­­­­ Eastern Washington University "Eagles" versus Northern Arizona University "Lumberjacks"  Saturday, March 6 • 1:05 p.m. Pacific Roos Field • Cheney, Washington
TV:	Regionally in Eastern Washington on SWX (Dennis Patchin, Bill Ames)
Webcast:	Pluto TV Channel 1053 (http://pluto.tv & http://watchbigsky.com)
Radio:	700-AM ESPN and 105.3-FM in the Spokane/Cheney area. Larry Weir returns for his 30th season calling the play-by-play, with analysis handled by Paul Sorensen for the 18th 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:	EWU Home Games: http://ewustats.com
Game Program:	https://publogix.com/e/20-ewaufbyb/

The difference between winning and losing can be razor thin.
 
Two Big Sky Conference teams who discovered that last week will tangle this Saturday (March 6) when Eastern Washington University hosts Northern Arizona at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.
 
Kickoff is 1:05 p.m. in a game televised regionally in Eastern Washington by SWX. 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.
 
At this time, no spectators will be permitted to attend games, practices or scrimmages due to institutional, regional, and state guidelines in regards to the Covid-19 pandemic. Eastern parking lots will be closed to the general public and no pre-game tailgating or overnight parking will be allowed.
 
Eastern will try to continue a pair of home winning streaks this week against NAU. The Eagles have won their last 14 homes games at "The Inferno," and All-America quarterback Eric Barriere returns for his senior season a perfect 11-0 as a starter there. The Northern Arizona game will be the first game on the new red Astroturf surface installed at "The Inferno" last summer.
 
Last week, Eastern finally began its 112th season in school history after a delay of five months because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Eagles opened a 14-0 lead at Idaho on Feb. 27, but the Vandals would take their only lead of the game with 54 seconds left and won 28-21. Eastern had 426 yards of total offense – including 339 by Barriere – while holding the Vandals to 366 yards.
 
Northern Arizona also was in a nail-biter at home versus Southern Utah, and pulled out a 34-33 win with a 2-yard touchdown pass on the game's final play. ­The Lumberjacks out-gained the Thunderbirds 370-343 in the evenly-matched game.
 
Eastern was playing its first game since Nov. 23, 2019, when EWU beat Portland State 53-46 to end the regular season. But instead of playing Florida last fall on Sept. 5, the pandemic forced the Eagles to wait a full 462 days before playing again.
 
Eastern finished 7-5 in 2019, including a 6-2 record in the Big Sky to finish in a third-place tie. However, the Eagles were passed over for a berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs despite finishing as the national runner-up in 2018.
 
Northern Arizona was 4-8 overall in 2019 and 2-6 in the league under first-year head coach Chris Ball.
 
None of EWU's five league opponents this winter/spring – including a pair of games with Idaho – had winning records overall or in the league in 2019. They combined for a 20-39 record overall and 12-28 in the Big Sky. However, Idaho knocked off Eastern 35-27 on Sept 21, 2019 and 28-21 on Feb. 27, 2021, representing the only two losses in 11 games for Best in his head coaching career versus the five opponents. In school history, EWU is 75-40 versus those five foes, and 17 of those losses and just seven wins are against Idaho.
 
The NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs – just 16 teams this year -- are slated to begin on April 24 and conclude on May 16.
 
 
 
 

Game Notes

 
 
New Iconic Red Turf at "The Inferno" is Ready for its debut on March 6
 
The red glow that was missing in Cheney, Wash., in May and June finally returned in July of 2020 with the replacement of EWU's original iconic red turf.
 
Workers began that month the three-week process of installing the second generation of red turf at Eastern Washington University's Roos Field. The original red turf at "The Inferno" was installed in 2010, and taken out in May of 2020 in preparation for its replacement.
 
The basic design of the new turf is the same as before with "Eastern" in one end zone. But "Eagles" replaced "Washington" in the other.
 
The project was completed in August, just as preseason practices were expected to move from the grass EWU practice fields to the stadium in preparation for the 2020 season. But the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the start of the season, so instead of making its debut versus Western Illinois on Sept. 12, 2020, the turf will debut versus Northern Arizona on March 6, 2021.
 
 AstroTurf received the bid to replace the iconic red field. The nearly $1 million project was part of a $5 million pledge provided by local businessman Jack Gillingham toward the Roos Field Renovation Project.
 
 
Eagles Now 57-10 on the Red Turf with Record 14-Game Winning Streak
 
Having won all five of its regular season home games in 2019 and all eight in 2018, Eastern will enter the 2020-21 season with a school-record 14-straight wins at Roos Field in the 2019 season. Eastern is now 57-10 (85.1 percent) overall at "The Inferno" since 2010. The stadium has been known as Roos Field since 2010 when a new red synthetic Sprinturf surface made its debut. Eastern's last home loss came on Nov. 4, 2017, versus Weber State.
 
At its current site, the previous school record was 11 consecutive home wins set between 9/16/78 and 9/27/80 (between losses was from 11/19/77 to 11/1/80). Overall, the school record is 21 set from 1935-40. Eastern had a nine-game winning streak snapped in a 36-21 loss to Montana State on Sept. 24, 2011. The Eagles also had a nine-game winning streak at that venue snapped against Sacramento State on Oct. 21, 2000, when the Hornets made a 23-yard field goal with no time remaining.
 
Eastern has lost just six regular season games at "The Inferno" – 44-6 (88.0 percent), plus are 13-4 (76.5 percent) in playoff games. The only regular season losses at home for EWU since 2010 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 (2017).
 
Eastern finished a perfect 8-0 in its debut season at "The Inferno," including three playoff victories. Eastern has won 85.1 percent of its games since the red turf was installed in 2010 – including a 4-0 record versus rival Montana.
 
The North Dakota State game on Sept. 9, 2017, was the 50th at Roos Field since the red turf surface was installed in 2010. In 2016, Eastern finished 7-1 in the 50th season of football at EWU's current stadium location, which opened in 1967. Eastern has a 170-65 record (72.3 percent) in 235 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.
 
 
In 2019, Eagles Averaged 609 Yards and Outscored Opponents 267-156 at Roos Field
 
If only every game could be played at "The Inferno." Eastern averaged 609.6 yards of offense and 53.4 points per game in five games at Roos Field in the 2019 season, while defensively allowing 430.4 yards and 31.2 points. Eastern was quite impressive in the first half, out-scoring opponents 167-65 with advantages of 79-28 in the first quarter and 88-37 in the second period. On Oct. 12 versus Northern Colorado, EWU led 40-0 at intermission.
 
Quarterback Eric Barriere, who is a perfect 11-0 in his career as a starter at Roos Field, completed 62.6 percent of his passes and had an efficiency rating of 176.32 in those four games. He passed for 1,687 yards and had 16 touchdown passes with no interceptions. He also rushed for an additional 234 yards and four scores for an average of 384.2 yards of total offense, while running back Antoine Custer Jr. totaled 606 yards on the ground with nine scores.
 
Defensively, Dehonta Hayes had 45 tackles and an interception at home in 2019, and fellow safety Calin Criner had 31 with a pair of picks. Linebacker Jack Sendelbach added 38 tackles and a pair of sacks. Eastern had 11 sacks at home, compared to just seven in seven road contests. The Eagles also had an 14-3 advantage in turnovers forced on the red turf, but away from home had 10 turnovers while forcing eight.
 
 
 
Total of 12 Players Make First Career Starts at Idaho
 
Six Eagles on both sides of the ball made their first starts of their careers at Idaho on Feb. 27, including true freshman offensive guard Wyatt Hansen and true freshman wide receiver Efton Chism III, who were playing their first games in college. The others on offense were guard Wyatt Musser, tackle Matt Shook, running back Tamarick Pierce and wide receiver Anthony Stell Jr. On defense, the first-time starters were end Jusstis Warren, tackle Joshua Jerome, tackle Jacob Newsom, linebacker Ty Graham, safety Keshaun King and safety Anthany Smith.
 
Graham was playing his first game as an Eagle after playing previously at Idaho and redshirting in 2019, Warren is a sixth-year senior and played one game in 2019 after transferring from Washington. In all, a total of six true freshmen saw action and made their collegiate debuts at Idaho – several on special teams. The six true freshmen who played were Hansen, Chism, wide receiver Nolan Ulm, linebacker Conner O'Farrell, running back Justice Jackson and defensive lineman Ben Roe.
 
Eastern entered the 2020-21 season with a total of 20 players returning with 191 games of starting experience, including 10 players on defense with 86 starts and 10 on offense with 105 starts. Here are the current starts by EWU players:
 
Current Starts on Defense (97 starts by 16 players): Calin Criner 16, Jack Sendelbach 15, Chris Ojoh 12 Mitchell Johnson 12, Tre Weed 12, Darreon Moore 7, Kedrick Johnson 8, Ira Branch 3, Darrien Sampson 4, Caleb Davis 2, Ty Graham 1, Anthany Smith 1, Jusstis Warren 1, Joshua Jerome 1, Keshaun King 1, Jacob Newsom 1.
 
Current Starts on Offense (116 starts by 16 players): Tristen Taylor 41, Eric Barriere 24, Andrew Boston 19, Johnny Edwards IV 12, Dylan Ingram 3, Conner Crist 3, Talolo Limu Jones 3, Freddie Roberson 3, Blake Gobel 1, Dennis Merritt 1, Wyatt Hansen 1, Wyatt Musser 1, Matt Shook 1, Tamarick Pierce 1, Anthony Stell Jr. 1, Efton Chism III 1.
  
 
Best Should be Back on the Sideline Saturday
 
Eastern confirmed on Thursday, Feb. 25 that head football coach Aaron Best had tested positive for Covid-19 and would miss the season-opening game at Idaho. Per NCAA rules, the entire team and staff are given PCR tests every Wednesday. The most recent test results were received Thursday morning, with Coach Best being the only positive result with no symptoms. Following institutional and regionally approved contact-tracing protocols for positive tests, it was determined that no other team members or staff needed to be quarantined. The decision to play the football game, as scheduled, was made during a zoom call hosted by the Big Sky Conference featuring medical staff and athletic administrators from both Universities.
 
Coach Best has followed proper isolation protocols via CDC guidelines and the Spokane Regional Health District, and will be out of isolation on Saturday, March 6 to coach versus Northern Arizona.
 
 
Eagles No Stranger to Football in the Winter Months
 
Although having never played in February, practicing and playing in the winter months is nothing new for the Eagle football program. The Eagles have played 31 games in 13 appearances in the NCAA Football Championship subdivision playoffs, including 21 home games.
 
And EWU is successful in the winter months to boot, including a 15-6 record in those 21 home playoff games. Since 2004, EWU is 39-7 in regular season games in November with a nine-game winning streak, and are 16-9 in the playoffs in November and beyond for a collective 55-16 record (77 percent). Since 2010, EWU is 40-9 in November and beyond for 82 percent – 26-4 in regular season games and 14-5 in the playoffs.
 
 
Additional Pre-Season Rankings Pegs Eastern No. 12 in Nation
 
Eastern was ranked 12th nationally in the winter/spring preseason rankings released Feb. 9 by Athlon Sports, as well as the weekly poll of sportswriters and broadcasters released by Stats Perform on Feb. 22. Eastern fell to 22nd nationally in the Stats Perform poll released March 1, with Idaho jumping into the rankings at No. 19 and Weber State moving up to No. 2.
 
