Link to Story at StatsPerform.Com
 
The season is on hold for Eastern Washington University, but that didn't stop STATS Perform from releasing its NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Preseason Top 25 on Tuesday (Aug. 25).
 
The Eagles were picked 18th, with four other fellow Big Sky Conference schools ranking between No. 4 and No. 12 in the rankings. A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. In this case, the voters projected where the season might have headed if most conferences and schools hadn't postponed their fall season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
It was the third time this summer the Eagles were ranked 18th in polls, with Hero Sports and Street and Smith's also giving the Eagles that ranking. Eastern is No. 20 in the Athlon Sports Preseason Top 25 rankings and were ranked 23rd by College Football America.
 
Voters remained confident in North Dakota State, selected as a unanimous No. 1 -- just like the Bison were after they went 16-0 and claimed their third straight and record eighth FCS national title during the 2019 season. North Dakota State is among several schools who are still planning to play games this fall, despite most FCS leagues postponing their league seasons. The Big Sky has previously announced plans to compete in the spring.
 
James Madison, the Colonial Athletic Association champion which has appeared in three of the last four national finals, was second in the preseason Top 25. Northern Iowa was third, three-time defending Big Sky Conference champ Weber State fourth and South Dakota State fifth.
 
Among conferences, the Big Sky and Missouri Valley Football Conference  tied for the most teams in the rankings with five each.
 
Although Eastern finished 7-5 overall and finished in a tie for second in the Big Sky with a 6-2 record, Eastern was passed up for the 2019 FCS Playoffs. Sacramento State, Weber State, Montana, and Montana State all represented the league in the postseason, and all four received first-round byes. Weber State and Montana State advanced to the semifinals, Montana to the quarterfinals and Sac State fell in the second round.
 
The Eagles were unranked in both polls following the conclusion of the 2019 season. Nevertheless, after finishing second in the final STATS top 25 poll of the 2018 season, Eastern has had a top four finish six times in the past 10 years (2010-2019). In the 2015 season, Eastern extended its string of nationally-ranked weeks to 57 before the streak was ended with the final poll of the season, then followed with a 46-week streak that ended in the 2019 season -- a span of 103 of 104 polls.
 
The 2018 season was the 15th time Eastern has finished the season nationally ranked, including 11 times since 2004. The other seasons were in 1985, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017. Seven times the Eagles have finished in the top four – fourth in 1997, 2012, 2014 and 2016; third in 2013; second in 2018; and first in 2010 after winning the NCAA Division I title.
 
 

STATS Perform Preseason Top 25

1 North Dakota State
2 James Madison
3 Northern Iowa
4 Weber State
5 South Dakota State
6 Montana State
7 Montana
8 Villanova
9 Illinois State
10 Kennesaw State
11 Central Arkansas
12 Sacramento State
13 Austin Peay
14 Nicholls
15 Furman
16 Wofford
17 Albany
18 Eastern Washington
19 North Carolina A&T
20 New Hampshire
21 Southeastern Louisiana
22 Sam Houston State
23. Monmouth
24 Southern Illinois
25 Southeast Missouri

 

2020 EWU Preseason Honors & Rankings

(as of Aug. 25, 2020)
 
Senior Co-Captains
QB Eric Barriere (2nd Year), S Calin Criner (1st Year), DB Ty Graham (1st Year), RB Tamarick Pierce (1st Year), LB Jack Sendelbach (2nd Year), OT Tristen Taylor (1st Year)
 
All-America
QB Eric Barriere – 2nd Team Hero Sports
QB Eric Barriere – 4th Team Phil Steele Publications
QB Eric Barriere – College Sports Journal (one of three quarterbacks on 60-player team)
LB Chris Ojoh – 3rd Team Hero Sports
 
All-Big Sky Conference
QB Eric Barriere – Official Team Selected by League Office (also MVP on offense) & 1st Team Phil Steele Publications
OL Tristen Taylor – Official Team Selected by League Office & 2nd Team Phil Steele Publications
WR Andrew Boston – 3rd Team Phil Steele Publications
DL Mitchell Johnson – 3rd Team Phil Steele Publications
K Seth Harrison – 3rd Team Phil Steele Publications
 
FCS Top 25 Preseason Rankings
18th - STATS (#1 NDSU, #4 Weber State, #6 Montana State, #7 Montana, #12 Sacramento State)
18th - Hero Sports (#1 NDSU, #3 Weber State, #5 Montana State, #7 Montana, #12 Sacramento State)
18th - Street & Smith's (#1 NDSU, #5 Weber State, #8 Montana State, #9 Montana, #16 Sacramento State)
20th - Athlon Sports (#1 NDSU, #4 Sacramento State, #6 Weber State, #7 Montana State, #9 Montana)
23rd - College FB America (#1 NDSU, #6 Montana, #7 Montana State, #8 Weber State, #11 Sac State)