2019 FCS Playoffs Bracket
Unfortunately for the Eastern Washington University football team, a deep tradition in the postseason and overall in this decade didn't translate to a berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoff when bids were handed out Sunday (Nov. 24).
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Eastern finished 7-5 overall and 6-2 in the Big Sky Conference to finish in a three-way tie for third with two other league schools who were selected among the top six seeds in the 24-team tourney. Big Sky co-champions Weber State and Sacramento State earned the No. 3 and 4 seeds, respectively, after finishing 7-1 in the league, while fifth-seeded Montana State and No. 6 Montana joined EWU with 6-2 records in the league.
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North Dakota, a team EWU defeated 35-20 on Sept. 28, received one of 14 at-large berths. Eastern was 0-2 versus other teams who made the bracket (losses to Sacramento State and Montana).
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Nevertheless, Eastern can take solace in that it finishes the regular season with the third-most wins in this decade (2010-19) with 97 victories, and its winning percentage of .735 (97-35) is fifth-best among 124 schools currently in FCS.
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Moreover, the Eagles still rank 12th overall in FCS playoff berths with 13, and currently have the ninth-most victories (19) and the seventh-best percentage (.612, 19-12). Â Eastern has 10 playoff berths in a 16-year span (2004-19), ranking the Eagles as one of only six schools among 124 in FCS to accomplish that feat.
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The Eagles started the season 1-3 and lost its first four road games. However, the Eagles finished a perfect 5-0 at home to extend its school-record winning streak at Roos Field to 14 games. Eastern won its last two road contests to finish the 2019 season with a four-game winning streak and its 13th-straight winning campaign.
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Eastern will likely finish the 2019 season with the best offense in FCS, finishing at 524.8 yards per game. Playoff automatic qualifier San Diego is second at 498.8 per game, and postseason games count in the rankings. Eastern also ended the regular season fourth in scoring (40.6), fourth in first downs (290), fifth in passing (317.1) and seventh in turnover margin (+0.92 per game).
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The Eagles also ranked 21st in the rushing at 207.8 yards per game, and joined Prairie View as the only team in FCS to rank in the top 21 in total offense, rushing and passing.
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Junior quarterback
Eric Barriere is second in total offense (355.8, E.J. Perry of Brown is at 367.8), third in passing (309.3) and fifth in points responsible for (20.2 per game). Senior running back
Antoine Custer Jr. is 16th in rushing (102.3), 10th in total rushing yards (1,228), sixth in passing TDs (31) and eighth in rushing touchdowns (16).
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Junior
Talolo Limu-Jones is presently second in average per reception at 24.04, trailing only Isaiah Weston of Northern Iowa, which is also participating in the playoffs.
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Redshirt freshman
Seth Harrison will end the season first in field goal percentage, with a perfect 12-of-12 performance. He is the only kicker in FCS with at least one field goal attempt per game to make all of his field goals this season.
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Eastern's next game is scheduled for Sept. 5, 2020, at Florida. The Eagles open a six-game home schedule the following week versus Western Illinois on Sept. 12, and also host Northern Arizona (Sept. 19), Montana (Oct. 3), Idaho (Oct. 17), Weber State (Oct. 24) and Montana State (Nov. 7).
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Eastern's honored 19 seniors in its season-ending 53-46 home win over Portland State, including several who are candidates to receive sixth years and return in 2020. One senior redshirted (
Tamarick Pierce) and one (
Jusstis Warren) elected not to take part in the pre-game introductions because of his intention to apply for a sixth year.
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Together, those seniors helped Eastern go 38-14 overall (73.1 percent) and 27-5 (84.4 percent) in Big Sky Conference play in the last three-plus seasons. After Saturday's game, those 19 seniors combined for 790 games played and 364 total starts in their careers. One of them, defensive end
Darnell Hogan, made the second start of his career versus the Vikings.
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Eastern's particularly large group of 27 seniors honored a year ago was reduced to 25 when
Spencer Blackburn and
Kaleb Levao each received a sixth year to complete four years of eligibility at EWU.