Weber State was ranked No. 2 in the nation in the Athlon poll behind North Dakota State, and Idaho was the other Big Sky Conference school in the rankings at No. 24. Weber State is picked No. 4 by Stats Perform. Eastern opened the winter/spring season with a 28-21 loss at Idaho on Feb. 27, and will end the regular season on April 10th versus the Vandals.
 
Eastern does not play Weber State, but the Eagles are scheduled to play at UC Davis on April 3. The Aggies were listed "On the Cusp" in the Athlon rankings.
 
The Athlon rankings came a day after Eastern was picked 14th in winter/spring rankings by Hero Sports, which also honored Eric Barriere as the sole quarterback on its preseason All-America squad. Eastern earned five other top 25 preseason rankings last fall. The Eagles were picked 18th by Stats Perform, and Hero Sports and Street and Smith's also gave the Eagles that ranking. Eastern was No. 20 in the Athlon Sports Preseason Top 25 rankings and were ranked 23rd by College Football America.
 
EWU 2020-21 EWU Preseason Rankings
(as of Feb. 8, 2021)
 
FCS Top 25 Preseason Rankings
12th (winter/spring) - Athlon Sports (#1 NDSU, #2 Weber State, #24 Idaho)
14th (winter/spring) - Hero Sports (#1 NDSU, #3 Weber State)
18th (fall) – Stats Perform (#1 NDSU, #4 Weber State, #6 Montana State, #7 Montana, #12 Sacramento State)
18th (fall) - Hero Sports (#1 NDSU, #3 Weber State, #5 Montana State, #7 Montana, #12 Sacramento State)
18th (fall) - Street & Smith's (#1 NDSU, #5 Weber State, #8 Montana State, #9 Montana, #16 Sacramento State)
20th (fall) - Athlon Sports (#1 NDSU, #4 Sacramento State, #6 Weber State, #7 Montana State, #9 Montana)
23rd (fall) - College FB America (#1 NDSU, #6 Montana, #7 Montana State, #8 Weber State, #11 Sac State)
 
 
Quarterback Eric Barriere Picked by Hero Sports as Lone QB on Its Preseason All-America squad
 
Hero Sports honored quarterback Eric Barriere as one of 29 players selected to its FCS All-America squad on Feb. 8 as selected by Sam Herder and Brian McLaughlin. The honor comes after a fall season in which he earned four other honors, including those picked by STATS Perform (third team), Hero Sports (second team), Phil Steele Publications (fourth team) and College Sports Journal (one of three quarterbacks on its 60-player preseason All-America squad). In addition, last July 24 the Big Sky Conference office announced Barriere as its choice as the preseason Offensive MVP of the league.
 
Barriere hails from Inglewood, Calif., and is a 2016 graduate of La Habra HS. He is a communication studies major at EWU and has previously earned third team All-Big Sky honors as both a sophomore (2018) and junior (2019). In 2019, Barriere finished fifth in the voting for the prestigious Walter Payton Award presented by STATS, and earned third team FCS All-America honors from Hero Sports.
 
EWU 2020-21 EWU Preseason Honors
(as of Feb. 8, 2021)
 
Senior Co-Captains
QB Eric Barriere (2nd Year), S Calin Criner (1st Year), LB Ty Graham (1st Year), RB Tamarick Pierce (1st Year), LB Jack Sendelbach (2nd Year), OT Tristen Taylor (1st Year)
 
All-America
QB Eric Barriere - 1st Team Hero Sports (winter/spring)
QB Eric Barriere - 2nd Team Hero Sports (fall)
QB Eric Barriere - 3rd Team STATS (fall)
QB Eric Barriere - 4th Team Phil Steele Publications (fall)
QB Eric Barriere - College Sports Journal (fall; 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
 
 
 
69 Percent of EWU's Roster Are From Washington in 2020-21
 
The Eagles currently have 93 players on its 2020-21 roster, and 64 of them – 69 percent – are from the state of Washington. Eastern's coaching staff is Washington-based as well, with eight of the team's 10 full-time coaches (80 percent) hailing from the Evergreen State. Head coach Aaron Best is a 1996 graduate of Curtis High School in Tacoma, Wash.
 
 
More About the Eagles in 2020-21
 
A third team All-American as a junior, Eric Barriere is one of four returning starters on an offensive squad which led the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense in 2019. The Eagles also have six returning starters on defense, plus all three of their specialists.
 
The Eagles have 43 returning letterwinners, as the fourth season under Aaron Best is underway. The breakdown is 20 letterwinners back from the offense, 20 on defense, a kicker, a punter and a long snapper. Eastern lost eight returning players since the summer when the pandemic took its toll on the 2020 schedule, which was going to be Eastern's best home schedule in school history. The adjusted, abbreviated schedule will not count against the eligibility for all student-athletes.
 
Eastern has 14 seniors on its squad, that coming after losing in excess of 20 in each of the past two seasons. Eastern had only 14 seniors in 2017 and 12 in 2016.
 
Three of the returning players include All-Big Sky offensive tackle Tristen Taylor, linebacker Jack Sendelbach and running back Dennis Merritt, who were granted a sixth year by the NCAA to complete four years of eligibility because of seasons lost because of injuries. Also receiving a sixth year was University of Washington transfer Jusstis Warren, who played in just one game in 2019. Conceivably, all four of those players could return in the fall of 2021 as well.
 
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, 2018, versus Cal Poly. He has now started all 41 games he played in his career, and was a second team All-Big Sky selection in 2019 after earning honorable mention in both 2016 and 2017.
 
Cheney native and Idaho transfer Ty Graham redshirted in 2019 and is now playing in 2020-21, as well as previous letter winners Chris Ojoh (linebacker) and Tamarick Pierce (running back). Ojoh and Pierce retained their redshirt status in 2019 by playing in four games apiece in 2019.
 
Consistency has been a cornerstone of EWU Football, and the Eagles have cemented a 16-year run of winning the league title and/or advancing to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs at least every other year. Eastern has achieved that feat ever since its last back-back-empty seasons in 2002 and 2003.
 
In 2018, Eastern secured its 10th Big Sky title and 13th appearance in the FCS Playoffs in what is now 36 years as a member of the FCS (formerly I-AA). Since 2010 when EWU won the NCAA Division I title, the Eagles have won league titles six times (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018) and advanced to the playoffs all six of those seasons.
 
From 2004 to 2009 Eastern advanced to the playoffs four times (2004, 2005, 2007, 2009), and won the league title twice (2004, 2005). Eastern has three other playoff berths in school history (1985, 1992, 1997) and two other titles (1992, 1997), and has only had two multi-year stretches in which they accomplished neither. Those were both six-year stretches from between 1986-1991 and 1998-2003.
 
The Eagles have been impressive – if not dominant – in the league in the last 13 years (2007-2019), winning 80 percent of their games (83-21) and six titles. In that span, Eastern has had no league finish below 5-3 and five of them have included 7-1 or 8-0 records.
 
 
More About the 2020-21 Winter/Spring Schedule
 
The original winter/spring schedule was released on Nov. 4, and Sacramento State was the only team to announce then that the Hornets would skip the spring season and prepare for the fall 2021 campaign. But since Jan. 15, Montana, Montana State, Portland State and Northern Colorado announced they were playing a reduced schedule, leaving the league with eight teams to play the full six games.
 
Essentially, league administrators came up with a schedule that replaced EWU's home game with the Grizzlies with the NAU contest, and EWU road games versus PSU and MSU with games at Idaho State and Idaho.
 
Open dates in the schedule are set for March 20 and April 17 in case games need to be re-scheduled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 16-team NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs are scheduled to begin April 24 and culminate with the championship game on May 16. Teams are required to play four games to qualify.
 
The game with Cal Poly will mark the return to EWU of new Mustang head coach Beau Baldwin, who spent 13 previous seasons as a coach at EWU. He was an assistant from 2003-06, and head coach from 2008-16.
 
Eastern was 3-1 in the 2019 season versus opponents on this spring's schedule, including a league-opening 35-27 loss at Idaho on Sept. 21, 2019. Later, on consecutive weeks, Eastern defeated NAU (66-38), ISU (48-5) and Cal Poly (42-41). The Eagles haven't played UC Davis since a 34-29 victory in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs in 2018, giving EWU a perfect 8-0 mark all-time against the Aggies.
 
On Aug. 7 in response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Big Sky Conference announced that all league schools – including Eastern – would move their 2020 schedule to winter/spring 2021.  The NCAA had previously announced that the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs would not have its playoffs in the fall, and eventually announced their move to 2021.
 
The 2020 schedule was going to be Eastern's best in school history, featuring home games versus Montana, Montana State, Idaho and two-time defending Big Sky Conference champion Weber State. The Eagles were scheduled to open Big Sky Conference play at Southern Utah on Sept. 26, followed by its conference home opener versus Montana on Oct. 3. The schedule also included non-conference home games versus Western Illinois and Northern Arizona, and a trip to play at Florida.


How the 2020-21 FCS Football Season Will Work
 
The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a wrinkle into 2020-21 NCAA sports scheduling, and FCS football is no exception. Based on original correspondence from the NCAA last fall, below is the latest information on the state of this year's FCS season and the plans to host a revised championship in the spring.
 
The Basics . . .
The fall championship, usually culminating in an early January title game, is still planned to be played — albeit in the spring this year. The championship is currently scheduled for April 18-May 16, with 16 teams making the playoff field as opposed to the usual 24. In this 16-team bracket, 11 teams will automatically qualify via conference championships. The remaining five will be at-large selections. Schools that opted to play games in the fall will have their results considered in the selection process for the spring championship field.
 
Conference-by-Conference Spring Season Information (as of Feb. 10, 2021) . . .
*Big Sky: Eight teams will play six conference games each, starting Feb. 27. The five schools opting out include Sacramento State, Montana, Montana State, Portland State and Northern Colorado.
*Big South: Five teams will play four conference games each, starting March 13. Two teams played at least one game in the fall, and league schools are also allowed to play up to four non-conference games in the spring.
*CAA: 11 teams will play six conference games each, starting March 6.
*MEAC: The conference previously announced a start date of Feb. 20. However, Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M have since announced they will not be playing.
Ivy League: No spring season.
MVFC: 11 teams will play eight conference games each, starting Feb. 19. Three teams played at least one game in the fall.
*NEC: Eight teams will play four conference games each, starting March 7. The No. 1 and No. 2 teams will play for the NEC title.
*OVC: Eight teams will play seven conference games each, starting Feb. 21. Four teams played at least one game in the fall.
*Patriot League: Six teams in two divisions will play four games each starting March 13. Two games will be against teams within divisions, and two outside the divisions. The divisional winners will play for the title on the weekend of April 10.
*Pioneer League: Eight teams will play a six-game schedule starting March 13. Four teams played at least one game in the fall.
*SoCon: Nine teams will play nine conference games each, starting Feb. 20. Three teams played at least one game in the fall.
*Southland: Seven teams will play six conference games each, starting Feb. 20. Four teams played at least one game in the fall.
*SWAC: Nine teams will play six conference games each, starting Feb. 21. The schedule also includes one non-conference open date for each team.
*League receives automatic berth in FCS Playoffs.
 
The last regular season games of the spring schedule, including conference championships, must come no later than April 17. Once regular season play concludes, the 16-team playoff bracket will be revealed on Sunday, April 18. The four rounds will be conducted each of the next four weekends, ending with the national championship game on Sunday, May 16 at 11 a.m.  Pacific time. The national championship game will be played in Frisco, Texas, as originally planned. Toyota Stadium in Frisco has been host to the title game since 2010 and will remain the annual host through at least 2024.
 
