vs. Central Arkansas 12/3/16)
EWU – Fewest Interceptions Per Attempt – 0 in in 54 attempts (vs. Central Arkansas 12/3/16)
EWU – Game Yards Passing – 520 (vs. Montana State 10/22/16)
EWU – Game Yards Total Offense – 551 (vs. Washington State 9/3/16)
EWU - Game Most TD Resp. For – 7 total / 6 passing, 1 rushing (vs. UC Davis 10/1/16)
EWU - Game Most Points Resp. For – 42 total / 6 pass TD, 1 rush TD (vs. UC Davis 10/1/16)