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FCS PLAYOFF BREAKDOWN
2019 Automatic Qualifiers (10)
Big Sky –
#3 Seed - Weber State (9-3, 7-1)
Big South – Monmouth (10-2, 6-0) – 8-game win streak
CAA –
#2 Seed - James Madison (11-1, 8-0) – 11-game win streak
Missouri Val. –
#1 Seed - N. Dakota St. (12-0, 8-0) – 12-game win streak
Northeast – Central Conn. St. (11-1, 7-0) – 8-game win streak
Ohio Valley – Austin Peay (9-3, 7-1) – 5-game win streak
Patriot – Holy Cross – Patriot (7-5, 5-1)
Pioneer – San Diego (9-2, 8-0) – 9-game win streak
Southern – Wofford (8-3, 7-1)
Southland – Nicholls State (8-4, 7-2)
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At-Large Berths (14)
#4 Seed - Sacramento State – Big Sky (9-3, 7-1)
#5 Seed - Montana St. – Big Sky (9-3, 6-2) – 4-game win streak
#6 Seed - Montana – Big Sky (9-2, 6-1) – 4-game win streak
Kennesaw State – Big South (10-2, 5-1)
Albany – CAA (8-4, 6-2)
Villanova – CAA (9-3, 5-3)
Illinois State – Missouri Valley (8-4, 5-3)
#7 Seed - South Dakota State – Missouri Valley (8-4, 5-3)
Northern Iowa – Missouri Valley (8-4, 6-2)
Southeast Mo. St. – Ohio Val. (9-3, 7-1) – 6-game win streak
Furman – Southern (8-4, 6-2)
#8 Seed - Central Arkansas – Southland (9-3, 6-2)
Southeastern La. – Southland (7-4, 6-3)
North Dakota – Independent (7-4)
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NCAA Selection Committee:
Greg Seitz, the Jacksonville State athletic director who represents the Ohio Valley Conference, is the chair of the committee, which also consists of Thorr Bjorn (Rhode Island, CAA Football), Randy Eaton (Western Carolina, Southern Conference), Kent Haslem (Montana, Big Sky Conference), Eugene Marshall Jr. (Hampton, Big South Conference), Kyle Moats (Missouri State, Missouri Valley Football Conference), Tim Murray (Marist, Pioneer Football League), Matt Roan (Nicholls, Southland Conference), Bill Smith (Bryant, Northeast Conference) and Jermaine Truax (Bucknell, Patriot League).
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All-Time FCS Playoffs Leaders
Appearances (including 2019) . . . 1. Montana 24; 2. Eastern Kentucky 21; 3. Northern Iowa 21; 4. Appalachian State 20; 5. Georgia Southern 19; 6. Furman 18; 7. James Madison, Delaware, Eastern Illinois, McNeese, New Hampshire 16;
12. Eastern Washington 13.
Playoff Wins . . . 1. Georgia Southern 45; 2. North Dakota State and Montana 32; 4. Youngstown State 28; 5. Northern Iowa and Appalachian State 24; 7. Marshall 23; 8. Delaware 22;
9. Eastern Washington, Furman & Sam Houston State
19; 12. James Madison 17.
Percentage . . . 1. North Dakota State .942 (32-2); 2. Marshall .793 (23-6); 3. Youngstown State .777 (28-8); 4 Georgia Southern .776 (45-13); 5. Boise State .667 (8-4); 6. Sam Houston State .633 (19-11
); 7. Eastern Washington .612 (19-12); 8. Montana .604 (32-21); 9. Richmond .600 (15-10) & Arkansas State .600 (6-4); 11. Delaware .595 (22-15); 12. Massachusetts .588 (10-7); 13. Appalachian State .585 (24-17); 14. James Madison .567 (17-13); 15. Nevada .563 (9-7); 16. Northern Iowa .545 24-20).
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Winningest Current FCS Teams Since 2010 (after games played Nov. 23, 2019)
By percentage . . . 1. North Dakota State .911 (133-13); 2. Kennesaw State .770 (47-14); 3. San Diego .748 (86-29); 4. Harvard .740 (74-26);
5. Eastern Washington .735 (97-35); 6. James Madison .732 (93-34); 7. Jacksonville State .7280 (91-34); 8. Sam Houston State .7279 (99-37); 9. Dartmouth .700 (70-30); 10. Bethune-Cookman .690 (78-35); 11. North Carolina A&T .678 (78-37); 12. Dayton .676 (75-36); 13. Central Arkansas .672 (80-39); 14. Wofford .656 (80-42); 15. South Dakota State .654 (83-44).
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By victories . . . 1. North Dakota State 133; 2. Sam Houston State 99;
3. Eastern Washington 97; 4. James Madison 93; 5. Jacksonville State 91; 6. San Diego 86; 7. South Dakota State 83; 8. New Hampshire, Central Arkansas & Wofford 80; 11. Bethune-Cookman & North Carolina A&T 78; 13. Montana State & Illinois State 76; 15. Northern Iowa & Dayton 75; 17. Harvard 74; 18. Montana & McNeese State 73.
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EWU PLAYOFF HISTORY
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• Eastern made a 13th appearance in the playoffs in 2018, becoming just the 12th team in FCS to have 13 or more appearances. The other appearances for the Eagles came in 1985, 1992, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016. With a 6-5 record during an injury-ravaged season in 2011, Eastern fell a victory shy of making its first back-to-back-to-back appearances, but accomplished that feat in 2012-13-14. The Eagles were also 6-5 in 2015 and missed the postseason, and 7-4 in 2017 when they were also passed over.