How does automatic qualification into this year's championship work?
Eleven conference champions will earn automatic berths into this year's playoff field, one more than the usual 10. This includes the addition of the MEAC champion, as the conference has opted into the FCS championship following the cancelation of the 2020 Celebration Bowl. Under normal circumstances, the Celebration Bowl pits together the conference champions from the SWAC and MEAC.
In addition to the MEAC, here are the other conferences who will receive automatic qualification into the 2020-21 field: Big Sky, Big South, Colonial Athletic Association, Missouri Valley Football Conference, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Pioneer Football League, Southern Conference and Southland Conference. Each conference must have at least three schools participating in football in order to be eligible for automatic qualification.
This leaves five spots for at-large selections in the 16-team playoff field.
 
How will the rest of the FCS playoff field be determined?
The FCS Championship committee has determined that at-large candidates must play a minimum of four games this season to be considered for selection.
After that, it will be difficult to choose in a season that allows scarce opportunities for non-conference play and inconsistent scheduling models from conference to conference. The committee has noted that quality wins will be a factor, particularly in non-conference and FBS play.
 
How will the committee look at teams who played in the fall?
Some schools decided to play a few non-conference games in the fall before beginning league play in February or March. Other programs have opted to solely play a non-conference slate in the fall. All fall results will be considered in the spring when the championship field is announced.
 
 
On the Horizon for EWU
 
Eastern home football games on March 6, March 27 and April 10 will all kick-off at 1:05 p.m. Pacific time and be broadcast regionally on SWX. Eastern began its winter/spring 2020-21 Big Sky Conference schedule on Feb. 27 at Idaho (28-21 loss) and was televised by SWX. Eastern then hosts Northern Arizona on March 6 at Roos Field at 1:05 p.m. in the first game on the new red Astroturf surface installed at "The Inferno" last summer. Eastern will also host Cal Poly on March 27 and Idaho on April 10, also at 1:05 p.m. Pacific time.
 
At this time, no spectators will be permitted to attend home football games due to institutional, regional, and state guidelines in regards to the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the region has been moved into phase 2 of the Healthy Washington—Roadmap to Recovery plan, capacity limitations are expected to be filled exclusively by competitors and event staff. Eastern parking lots will be closed to the general public and no pre-game tailgating or overnight parking will be allowed.
 
Eastern will also play road games at Idaho State (March 13 at 3:05 p.m. Pacific time) and UC Davis (April 3 at 1:05 p.m. Pacific) as part of the abbreviated winter/spring schedule. The NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs – just 16 teams this year -- are slated to begin on April 24 and conclude on May 16.
 
SWX, a sister station of KHQ in Spokane, is available over-air on channels 6.2 in Spokane/Cheney/Coeur d'Alene/Sandpoint/Lewiston, 23.3 in Yakima and 25.3 in the Tri-Cities. The station is also available via Comcast 306/112 in Spokane; Davis Cable 37/310 in Cheney; Spectrum 1245 in Coeur d'Alene & Pullman/Moscow; Charter 183 in Tri-Cities/Yakima; Cable One 36 in Lewiston; Northland Cable 317 in Moses Lake; and Northland Cable 115 in Sandpoint. New SWX/KHQ Sports Director Dennis Patchin will call the play-by-play for Eagle games.
 
Eastern home games will also be available via PlutoTV on channel 1053, as well as via https://bigskyconf.com/watchbigsky. Eastern games are also aired live on radio on 700-AM ESPN, 105.3-FM, via the web at tunein.com and via mobile phone app, with pre-game coverage starting a half-hour prior to tipoff. Larry Weir serves as the play-by-play broadcaster and Paul Sorensen is the analyst. Live statistics from all Eastern home games are available via http://ewustats.com.
 
 
 
 

Player Notes

 
 
Eagles Name Six Co-Captains for 2020-21 Season
 
Six Eastern football players were selected by their teammates as co-captains for the 2020-21 season, including quarterback Eric Barriere and linebacker Jack Sendelbach who will return for their second seasons as captains. They are joined by fellow seniors Tamarick Pierce (running back), Calin Criner (safety), Tristen Taylor (offensive tackle) and Ty Graham (linebacker).
 
Including Taylor and Graham, the six co-captains represent 211 total games worth of collegiate experience entering the 2020-21 season, including exactly 100 total starts. Sendelbach and Taylor are both sixth-year seniors who graduated from high school in 2015, while the other four were 2016 graduates and have all redshirted previously.

The six players represent three different states, including Washington, Idaho and California. Sendelbach is a 2015 graduate of Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle, Wash., and Graham is a 2016 graduate of Cheney (Wash.) HS. Criner graduated in 2016 from Rocky Mountain HS and is from Boise, Idaho, and the other three are from California. Pierce is from Oakland and graduated from Saint Mary's HS in 2016; Barriere hails from Inglewood and is a 2016 graduate of La Habra HS; and Taylor is from Stockton and graduated in 2015 from Stagg HS.
 
 
Five Current Eagles Have Completed Coursework Toward Degrees
 
Five Eastern players have already completed requirements toward their bachelor's degree. Linebacker Jack Sendelbach graduated following spring quarter of 2019 in marketing, and is now in a graduate program for sport and recreation administration. Linebacker Ty Graham is now working toward his master's degree in business administration after having already received his marketing degree from EWU with a minor in sports management. Defensive lineman Jusstis Warren, who like Sendelbach is a sixth-year senior, has also received his bachelor's degree and is now a graduate student in communications studies. Cornerback Darreon Moore has received his management degree and is now working on his MBA like Graham. And offensive tackle Tristen Taylor has completed his criminal justice degree and is now working toward a second degree in psychology.
 
Since 2001, Eastern has annually averaged more than 20 selections to the Big Sky All-Academic team. Eastern has had a league-most 423 selections from 2001-2019 (the school with the next-best total has 300), and Eastern has won a total of 622 Big Sky All-Academic honors since joining the league in 1987. A total of 26 were honored in 2019, and a program-best 34 were recognized in the 2016 season.
 
 
After 833 Days Without Playing a Game, Ty Graham Finally Makes Eagle Debut
 
He grew up around the Eastern football program, and a circuitous route – with some irony mixed in – had Eagle co-captain Ty Graham playing his first game in an Eagle uniform against Idaho on Feb. 27, 2021. He responded with nine tackles in his EWU debut.
 
With his father, John Graham, on the EWU coaching staff as defensive coordinator for eight years, Graham eventually graduated from Cheney, Wash., High School in 2016. He subsequently joined the University of Idaho program and played three seasons for the Vandals, but elected to transfer to EWU for the 2019 season.
 
He had to redshirt that year, then, the 2020 season was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, when he took the field to make his EWU debut – ironically against his former team – it was 833 full days since his last collegiate game. Ironically, that came on Nov. 17, 2018, in a 63-10 loss at Florida when he had six tackles and a forced fumble. Eastern was scheduled to open the 2020 season at Florida before that game was wiped out because of the pandemic.
 
While playing from 2016-18 for the Vandals, Graham had 133 tackles at Idaho, including 13 for losses. He had 2 1/2 sacks, an interception, two passes broken up and a forced fumble in 27 career games. As a junior in 2018 he had 65 tackles, including 12 in 38-14 loss at EWU at Roos Field on Oct. 27, 2018. He had 28 tackles as a sophomore and 40 as a true freshman in 2016. 
 
Now working toward his master's degree in business administration, Graham has already received his marketing degree from EWU with a minor in sports management. He had a 3.53 grade point average through spring quarter 2020 and previously won Big Sky All-Academic honors while a Vandal.
 
John Graham spent a short time as Idaho's linebackers coach when Ty was on the roster there. Ty's older brother, Andrew, played football at Montana Tech and Central Washington. His grandfather, Dan Graham, spent 11 years as head coach at nearby Reardan (Wash.) High School.
 
 
Walter Payton Award Finalist Eric Barriere Has Ninth 300-Yard Passing Game at Idaho
 
Junior quarterback and Walter Payton Award candidate Eric Barriere opened his senior season at Idaho on Feb. 27 by completing 32-of-57 passes for 330 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He had a 27-yard TD pass to Dennis Merritt in the second quarter to give EWU a 14-0 lead. His other TD pass – giving him 58 in his career – was a 16-yarder to Anthony Stell Jr. in the third quarter. Barriere extended his streak of passes without an interception to 250 when his pass went through an EWU receiver's hands and was picked off by the Vandals. His last interception came on his 14th attempt at Sacramento State on Oct. 5, 2019.
 
Barriere has now had 14 performances of at least 300 yards of total offense and nine with at least 300 yards passing in his 32 games as an Eagle (16-8 as a starter, including 11-0 at home). He has had seven with at least 400 yards of total offense and three with at least 400 passing. he has completed 59.5 percent of his passes (495-of-832), good for 6,639 yards, 58 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, and has rushed 244 times for 1,203 yards and 17 more TDs. He had a passing efficiency rating of 146.9 as a sophomore, 151.6 in 2019 and a 145.9 mark in his career to currently rank fifth in school history. His touchdown passes rank sixth, his total of 7,519 yards of offense already rank fifth all-time at EWU and his passing yardage is seventh. He is just 29 yards behind the career rushing record for a quarterback of 1,232 yards set by Vernon Adams Jr. (2012-14).
 
He finished his junior season ranked second in total offense with an average of 355.8 yards per game (E.J. Perry of Brown was at 367.8). Barriere was third in passing (309.3, with Northern Arizona's Case Cookus at 342.8) and was sixth with 31 touchdown passes and fifth in points responsible for (20.2 per game with 31 TDs passing, eight rushing and a two-point conversion).
 
He closed his junior season with 239 passes without an interception, setting the school's single season record for interceptions-to-attempts ratio. He had only four picks in 438 attempts, a miniscule average of .009 per attempt compared to the previous record of .010 set by Erik Meyer in 2005 (five interceptions in 410 attempts). His last interception came on his 14th attempt at Sacramento State on Oct. 5, 2019.
 
Barriere finished with the seventh-most passing yards in school history with 3,712, and his 31 touchdown passes is eighth. Including 558 rushing yards, his 4,270 yards of total offense was third-most all-time at EWU.
 
He ended the 2019 season with 260 yards and three touchdowns passing, and another 23 yards and a score on the ground in EWU's 53-46 win over Portland State on Nov. 23. He had pass completions of 46 and 50 yards, giving him 28 plays in his career of at least 40 yards. One game earlier, he had a career-best 164-yard rushing performance at Cal Poly, finishing with one TD rushing and one passing. He also had 176 yards through the air to give him his 340 yards of total offense.
 
In Eastern's first two games in November, Barriere had a total of 935 yards of total offense to earn him two-straight ROOT Sports Offensive Player of the Week honors as announced by the Big Sky Conference office. He was honored twice in 2019 and three times in his career.
 
His latest honor came after his 467-yard performance in a 48-5 win at Idaho State on Nov. 9, and he also received honorable mention as the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Offensive Player of the Week (STATS). Barriere passed for 406 – his eighth of his career of at least 300 and third with 400 -- and rushed for 61 versus the Bengals. With a total of 467 yards of total offense, he now has seven performances with at least 400 yards of total offense. He had three passes of at least 58 yards versus Idaho State (58, 59, 80), and the 80-yarder against ISU was the longest of his career.
 
One week before the ISU game, he was rewarded for totaling 488 yards in EWU's 66-38 win over Northern Arizona on Nov. 2 by earning his player of the week honors from the Big Sky and also received honorable mention as the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Offensive Player of the Week (STATS) and Performer of the Week (College Football Performance Awards). He had 367 yards through the air and 101 on the ground for 468 yards of total offense versus the Lumberjacks. He had a trio of touchdown passes, and finished 30-of-46 with no interceptions for an impressive 183.5 passing efficiency rating. He had a 75-yard touchdown pass to Talolo Limu-Jones on EWU's first offensive play of the game, and also caught a 20-yard pass from wide receiver Johnny Edwards IV.
 
In his previous home game on Oct. 12, he completed 28-of-43 passes for 445 yards and five touchdown passes for EWU in a 54-21 victory over Northern Colorado in which EWU led 40-0 at halftime. Coupled with his 41 yards rushing, his 486 yards were the second-most of his career.
 
Barriere had 309 yards passing with two touchdowns and 103 rushing and a TD versus Sacramento State on Oct. 5. He accounted for 412 of EWU's 497 yards of total offense, including a 92-yard touchdown run after he was flushed out of the pocket by Sacramento State. That equaled the fourth-longest run in school history, ranking only behind runs of 96 by Taiwan Jones (2009 versus Idaho State), 95 by John Ditz (1954 versus Lewis & Clark) and 94 by Sam McPherson (2018 versus Northern Arizona). It was the longest run by a quarterback, with the previous long set by Barriere versus Southern Utah in 2018 when he had an 85-yard TD run (he also had a 66-yard scoring run at Portland State in 2018). The Eagles had four runs of at least 81 yards in 2018.
 
He accounted for all four of EWU's touchdowns with two rushing and two passing against Idaho on Sept. 21. He had just 74 passing yards at halftime, but finished 28-of-46 for 365 yards, with another 20 on the ground. His rushing TDs (2), pass attempts (46), and total plays of offense (57, including 11 rushing) were all career highs at the time, and his 424 yards of total offense was the second-most.
 
He had perhaps his fastest start as an Eagle on Sept. 14 at Jacksonville State, completing 11-of-12 passes for 156 yards in the opening quarter to help EWU to a 28-7 lead. However, EWU failed to score in the fourth quarter and JSU won 49-45, as Barriere finished 24-of-43 for 294 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
 
One game earlier versus Lindenwood when EWU had a school-record 769 yards of offense, Barriere accounted for 556  by himself to rank as the 14th-most in Big Sky Conference history and just four away from the school record. That helped him earn Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors from College Sports Madness, as well as honorable mention from STATS for the National FCS Offensive Player of the Week award that wide receiver Dre' Sonte Dorton won. Barriere completed 32-of-46 passes for 522 yards, five touchdowns and an impressive 200.76 passing efficiency rating. He recorded the second-most passing yards in school history and just missed the top 14 in the 56-year history of the league (528 yards is No. 14 on the list). He rushed for 34 more yards, giving him 556 to come four yards from the EWU total offense record of 560 set by Gage Gubrud in 2017 versus Montana in which he also set the passing yards record of 549. Barriere's previous career highs were 352 passing yards and 405 yards of total offense.
 
Barriere was extremely productive throwing the ball in 2018 as an injury replacement for All-American Gage Gubrud (now at Washington State), finishing 13th in FCS in passing efficiency (146.9), 29th for passing yards overall (2,450) and 13th in touchdown passes with 24 after setting school and FCS Playoff records with seven versus Maine on Dec. 15. He was ninth with 198 total points responsible for and was 26th in average per game (14.14). He also finished 45th in total offense per game (218.8). Barriere averaged 6.2 per carry and finished with 613 yards on the ground to break the school record of 606 set by Gubrud in 2016.
 
In 2018, Eastern finished as the only school to rank in the top 20 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense, rushing and passing. The Eagles averaged 528.2 yards on offense to rank third in FCS, including 255.9 rushing (10th) and 272.3 passing (20th). Eastern was also ranked fourth in scoring (43.1). The Eagles as a team finished the 2018 season with a school-record 6.62 average per rush on the season to break the previous record of 6.41 set in 2001. The Eagles set team records for rushing yards (3,839) and rushing touchdowns (41).
 
 
Harrison's 2020-21 Campaign Has Odd Twist After Going a Perfect 12-of-12 in 2019
 
Redshirt freshman kicker Seth Harrison was the only player in FCS with an average of at least one field goal attempt per game to be perfect in the 2019 season, going 12-of-12 in the 2019 season. However, his 2020-21 debut at Idaho on Feb. 27 had an odd twist. After his first career miss on a 50-yarder in the second quarter, he attempted a 24-yarder in the fourth quarter with the game tied at 21-all with 11:01 left. His kick was ruled as a miss, but was so high it appeared to hit the scoreboard as opposed to the upright. It was reviewed, however, there was no video proof at the time to overturn the play. The next day (Feb. 28), the Big Sky issued an apology for the error, saying in a social media post "After watching additional video footage, it is evident that the official incorrectly ruled it as a missed field goal. The Big Sky acknowledges and regrets this error in officiating."
 
In 2019, Harrison was 31st in field goals with an average of 1.09 per game, including four field goals – the second time in four games he did that -- in a 48-5 victory over Idaho State on Nov. 9. He had makes of 40, 36, 21 and 36 in the first half, and his 40-yarder was a career long. He also had 10 kickoffs for a 57.5 average with one touchback.
 
Harrison was also 50-of-53 on extra points in 2019, having a string of 22-straight makes from Oct. 5 until missing his first attempt at Cal Poly on Nov. 16. He also averaged 52.9 yards on 78 kickoffs (six touchbacks). He received honorable mention All-Big Sky Conference honors and also earned Freshman All-America accolades.
 
Harrison garnered Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors from the league after converting all nine of his extra point attempts and booting a 27-yard field goal in a 66-38 win over Northern Arizona on Nov. 2. He also had 10 kickoffs for a 50.8 average versus the Lumberjacks with one touchback.
 
In EWU's previous home game, he kicked four field goals (32, 21, 21 and 23) and made all six of his extra points to finish with 18 points in Eastern's 54-21 romp over Northern Colorado on Oct. 12. All four of his field goals came in the first half as he came one kick away from the school record of five. He also had 10 kickoffs for a 52.9 average.
 
Harrison had a field goal of 35 yards versus Montana on Oct. 26. In his first action as the No. 1 kicker on Sept. 14 versus Jacksonville State, Harrison made a 22-yard field goal, converted all six of his extra points, had eight kickoffs for a 58.1 average with two touchbacks and even recovered a fumble that led to an EWU touchdown.
 
Harrison, a redshirt freshman from Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) High School, didn't even start out the year as EWU's kicker. That role fell to junior Andre Slyter, who was 1-of-3 kicking field goals and later left the program. Harrison and Slyter were replacing EWU career and single season kick scoring leader Roldan Alcobendas, who was a perfect 16-of-16 kicking field goals in 2018 to win the Fred Mitchell Award as the top placekicker in the nation (all levels but FBS).
 
Thus, entering the 2020-21 spring season, Eastern kickers had made 29-of-31 field goal attempts since 2018.
 
 
Senior Calin Criner Wears No. 4 Legacy Jersey for Eagles
 
Eastern senior Calin Criner is continuing the legacy of wearing the No. 4 jersey for the Eagle Football team, a tribute that has existed for more than 10 years.  Since the 2008 season when senior Jason Belford had the number, the coaching staff has selected a leader on defense to wear the jersey. It symbolizes the defensive player who most embodies the characteristics of defense at Eastern -- grit, toughness, effort, leadership and academic success.
 
Since arriving at Eastern in the fall of 2016 from Rocky Mountain High School in Boise, Idaho, Criner has seven interceptions, 183 tackles, 10 passes broken up, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in his 38-game career (16 as a starter). He had four performances in his career with at least 10 tackles, but he did not play in EWU's 2020-21 opener against Idaho on Feb. 27.
 
In 2019, Criner started all 12 Eastern games and was third on the team with 85 tackles on the season. He also had three passes broken up and four interceptions. His average of 7.1 tackles per game ranked 14th in the Big Sky and his average of 0.33 interceptions tied for second.
 
Twice he received national accolades for his performances in individual games in 2019. He had his second two-interception game of his career and had eight tackles in EWU's 48-5 victory over Idaho State (11/9/19) to earn College Sports Madness Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors. Playing in front of a crowd of 14 family and friends which included his well-known father and grandfather, he also broke-up a pass and one of his tackles was for a loss of two yards.
 
Earlier in the season, Criner helped Eastern to a dominating 6-0 advantage in turnovers forced with another pair of interceptions and seven tackles in EWU's 35-20 victory over North Dakota (9/28/19). He was rewarded by earning honorable mention for STATS National Defensive Player of the Week honors.
 
Criner is the son of long-time collegiate and professional coach Mark Criner. Calin's grandfather, Jim Criner, was head coach at Boise State from 1976-82 and guided the Broncos to the 1980 NCAA Championship Subdivision (then I-AA) title.
 
In 2019, senior Dylan Ledbetter wore the No. 4 jersey and went on to win honorable mention All-Big Sky Conference honors.
 
Although the honor isn't necessarily given to the most talented defensive player on the team, Eastern has had 11-straight players in that number earn All-Big Sky honors, and 13 of a possible 14 since Eastern joined the league in 1987. Below is the list of players who have worn that number since EWU became a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in 1984 (Big Sky in 1987).
 
Name – Year - Pos. - Hometown / Previous School
Hunter, Darryl - 1983-84-85-86 - DB - Tacoma, Wash. / Foss HS
%Corr, Dominic - 1986-87-88-89 - RB - Seattle, Wash. / Garfield HS
%Wright, Harold - 1990-91-92-93 - RB - Tacoma, Wash. / Lakes HS '89
Givens, Roderick - 1995 - DB - Auburn, Wash. / Auburn HS '94
#%Brightful, Lamont - 1998-99-00-01 - WR - Everett, Wash. /Mariner HS '97
%Williams, A.J. - 2002-03 - DB - Lacey, Wash. - North Thurston HS '01
%Dotson, Anthony - 2005-06-07 - DB - Federal Way, Wash. / Federal Way HS '03
%Belford, Jason - 2005-06-07-08 - DL - Tacoma, Wash. / Lincoln HS '04
#%Sherritt, J.C. - 2007-08-09-10 - LB - Pullman, Wash. / Pullman HS '06
%Brown, Allen - 2010-11-12-13 - DB - Tacoma, Wash. / Foss HS '09
%Raynes, Todd - 2012-13-14-15 - DB - Kenmore, Wash. / Inglemoor HS '11
%Zamora, Miquiyah - 2013-14-15-16 - LB - Pasco, Wash. / Chiawana HS '12
%Havili, Albert - 2013-14-16-17 - DL - Federal Way, Wash. / Federal Way HS '13
%Fettig, Mitch - 2015-16-17-18 - DB  - Olympia Wash. / Olympia HS '14
%Ledbetter, Dylan - 2016-17-18-19 - DL - West Seattle, Wash. / O'Dea HS '15
Criner, Calin – 2017-18-19-20 – DB – Boise, Idaho / Rocky Mountain HS '16
 
#All-America selection (Brightful was first team in 2001, second team in 2000 & second team in 1999 as return specialist, and honorable mention in 2001 as a wide receiver; Sherritt was the Buck Buchanan Award winner in 2010, and first team in 2009 and 2010 as a linebacker).
 