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• The 2018 season was
Aaron Best's first playoff appearance as head coach, but 10th overall. He was a player in 1997, then coached in 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and now 2018). He has now been a part of 26 playoff games (17-9), with 23 as a coach (15-8) and three as a player (2-1). He has been involved in 21 of those games at home (15-6), just three on the road (1-2) and was offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2010 when the Eagles won the NCAA Division I title with a 20-19 victory over Delaware on a neutral field in Frisco, Texas. He returned to Frisco as head coach in 2018, with the Eagles falling 38-24 to North Dakota State.
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• Eastern still has 10 playoff berths in a 16-year span (2004-19), ranking the Eagles as one of only six schools among 124 in FCS to accomplish that feat. Montana (2004-05-06-07-08-09- 11-13-14-15-19) now has 11 appearances in that stretch, as does James Madison has 11 (2004-06-07-08-11-14-15-16-17-18-19). Northern Iowa (2005-07-08-10-11-14-15-17-18-19) and North Dakota State (2010-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19) each have 10. New Hampshire (2004-05-06-07-08-09-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17) made the playoffs for the 14th-straight time in 2017 but has not qualified the last two seasons.
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• The Eagles have a 19-12 record in their 13 playoff appearances, ranking ninth all-time for wins and 12th for appearances. Eastern has a 15-6 record at home, 3-5 on the road and 1-1 in the championship game on a neutral field. Eastern has advanced to the semifinals in the FCS Playoffs six times (1997, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2018) and is 2-4 in those games. The Eagles have won their opener 10 times (1985, 1997, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018) and are 6-4 in the quarterfinals. The Eagles won the title in 2010 in its first appearance in the championship game. The Eagles have received first-round byes in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018 (the playoffs were expanded to 20 teams in 2010 and to 24 teams in 2013).
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2018 – (No. 3 seed, ranked #4)
             #1/No. 1 seed
North Dakota State - L, 24-38 (Championship/Frisco, Texas)
             #14/No. 7 seed
Maine – W, 50-19 (Semifinals/Cheney)
             #7/No. 6 seed
UC Davis – W, 34-29 (Quarterfinals/Cheney)
             #14
Nicholls – W, 42-21 (Second Round/Cheney)
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2016 – (No. 2 seed, ranked #3)
             #13
Youngstown State – L, 38-40 (Semifinals/Cheney)
             #12
Richmond – W, 38-0 (Quarterfinals/Cheney)
             #14
Central Arkansas – W, 31-14 (Second Round/Cheney)
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2014 – (No. 4 seed, ranked #4)
             #7/No. 5 seed
Illinois State – L, 46-59 (Quarterfinals/Cheney)
             #12
Montana - W, 37-20 (Second Round/Cheney)
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2013 – (No. 3 seed, ranked #3)
             #5
Towson – L, 31-35 (Semifinals/Cheney)
             #20
Jacksonville State – W, 35-24 (Quarterfinals/Cheney)
             #13
South Dakota State – W, 41-17 (Second Round/Cheney)
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2012 – (No. 2 seed, ranked #4)
             #5
Sam Houston State – L, 42-45 (Semifinals/Cheney)
             #16
Illinois State – W, 51-35 (Quarterfinals/Cheney)
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Wagner – W, 29-19 (Second Round/Cheney)
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2010 – (No. 5 seed, ranked #1)
             #5
Delaware - W, 20-19 (Championship/Frisco, Texas)
             #10
Villanova - W, 41-31 (Semifinals/Cheney)
             #25
North Dakota State - W, 38-31 in OT (Quarterfinals/Cheney)
             #9
Southeast Missouri State - W, 37-17 (Second Round/Cheney)
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2009 – (ranked #13)
             at #12
Stephen F. Austin - L, 33-44 (First Round)
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2007 – (ranked #14)
             at #15
Appalachian State - L, 35-38 (Quarterfinals)
             at #3/No. 2 seed
McNeese State - W, 44-15 (First Round)
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2005 – (ranked #15) -
             at #7
Northern Iowa - L, 38-41 (First Round)
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2004 – (ranked #14)
             #9
Sam Houston State - L, 34-35 (Quarterfinals/Cheney)
             at #1/No. 1 seed
Southern Illinois - W, 35-31 (First Round)
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1997 – (No. 3 seed, ranked #4)
             #9/No. 8 seed
Youngstown State - L, 14-25 (Semifinals/Spokane)
             #5/No. 5 seed
Western Kentucky - W, 38-21 (Quarterfinals/Spokane)
             #17/No. 14 seed
Northwestern State - W, 40-10 (First Round/Spokane)
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1992 – (ranked/seeded #14)
             at #3
Northern Iowa - L, 14-17 (First Round)
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1985 – (ranked/seeded #11)
             at #4
Northern Iowa - L, 14-17 (Quarterfinals)
             at #5
Idaho - W, 42-38 (First Round)
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