%All-Big Sky Conference selection (Corr was first team in 1989 & second team in 1989 as return specialist; Wright was Big Sky Newcomer of the Year in 1989, and first team in 1991 & second team in 1992 as a running back; Brightful was first team in 2001 as a wide receiver and return specialist, first team in 2000 as a return specialist, second team in 2000 as a wide receiver and first team in 1999 as a return specialist; Williams was honorable mention in 2003 and 2002 as a safety; Dotson was second team in 2007 as an outside linebacker; Belford was second team in 2008 and honorable mention in 2007 as a defensive end; Sherritt was the Big Sky Defensive MVP in 2010, first team in 2009 and 2010 as a linebacker & honorable mention in 2008 as a linebacker; Brown was second team in 2012 & honorable mention in 2013 as a safety; Raynes was third team in 2015 as a safety; Zamora was first team in 2016 & honorable mention in 2014 as a linebacker; Havili was second team in 2017 as a defensive end; Fettig was third team in 2018 & 2017 & honorable mention in 2016 as a safety; Ledbetter was honorable mention in 2018 and 2019 as a defensive tackle).
 
 
Boston Enters 2020-21 Season with 93 Career Catches
 
A freshman All-America selection in 2018, Andrew Boston returns for his junior season after earning third team All-Big Sky honors in 2019. He has 93 receptions for 1,291 yards and 10 touchdowns in 26 career games (19 as a starter) as an Eagle, but did not play in EWU's 2020-21 opener at Idaho on Feb. 27.
 
He finished the 2019 season 79th in FCS in receptions per game (4.5 with a total of 50) and 75th in receiving yards per game (66.4 with a total of 730). He caught a career-high 10 passes for 147 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Idaho State on Nov. 9. Earlier in the season, he had six catches for 112 yards and a TD versus Washington in EWU's opener on Aug. 31.
 
Boston finished his freshman season second on the team with 43 receptions for 531 yards (12.3 per catch) and four touchdowns. He had a career-high nine catches versus Idaho on Oct. 27, and had five grabs for a season-high 89 yards and a TD against Nicholls in the first round of the FCS Playoffs on Dec. 1. He scored a touchdown versus Maine in the semifinals, and had scores against Washington State and Cal Poly in back-to-back games early in the season.
 
 He is from Puyallup, Wash., and is a 2017 graduate of Emerald Ridge High School. He was the 2017 co-Scout Team Offensive Player of the Year. He earned honorable mention freshman All-America honors from Hero Sports in 2018, and received third team accolades by from Phil Steele Publications. He earned third team All-Big Sky honors as a sophomore in 2019.
 
 
Mitchell Johnson Enters Junior Season With Six Career Sacks
 
In a big year for the defense at Eastern, redshirt freshman Mitchell Johnson was awarded first team Freshman All-America honors in 2018 from Hero Sports and Phil Steele Publications, on his way to earning second team All-Big Sky honors.
 
He now has 73 tackles, six sacks, three interceptions, three passes broken up, three fumble recoveries and a pair of forced fumbles in his 28-game career (12 as a starter). He opened the 2020-21 season with one tackle, which was for a loss on the play. In his sophomore season in 2019, he had 41 tackles with 1 1/2 sacks and an interception.
 
Mitchell burst on the scene in 2018 and responded with 31 tackles, a team-leading 4 1/2 sacks, a pair of interceptions, two passes broken up, a pair of quarterback hurries, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Johnson earned second-team All-Big Sky honors in his first season as an Eagle. He played in all 15 games as a backup in 2018, and had season highs of four tackles in three different games. He had four of his sacks in consecutive games versus Northern Arizona, Washington State and Cal Poly. Two of them came against the Cougars, and he also had a half-sack versus Maine on Dec. 15 to advance EWU to the NCAA Division I Championship Game on Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas. Mitchell also had interceptions against Southern Utah in the regular season and UC Davis in the playoffs. His fumble recovery came against Weber State on Oct. 13 – Eastern's last setback until losing to North Dakota State in Frisco. He also had a sack and forced fumble against Cal Poly on Sept. 22 which was returned 62 yards for a touchdown by teammate Jim Townsend.
 
A 2017 graduate of West Linn (Ore.) High School, Johnson was EWU's Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year when he redshirted in 2017.


More on Eagle Offensive Players
 
The four returning starters on offense in the 2020-21 season include quarterback Eric Barriere, offensive tackle Tristen Taylor and wide receivers Johnny Edwards IV and Andrew Boston. A total of 10 players return on offense who have started games as Eagles.
 
Eastern closed the 2019 season with the best offense in FCS, finishing at 524.8 yards per game. Eastern also ended the regular season second in scoring (40.6), fifth in passing (317.1) and eighth in turnover margin (+0.92 per game). The Eagles also ranked 19th in rushing at 207.8 yards per game, and were the only team in FCS to rank in the top 24 in total offense, rushing and passing.
 
In EWU's last 16 seasons (2004-2019), EWU has ranked in the top 10 in passing 13 times, total offense on 12 occasions and scoring seven times. In school history, EWU has won a trio of FCS titles for total offense (2019, 2001, 1997), as well as three passing offense titles (2016, 2015, 2011) and two for scoring offense (2014, 2001).
 
Backing up Barriere in 2020-21 will be junior Gunner Talkington, sophomore Simon Burkett and redshirt freshman Trey Turner. Talkington was the only player of the three to throw a pass in 2019, completing 9-of-26 for 73 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He's completed 15-of-38 passes for 135 yards and a pair of scores in his career.
 
Edwards returns for his senior season with 36 games of experience (12 as a starter), and has career totals of 52 receptions for 823 yards and seven touchdowns. As a junior, he was third on the team with 32 catches for 553 yards (17.3 per reception) and three scores, but he did not play in EWU's season opener at Idaho on Feb. 27.
 
The most dynamic receiver at the end of the 2019 season turned out to be Talolo Limu-Jones, who had a career-high nine catches for 93 yards versus Idaho on Feb. 27, 2021. He now has 36 games of experience (three as a starter), and has 51 career catches for 934 yards and 11 touchdowns – an average of 18.3 per reception.
 
He finished with 24 grabs for 577 yards in 2019, with his per-catch average ranking second in school history behind the record of 25.8). He was 63rd in FCS with seven touchdown catches and his average of 24.04 yards per catch closed the year second behind the 24.49 average of Isaiah Weston of Northern Iowa.
 
Also returning to the receiver position are sophomores Freddie Roberson and Anthony Stell Jr., a pair of former high school teammates who were impressive as redshirt freshmen in 2019. Roberson closed the year with 14 catches for 220 yards and a score, and Stell had five grabs for 41 yards. In the 2020-21 opener at Idaho on Feb. 27, Roberson had a career-high seven catches for 48 yards, and Stell caught a career-high four for 70 with a touchdown.
 
All-Big Sky tight end Jayce Gilder graduated, but three other tight ends from 2019 return. Junior Dylan Ingram now has 28 games of experience, and has caught four passes for 41 yards and a score in his career. Sophomore Aiden Nellor is also back with 12 games of experience as an Eagle, as well as redshirt freshman Blake Gobel, who now has five games of experience.
 
Gobel played in four games in 2019, making his debut on Oct. 26 versus Montana. He had his first career catch on a 15-yard touchdown on a fake field goal attempt, then started in EWU's 42-41 win over Cal Poly on Nov. 16. The Eagles started in a three tight end formation and turned it into a 25-yard rushing gain on EWU's first offensive play
 
The running back position is void of one of the most productive backs in school history, but still returns senior Tamarick Pierce, who received a redshirt in 2019. Senior running back Antoine Custer Jr. handled the majority of the carries in 2019 and finished 15th in FCS in rushing (102.3), 12th in total rushing yards (1,228) and 11th in rushing touchdowns (16). Custer finished the year with six 100-yard performances – including his last four games – and earned second team All-Big Sky honors.
 
Pierce made the first start of his Eastern career at Idaho on Feb. 27, 2021, and rushed for a team-high 63 yards on a career-high 13 carries. He now has a 6.2 career average per rush which currently ranks fourth in school history. Pierce has rushed for 1,077 yards and 18 touchdowns in 40 games as an Eagle with 13 catches for 107 yards and another score. He redshirted the 2019 season as he continued to rehabilitate a 2018 injury. A psychology major, Pierce has earned Big Sky All-Academic honors three times in his career thus far.
 
After coming off an injury from the year before, Pierce made his 2019 debut versus Montana and had a team-leading 57 yards and a touchdown on just seven carries (long of 30). He finished with 177 yards in four games played, and retained his redshirt status.
 
Sixth-year senior Dennis Merritt returns after suffering a serious lower leg injury versus Lindenwood on Sept. 7, 2019, and missing the remainder of the season. He opened the 2020-21 season by catching a 27-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter and finished with three catches for 46 yards (career high) and another 41 yards rushing. He now has 600 yards and four touchdowns rushing in his career, and another 11 catches for 193 yards and two scores in 31 games. Merritt had 87 yards (7.2 per rush) in 2019 before he was injured.
 
True freshman Silas Perreiah and redshirt freshman Micah Smith rounded out the running back corp in 2019, with both making their debuts as Eagles versus Lindenwood on Sept. 7. Perreiah has now played in 11 games, and has 254 yards rushing with a touchdown and three catches for seven yards and another score. He had 126 yards rushing and a score versus North Dakota in 2019.
 
Eastern received a boost at running back with the return of sophomore Isaiah Lewis in 2020-21. He played in two games early in the 2019 season and had 64 yards and a touchdown rushing versus Lindenwood, but shortly after that left the team. As a redshirt freshman in 2018, he played in three games and had 52 yards, including 47 versus Southern Utah.
 
Besides true freshmen, Eastern's other running back in 2019 is Washington transfer Jamyn Patu. Although he didn't carry the ball for the Huskies, in his final two seasons at O'Dea High School in Seattle, Wash., he rushed for 3,777 yards and 42 touchdowns on 430 carries, averaging 155.8 per game and 8.8 per rush. As a senior in 2017, he was the Associated Press Washington Player of the Year for all classifications, and was the Seattle Times Player of the Year for all classifications.
 
The biggest priority for EWU in 2020-21 is replacing four starters on the offensive line, a situation which was helped considerably with the return of Taylor. He entered the 2020-21 season having started all 40 games he's played as an Eagle, but the four starters lost totaled 193 games played and 141 starts in their careers.
 
Taylor has now started all 41 games he's played as an Eagle. He has earned All-Big Sky Conference honors three times previously at EWU. He was a second team choice in 2019 and received honorable mention in 2016 and 2017. He redshirted in 2015 and was lost to a knee injury after three games in 2018. He is now working on a second degree in psychology after having already earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice.
 
Senior starting center Conner Crist now has 23 career games of experience and three starts under his belt, including seven games and two starts in 2019. Junior starting guard Wyatt Musser now has 13 games worth of experience in his career and made the first start of his career on Feb. 27, 2021, at Idaho. Junior tackle Matt Shook also made the first start of his career against Idaho, and now has 11 games of experience after not playing in 2019 because of an injury.
 
The team's fifth starter in the 2020-21 season is true freshman Wyatt Hansen, and he started in his first collegiate game of his career on Feb. 27, 2021, at Idaho.
 
Eastern had 2,450 yards of offense in the last four games of the season (612.5 per game) to take over the national lead in total offense and maintain it. Eastern closed the year with 559 yards against Portland State on Nov. 23 and had 496 one game earlier at Cal Poly on Nov. 16. Prior to that, the Eagles had 706 versus Northern Arizona on Nov. 2 to rank fifth in school history, and 689 at Idaho State on Nov. 9 to rank seventh all-time. Eastern also had a school-record 769 in 2019 versus Lindenwood, and 637 against Northern Colorado on Oct. 12 to rank as the 19th most in EWU history.
 
The four linemen honored on the All-Big Sky team in 2019 combined to start 171 games, with 194 total games of experience. Offensive tackle Chris Schlichting (first team) started all 52 he played, and Taylor (second team) has started all 40 games he has played in his career. Center Spencer Blackburn (first team) started the last 49 of his 51-game career, and Kaleb Levao (third team) started 30 of the 51 he played. The fourth starter lost from 2019 was Will Gram, who finished his career with 39 games worth of experience and 10 starts (all in 2019).
 
Eastern had some impressive rushing performances in 2019, rushing for at least 174 yards eight times and at least 247 in six games (including the last four). The school's 5.29 average per rush ranked 13th in FCS. The Eagles had a season-high 320 versus Cal Poly on Nov. 16 as Barriere rushed for a career-high 164 and a score and Custer finished with 107 and four touchdowns on just nine carries.
 
 
More on Eagle Defensive Players
 
The six starters returning on defense feature a quartet in the secondary, plus the group is led by Jack Sendelbach, who served as one of EWU's co-captains in the 2019 season and will serve again in 2020-21. The other starters back include safety Calin Criner, rover Kedrick Johnson, end Mitchell Johnson and cornerbacks Tre Weed and Darreon Moore. A total of 10 players who had started previously return, led by the 16 starts of Criner and 15 by Sendelbach. Those 10 players entered the 2020-21 season with a combined 86 starts.
 
Kedrick Johnson is back for his senior season, and has now played in 31 total games in his career (eight as a starter). He has 103 tackles, a pair of sacks and four passes broken up in his career after a 2019 campaign which saw him come on strong to finish with 50 tackles and a pair of PBUs.
 
Eastern's other two returning starters in the secondary are at cornerback where junior Moore and sophomore Weed return. Weed has now played 17 games (12 as a starter) and has career total of 48 tackles, two interceptions and eight passes broken up. He earned Freshman All-America accolades after a season in which he had 44 tackles, two interceptions and seven passes broken up as an 11-game starter. More has played in 24 career games (seven as a starter), and has 40 tackles with three passes broken up and a sack. Moore started seven games in 2019, and finished the season with 29 tackles and three passes broken up,
 
Junior Ira Branch and sophomore Darrien Sampson each started three games in 2019, with Sampson closing the year with 17 tackles and a pair of PBUs, while Branch closed with 14 stops and broke up four passes. Sampson has played in 15 career games now (four starts) and has 21 tackles, an interception and a pair of passes broken up. Branch has 18 games of experience in his career (three starts) and 17 tackles.
 
Other returning letterwinners in the secondary include senior Tamir Hill, junior Keshaun King, junior Anthany Smith, junior Dean Sise and sophomore Demetrius Crosby Jr. King and Smith both made their starting debuts as safeties in EWU's 2020-21 opener at Idaho on Feb. 27, 2021. Smith had a career-high 10 tackles and a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown which was the 18th-longest in school history. He had the first interception return for a touchdown for EWU since Nzuzi Webster had a 48-yard return versus UC Davis on Nov. 10, 2018.
 
King now has 14 tackles in his 15-game career (one as a starter), and Smith has 37 career tackles, two interceptions and two passes broken up in 19 games (one as a starter). Smith played in just three games in 2019 before being lost for the season with an injury.
 
The secondary also includes Arizona State transfer Ely Doyle, as well as redshirt freshman Marlon Jones Jr. Doyle played in one game while at ASU, and is a former teammate at Bishop Alemany High School in California with starting linebacker Chris Ojoh.
 
Sendelbach and Ojoh headline a linebacker corp that includes five returning letterwinners. Sendelbach did not play at Idaho in EWU's 2020-21 opener on Feb. 27, but he has 159 tackles in his 36-game career (15 as a starter), and has had eight performances in double figures. He has earned Big Sky Conference All-Academic honors three times as an Eagle, and has already received his bachelor's degree in marketing. He is now in a graduate program for sports and recreation administration.
 
Sendelbach was second on the team with 94 tackles with three sacks as an 11-game starter in 2019. Ojoh began that same season as a starter in the first three games but was injured, and played in just one game after that to retain his redshirt status. He had 27 tackles in four games, and he now has 156 tackles, 2 1/2 sacks, an interception and three passes broken up in his 31-game career (12 as a starter). He has four performances in his career with at least 10 tackles, and Sendelbach has eight.
 
Four other returning lettermen are back for a defensive line which routinely rotates 9-12 players a game. Junior Caleb Davis has been productive in his first two years in the program with 47 tackles and a pair of sacks in 23 games, including 21 stops and one sack as a sophomore. But he did not play against Idaho in EWU's 2020-21 season opener.
 
Sophomore Joshua Jerome made the first start of his career against Idaho on Feb. 27, 2021, and responded with eight tackles (three of them for loss), a sack and two quarterback hurries. He has played just 16 career games (one as a starter), but already has 49 career tackles with 2 1/2 sacks.
 
Junior Debore'ae McClain had 11 tackles in 2019, and now has 21 in 28 career games.
 
Also back on the defensive line is Jusstis Warren, who transferred to EWU in 2019 from the University of Washington. He made his first start as an Eagle on Feb. 27, 2021, versus Idaho, and finished with four tackles. He played in EWU's opener against his alma mater in 2019, but missed the rest of the season. In his 31-game career as a Husky, he had nine tackles, 1 1/2 sacks, a forced fumble and caught a 2-yard touchdown pass.
 
Five redshirt freshmen are also on the roster – Warren Hardin, Brock Harrison, Jacob Newsom, Soli Paleso'o and Jacobe Lee. All but Lee played as true freshmen in 2019, with that quartet combining for eight games played. Paleso'o had two tackles in two games played, and Harrison also had a pair in four games worth of action. Newsom made the first start of his career on Feb. 21, 2021, at Idaho.
 
 
More on Eagle Special Teams Players
 
A year after having new players at each position, this season Eastern has some semblance of experience with sophomore kicker Seth Harrison, sophomore punter Nick Kokich and sophomore long snapper Cody Clements.
 
As a true freshman, Kokich made his season debut four games into the season and held the punting position the rest of the year. He averaged 39.0 yards in 41 punts in 2019, with 10 downed inside the opponent 20-yard line and a long of 59 to equal the 38th longest in EWU history. In 48 career punts, he has averaged 39.0 per kick with a long of 59.
 
Eastern's kickoff return team suffered a jolt in 2019 when senior Dre'Sonte Dorton was injured and lost for the year at mid-season. However, that provided opportunities for other players who could potentially step into future full-time return roles.
 
Stell ended up returning four kickoffs for a 20.0 average, and Marlon Jones Jr. had a pair for 62 yards and a long of 40 during limited action as a true freshman. Weed returned three for 50 yards, and Talolo Limu-Jones ended the year with two for 44 yards in EWU's season finale. Earlier in the season, Johnny Edwards IV returned three for 41 yards and Smith had a pair for 29.
 
Eastern used several players as punt returners in 2019, including Criner, Weed and Sampson. Weed has the best return of the year with a 13-yarder to end the season versus Portland State.
 
 
 

Series Notes

 
Eastern leads the all-time series against NAU 22-12, and are 9-4 all-time against NAU in Cheney, 2-1 in Spokane and 11-7 in Flagstaff. The Eagles have now won 10 of the last 13 meetings overall, including a 66-38 victory in 2019. But prior to that, EWU hadn't hosted the Lumberjacks since losing 52-30 on Nov. 7, 2015, at Roos Field. Thus, Eastern's went nine season without a home win versus NAU dating back to Oct. 9, 2010, when EWU won by a 21-14 score en route to the NCAA Division I national title. The two schools did not play each other in 2012, 2013 and 2017 because of league expansion. Eastern won 31-26 in a non-conference game in Flagstaff in 2018, and the two teams were scheduled to play a second non-conference game in Cheney on Sept. 19, 2020, but that was wiped out because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Eastern has won its last two games in Flagstaff, having also won 50-35 there in 2016. But the Eagles had lost the previous two games, and had a five-game winning streak overall snapped in Flagstaff in 2014. In the previous nine meetings in Flagstaff where the game is played inside in the Walkup Skydome, the two teams have scored 647 points – an average of 71.9 per game.
 
 
Looking Back – Eastern 66, NAU 38 (Nov. 2, 2019)
 
A 24-0 scoring run in the first half gave Eastern the lead for good as the Eagles went on to an overwhelming 66-38 victory over Northern Arizona Nov. 2 at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash. The Eagles finished with 706 yards of total offense – the fifth-most in school history -- as EWU extended its school-record home winning streak to 13 games. Eastern's point total equaled its eighth-most all-time as the two teams combined for 104 points and 1,203 yards. Eastern had 331 yards and 17 points in the first quarter alone; 129 and 21 points in the second period; 135 and 21 in the third; and 111 and seven tallies in the final stanza. Junior quarterback Eric Barriere finished with 468 of total offense to rank as the third-most in his career at the time. He had 367 through the air and 101 on the ground, had a trio of touchdown passes and finished 30-of-46 with no interceptions for an impressive 183.5 passing efficiency rating. Senior running back Antoine Custer Jr. had the ninth 100-yard rushing performance of his career, achieving that mark in the first half alone. He finished with 139 and three touchdowns. Junior Talolo Limu-Jones made the first start of his career and finished with eight catches for 147 yards – both career highs -- and a 75-yard touchdown from Barriere on EWU's first offensive play of the game. Senior Jayson Williams had six catches for 86 yards and a score, and senior tight end Jayce Gilder and junior wide receiver Johnny Edwards IV had career highs of five apiece. Eight players caught passes for EWU, including Barriere with a 20-yard catch from Edwards. Eastern trailed 14-10 after each team had two possessions apiece, with 296 total yards by both teams at that juncture. But EWU would score three-straight touchdowns after that on runs by Custer to give EWU a 31-14 lead it would never relinquish. Eastern didn't lead by any less than 10 the rest of the way, and had a 77-yard fumble recovery by Andrew Katzenberger in the third quarter that gave EWU a 59-31 lead. Senior linebacker Jack Sendelbach led the way for EWU's defense with 11 tackles, a pass broken up and quarterback hurry. One of his tackles came on a third quarter play in which Dylan Ledbetter forced a fumble which was recovered by Mitchell Johnson. EWU led just 45-31 at that point, then scored the next 14 points to go back up by 28. Redshirt freshman cornerback Darrien Sampson also made the first start of his career and finished with five tackles, a pass broken up and a quarterback hurry.
 
 
Looking Back Further
 
* In 2018 in Flagstaff, in a battle of nationally-ranked NCAA Football Championship Subdivision powerhouses, Eastern edged Northern Arizona 31-26 Sept. 8, 2018, in a non-conference game at the Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Ariz. Earlier in the week, the match-up was selected by STATS as the FCS Game of the Week as it matched the No. 6 Eagles versus the No. 18 Lumberjacks. Quarterback Gage Gubrud and wide receiver Nsimba Webster made plenty of plays on offense again, but it was a nail-biter right down to the finish with the nail in the coffin provided by running back Sam McPherson. Gubrud passed for 322 yards and four touchdowns, and rushed for 80, and found Webster through the air seven times for 176 yards. Webster scored twice, and almost a third before his fumble was alertly recovered for a TD by Dre' Sonte Dorton with 18 minutes left in the game. Eastern used a six-minute scoring drive to open an 11-point lead with 6:10 to play, only to see NAU score with 1:51 left. But the two-point pass conversion fell incomplete, thanks to a quarterback hurry on a blitz by Eagle rover Cole Karstetter. With that slim five-point lead, Eastern ended up with the ball at its own 4-yard line after the ensuing kickoff, but a 94-yard rush by McPherson – the third-longest in school history behind runs of 96 and 95 yards – gave EWU the ball at the NAU 2. After a pair of NAU timeouts, a knee-down ended the game for EWU as McPherson finished with 161 yards on the ground to help the Eagles out-gain NAU 570-411 in total offense.
 
* In 2016 in Flagstaff, the fourth-ranked Eagles opened a 19-7 lead in the first half and leads of 36-21 and 50-28 in the second half to defeat Big Sky Conference favorite and No. 26 Northern Arizona 50-35 on Sept. 24, 2016, at the Walkup Skydome. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak against the Lumberjacks, who at one point in 2015 had handed the Eagles their only two losses in a 24-game span. Because EWU didn't play NAU in 2012 and 2013, it was the first Eagle win over the Lumberjacks since 2011. Even more importantly, the Eagles had three interceptions to win the turnover battle 3-0 against a team that had no interceptions and just one fumble lost entering the game. Quarterback Gage Gubrud had 487 yards of total offense – his third game of the season with at least that many and the eighth-most in school history – and directed the Eagles on touchdown drives of 64, 62, 50, 70, 72, 76 and 43 yards. He passed for 392 yards and two scores, and rushed for another 95 yards and a TD. Senior Cooper Kupp returned after missing 1 1/2 games with a shoulder injury and caught 12 passes for 111 yards. Senior Shaq Hill caught five passes for 74 yards and had a 39-yard touchdown catch from Gubrud in the first quarter. Senior Kendrick Bourne had a key 40-yard reception late in the second quarter and finished with six catches for 100 yards. Defensively, senior safety Zach Bruce had a key first-half interception he returned 50 yards to set up an Eagle touchdown and early 19-7 lead. He finished with a team-high 14 tackles and senior Miquiyah Zamora had 10 tackles.
 
* The 2015 meeting came on a day when teams ranked second, third, fifth, seventh and 10th in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision rankings lost, and fourth-ranked Eastern Washington followed suit. With missed opportunities plaguing their offense through the first 34 minutes of the game and turnovers finishing it off, the Eagles were defeated 52-30 by Northern Arizona in a Big Sky Conference game Nov. 7, 2015, at Roos Field to drop out of first place in the league standings. The Lumberjacks scored 21 points off four Eagle turnovers (their most in 25 games) and finished with 384 yards of offense. Northern Arizona had four scoring drives of 54 yards or longer, and converted 13-of-19 third downs. Eastern finished with 438 yards of offense, but converted only 5-of-12 third downs, 1-of-4 fourth downs and was stopped twice in the red zone. The loss ended EWU's six-game winning streak, and was just its second loss in its last 24 league games, with both losses coming at the hands of the Lumberjacks. Northern Arizona won for the third-straight game, scoring 167 points in those three games. With Eastern trailing 24-14 early in the fourth quarter, Northern Arizona took advantage of back-to-back Eastern turnovers and scored a pair of touchdowns in a 1:16 span. Eastern faced a fourth-and-1 in NAU territory, but a tipped pass was intercepted by NAU's Marcus Alford and returned 70 yards for a touchdown. Eastern fumbled away the ensuing kickoff, leading to a 25-yard drive to give NAU a 38-14 lead with 12:48 to play. Cornerback Nzuzi Webster led Eastern's defense with 10 tackles, and linebacker Miquiyah Zamora and safety Zach Bruce each had nine. Kendrick Bourne finished with nine catches for 154 yards and Cooper Kupp had nine for 98 yards and a touchdown. Terence Grady had his best day as an Eagle, catching five passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. Jordan West completed 20-of-38 passes for 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns with one interception. Reilly Hennessey replaced him in the fourth quarter and completed 8-of-13 passes for 123 yards, and added a 4-yard touchdown run.
 
* In the 2014 meeting in Flagstaff, Northern Arizona drove 77 yards on just three plays in the final minute to stun the second-ranked Eagles 28-27 and spoil Quincy Forte's career-high performance with 219 yards rushing. In a game in which the biggest lead for either team was eight points – just five after intermission – the Lumberjacks used a 54-yard pass play to set-up the game winning 20-yard TD with 12 seconds to play. An Eagle incompletion and an unsuccessful string of laterals ended the game. The loss knocked the Eagles out of the driver's seat in the race for the Big Sky Conference title, but EWU still managed to win the outright title. The Eagles had their league winning streak snapped at 14 games, having not lost in nearly two years since falling 30-27 at SUU on Oct. 27, 2012. Northern Arizona out-gained EWU 496-421, including 343 yards through the air for the Lumberjacks. Eastern was just 3-of-13 on third down, and 0-of-1 on fourth down. The fourth down play came with 47 seconds left after EWU had driven 49 yards to the NAU 23-yard line. NAU followed with its game-winning drive. Forte rushed 24 times for 219 yards (9.1 per carry) and a TD. Forte, who missed the last four games with a shoulder injury, had 178 of his yards in the second half. A career-long 41-yard punt return by Cooper Kupp in the first quarter helped set-up Eastern's first score of the day on a 5-yard TD pass from Jordan West to Zach Wimberly. West made his third career start in place of injured starter Vernon Adams Jr. and completed 16-of-34 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns. Eastern's offense had a slow start, with as many punts as first downs through the first 21 minutes – four – and just 60 yards. But a nine-play, 88-yard drive erased that and gave EWU a 14-6 lead with 5:30 left in the second quarter. Eastern had only 150 yards of offense in the first half, but finished with 421.
 
* In 2011 in Flagstaff, the Eagles forced four Northern Arizona turnovers and quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell passed for three touchdowns and rushed for another in a 36-28 victory. Eastern won the turnover battle, 4-0, including a pair of fumbles recovered and an interception in the fourth quarter. The biggest turnover of the game came with 2:35 to play when free safety Jeff Minnerly intercepted a pass in the EWU end zone to squelch a NAU threat. Minnerly, who finished with a team-high 12 tackles, recorded his first interception of the season and the fourth of his career. Mitchell passed for 356 yards – accounting for all but 34 of Eastern's total of 390 yards of offense. Greg Herd caught seven passes for 112 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown catch. Senior Mike Jarrett kicked field goals of 27, 47 and 37 yards for the Eagles, and punter Jake Miller had six punts for a 41.2 average, including two downed inside the NAU 20-yard line. His game-best 53-yarder helped pin NAU back at its own 17 with just 38 seconds to play. Defensively, four Eagles had double figures in tackles, including Ronnie Hamlin with 10.
 
* In 2010 in Cheney, the 13th-ranked Eagles overcame five turnovers to hold off NAU 21-14. Eastern out-gained NAU 354-317 in total offense, but lost the turnover battle 5-3 as NAU had 30 more offensive plays than the Eagles and had a nearly 10 minute advantage in possession time. Linebacker J.C. Sherritt led Eastern's defense with 16 tackles, and also had an interception, a sack and a quarterback hurry. Despite two interceptions, Bo Levi Mitchell was extremely accurate by completing 20-of-26 passes for 288 yards and three touchdown passes.
 
* Included in EWU's wins in Flagstaff was a season-ending 49-45 triumph in 2009 that catapulted EWU into the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs. The Eagles let an 18-point lead slip through its grasp, but scored the winning touchdown with 3:30 left in the game on a 13-yard pass from Matt Nichols to Nathan Overbay. The defense did the rest, stopping NAU on a fourth-and-three play at the EWU 32-yard line with 34 seconds to play. Eastern was out-gained in total yards 747-487, but won the important turnover battle 4-0. The Eagles led 28-10 and 35-17 in the first half, and 42-27 late in the game, however, NAU scored three-straight times to take a 45-42 lead with 5:20 left. Nichols completed 22-of-33 passes for 408 yards, no interceptions and five touchdowns as EWU wrapped-up a fourth-straight victory. Nichols became only the second player in league history to pass for more than 12,000 career yards.
 
 
 
 
 

More Team Notes

 
League Schedules in 2021 Revert Back to 2020
 
The best-ever home schedule is school history is back. Continuing the twists and turns created by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Big Sky Conference announced Feb. 17 that the league's league football schedule in the fall of 2021 will revert back to the 2020 schedules for all teams, meaning Eagle fans will be extremely happy.
 
Eastern will now host Big Sky home games against the top three favorites of Eagle fans – Montana (Oct. 2), Idaho (Oct. 16) and Montana State (Nov. 6). The Eagles will also host reigning two-time league champion Weber State (Oct. 23) in a league counter.
 
Hosting Idaho, Montana and Montana State in the same year will be the first time in EWU history that will have taken place. Eastern will play road contests at Southern Utah (Sept. 25), Northern Colorado (Oct. 9), UC Davis (Nov. 13) and Portland State (Nov. 20).
 
Eastern originally announced the completion of its 2021 schedule back on Dec. 22, with the league games based previously on the announcement by the league in May 2019 of schedules from 2020 through 2023. But since then, Southern Utah announced it was leaving the conference, and that precipitated the change to revert back to the 2020 schedule for 2021. Schedules for 2022 and beyond will now be revised.
 
Eastern's 2021 non-conference schedule will remain the same. The Eagles will host Central Washington on Sept. 11, 2021, at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.. Eastern will also play first-ever non-conference meetings on the road versus UNLV on Thursday, Sept. 2, and at Western Illinois on Sept. 18.
 
Season ticket renewals for the fall 2021 season will begin in March, followed by sales to the general public. More information will be provided at a later date.
 
The 2020-23 schedules announced in May 2019 after the addition of Idaho to the league had had all 13 Big Sky teams playing eight conference games with four at home and four on the road. Each team would have two "rivals" it will play each season, and EWU's would be Idaho and Portland State. Over the course of the four years, each Big Sky team was scheduled to play each other a minimum of two times.
 
Montana, EWU's former rival prior to the return of Idaho, was in the rotation with the other 10 league schools. Thus, EWU was scheduled to host Montana just once in that four-year span (on Oct. 3, 2020), while going to UM on Oct. 8, 2022, and not playing the Griz in both 2021 and 2023. Under the previous schedules, EWU would have played Montana at Roos Field just once in a seven-year span from 2017 to 2023 – and that would have occurred in 2020. Eastern also was scheduled to host Montana State in 2020 and 2023 and play in Bozeman in 2021, but was not scheduled to play the Bobcats in the 2022 season.
 
The 2021 schedule would have had Eastern's league schedule beginning on Sept. 25 versus Portland State, and would have also included home games against Southern Utah (Oct. 16), Sacramento State (Nov. 6) and Idaho State (Nov. 20). The four conference games on the road for EWU would have been at Montana State (Oct. 9), Cal Poly (Oct. 23), Idaho (Oct. 30) and Northern Arizona (Nov. 13).
 
 
2021 Schedule
 
Date - Opponent - Site - Series/Streak
Sept. 2 (Thursday) - at UNLV - Las Vegas, Nev. (Allegiant St.)  - First Meeting
Sept. 11 - Central Washington - Cheney, Wash.  - EWU 35-30-4/+2
Sept. 18 - at Western Illinois - Macomb, Ill.  - First Meeting
Sept. 25 - at Southern Utah* - Cedar City, Utah - TBA - EWU 7-3/+1
Oct. 2 - Montana* - Cheney, Wash. - UM 28-17-1/-1
Oct. 9 - at Northern Colorado* - Greeley, Colo. - EWU 13-1/+12
Oct. 16 - Idaho* - Cheney, Wash. - UI 16-7/-1
Oct. 23 - Weber State* - Cheney, Wash. - EWU 19-16/-2
Oct. 30 - Bye
Nov. 6 - Montana State* - Cheney, Wash. - EWU 32-10/+7
Nov. 13 - at UC Davis* - Davis, Calif. - EWU 8-0/+8
Nov. 20 - at Portland State* - Hillsboro, Ore. - EWU 21-20-1/+4
 
*Big Sky Conference Game.
 
 
 
More on the Fall 2021 Non-Conference Opponents
 
Eastern Washington University will visit Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2021 when the Eagle football team plays at the UNLV on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
 
Allegiant Stadium is located on about 62 acres of land west of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Interstate 15. Construction on the new domed stadium began on Nov. 13, 2017, and seats 65,000 people for football. It serves as the home stadium for the National Football League's Las Vegas Raiders, as well as UNLV. It is scheduled to host the Pac-12 Conference Championship games in 2021 (it was also scheduled to be there in 2020 but moved to the Los Angeles Coliseum), the NFL Pro Bowl in 2021 and the annual Las Vegas Bowl college game. The Raiders beat New Orleans on Sept. 21, 2020, in the first football game played in the stadium. The first college game was UNLV's loss to the rival Nevada Wolf Pack on Oct. 31, 2020.
 
The Rebels are a member of the Mountain West Conference and the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision. Eastern is 8-24 all-time against current members of the league, with 24 of those meetings coming versus former Big Sky Conference rivals Boise State and UNR (Nevada Reno).
 
Besides UNLV, Eastern has never played Mountain West members Colorado State, Hawaii, New Mexico, Wyoming and Fresno State. However, Eastern recently announced a game versus Fresno State scheduled for Sept. 9, 2023. The last time EWU played a team from that league came in 2010 when Eastern lost at UNR 49-24, but then won 13 of its last 14 to claim the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision title.
 
Although Eastern is 8-24 overall versus the league, just six of them (2-6 record) have come versus members of the FBS.  Eastern is 6-13 overall versus Boise State, but 1-2 since it moved to FBS in the mid-1990's. Nevada also left the Big Sky at that time, and EWU 1-7 versus UNR prior to that (1-8 overall). Eastern also lost to San Diego State in 2003, Air Force in 2004 and San Jose State in 2005, and defeated Utah State in 1994.
 
The Rebels completed the abbreviated 2020 season 0-6 – all Mountain West games -- and had two games canceled because of the pandemic. All three of their home games were played in Allegiant Stadium. They were 4-8 overall in 2019, including a season-opening 56-23 victory over Southern Utah of the Big Sky. UNLV was 2-6 in the Mountain West, and ended the season with victories over San Jose State (38-35) and UNR (33-30 in overtime).
 
Central Washington and Eastern were fierce rivals in the NAIA and Evergreen Conference prior to EWU becoming a member of NCAA Division I and the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as I-AA) in 1984. The Wildcats are now in NCAA Division II and a member of the Great Northwest Conference.
 
Eastern leads the all-time series 35-30-4, including a 10 victories in the last 11 meetings since 1978. Eastern is 7-1 versus the Wildcats since EWU moved to FCS, with Central beating Eastern in Cheney 21-14 in 2006. Eastern has won the two meetings since then – 35-32 in 2010 at Qwest Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle, and 58-13 in 2018 in Cheney.
 
The Wildcats did not play in fall of 2020, but are scheduled to play at Montana on April 10, 2021. Central ended the 2019 season with a six-game winning streak and finished 7-4 overall and 5-1 in the GNAC. The Wildcats opened the season with a 41-31 loss at Idaho, and their lone GNAC loss was 36-26 to Eastern Oregon.
 
Eastern will also play its first-ever game against Western Illinois of the Missouri Valley Conference, with the game played Sept. 18 in Macomb, Ill. Eastern was scheduled to play the Leathernecks at Roos Field  in the fall of 2020, but the game was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic and has yet to be re-scheduled.
 
Entering 2021, Eastern is 10-14 all-time versus current members of the Missouri Valley Conference, having also not played Indiana State and Missouri State. Five of those victories (and no losses) came versus North Dakota when it was a member of the Big Sky Conference. Eastern is 1-3 versus North Dakota State, which has won eight of the last nine titles in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.
 
Eastern's last game versus a MVC foe was a 38-24 loss to NDSU on Jan. 5, 2019, in the 2018 NCAA Division I Championship Game. Eastern did beat North Dakota 35-20 on Sept. 28, 2019, in the final Big Sky match-up between the two schools.
 
Like Eastern, the Leathernecks did not play in the fall of 2020. But they will begin an eight-game league-only schedule on Friday, Feb. 27.
 
Eastern Announces Addition of Two New Coaches
 
Including a reunion of brothers, two new coaches with extensive coaching experience in the Big Sky Conference and beyond have joined the Eastern football program and were officially announced by head coach Aaron Best on Feb. 8.
 
Joining the Eagles as linebackers coach is Justin Ena, whose brother, Eti Ena, is EWU's defensive coordinator and defensive ends coach. The other hiring announced is Jeff Copp, who will coach EWU defensive tackles. They have a combined 33 years of coaching experience, and both are 2001 graduates of colleges in the West – Ena from BYU and Copp from Boise State.
 
With 13 years of collegiate coaching experience after a successful college and pro career as a player, Ena reunites with his brother Eti Ena, who is EWU's defensive coordinator and defensive ends coach. He comes to Eastern with experience at EWU's fellow Big Sky Conference members Weber State (2014) and Southern Utah (2008-13). In all, he has coached four All-America linebackers during his coaching tenure after playing at BYU and in the NFL for Philadelphia and Tennessee.
 
Copp spent the past four seasons at FIU (Florida International University), most recently as co-defensive coordinator. He is a native of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and played college football at Boise State. His 20 years of coaching experience includes stints at Big Sky Conference members Northern Arizona (2016), UC Davis (2009-15) and Idaho State (2004). As a player and coach he's been on teams which have won three league titles and advanced to six bowl games.
 
More on Justin Ena may be found at: https://goeags.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/justin-ena/380
More on Jeff Copp may be found at: https://goeags.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jeff-copp/381
 
 
Offseason Also Sees Return to EWU of Zach Bruce as Safeties Coach
 
After a nearly year-long wait to coach in his first game, the Eagles have one of their own – Zach Bruce -- to coach a position he played. The former Eagle and 2012 graduate of Spokane's University High School was hired last March to coach EWU safeties.
 
Bruce served as an assistant coach at Mead High School in Spokane in 2017-18. He, along with several other former Eagles, was a founding member of the Pro Vision Academy in Spokane. He also spent time in 2018-20 as defensive backs coach and speed and conditioning coach in Helsinki, Finland, where his wife, Delaney, was playing professional basketball.
 
Bruce received his bachelor's degree in history from Eastern in January of 2018. He had a 3.39 accumulative grade point average, including a 3.64 GPA in his major. He had a minor in coaching and a secondary minor in social studies education.
 
"It's awesome to get Zach Bruce back in the Eagle logo," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "He brings energy, knowledge, and understanding of our scheme to the safety positon as a member of our coaching staff. He also has great personal connectivity to our current and future student-athletes."
 
After redshirting in 2012, Bruce played in 50 games for the Eagles from 2013-17, including 24 as a starter. He earned first team All-Big Sky Conference honors as a senior when he served as team co-captain. He also earned honorable mention All-Big Sky in 2014, and in 2015 and 2016 he was selected to the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team.
 
In his career, he had 227 total tackles with 11 passes broken up, five interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles. He had a high of 14 tackles twice, and intercepted two passes versus Portland State in 2014. A former walk-on, he redshirted in 2012 before having tackle totals of 17, 42, 53 and 115 in his four seasons.
 
As a senior, he was ninth in the league and 62nd nationally with an average of 8.2 tackles per game (team-leading 115 total to rank 13th in school history). He had three interceptions in a four-game span during his senior season, including a third-quarter interception in EWU's 41-17 win and second-half shutout over Montana State on Oct. 22.
 
Eastern teams were 41-13 in the four seasons he played, a winning percentage of .759. Eastern won 28 of 32 Big Sky Conference games for a .875 percentage. Eastern won the Big Sky Conference title and advanced to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs in 2013, 2014 and 2016.
 
Bruce is married to Delaney Hodgins, who is the all-time leading scorer in EWU women's basketball history. She scored 2,120 points from 2015-18, including a school record 692 points in 2018. While he was in Finland, Bruce wrote a book about football called "Dumb Jocks" which takes a deep look into the understanding of defensive football. It describes defensive coverages and gives insight to how NFL defenses run those coverages, as well as includes full season breakdowns of five of the best safeties in the NFL.
 
 
Practices Began for Eagles on Jan. 29
 
Inch-by-inch, EWU began preparations for an abbreviated 2020-21 season after an "off-season" which seemingly lasted forever. The Eagles officially began practices on Jan. 29, and Eastern head coach Aaron Best said at the time he expects a "fluid" situation as the Eagles move along during the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
"Fluid might be a very big understatement," he said. "The FBS (NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision) ran through a lot of these hurdles, challenges, bumps, turbulence – whatever you want to call them – this past fall. Our feet haven't been firmly on the ground but we have had direction in terms of protocols. But this is certainly a time we've never seen before and hope to never again."
 
Because of the pandemic, the Eagles hadn't practiced as a full team since the conclusion of the 2019 campaign, which ended on Nov. 23, 2019, with a 7-5 overall mark and 6-2 Big Sky record. Moving forward, EWU will be subject to continued adherence to mandated testing protocols and regulations to be able to practice and play.
 
"The phrase we'll use with our team the next six months for sure is mental agility," said Best. "That's what we'll stress – we've never been here before. We're learning in the moment and will use some mental agility along the way."
 
Portland State, Montana and Montana State all opted out from the Big Sky's six-game spring schedule, leaving league administrators to re-vamp the winter/spring schedule. Northern Colorado also decided not to play a full six-game schedule, and Sacramento State had previously opted out of winter/spring competition last fall when the schedules were originally announced on Nov. 4.
 
 
Streak of At Least One Road Win Extended to 51 Seasons
 
A 50-year streak was extended to 51 when Eastern Washington won its road game at Idaho State on Nov. 9, 2019, in Pocatello, Idaho. That streak now includes all 36 seasons Eastern has been a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA). The last time Eastern was winless on the road was 1969 when the then-Savages were 0-4 away from home and finished 4-5 on the season. In fact, since then, Eastern has had at least two road wins in all but six seasons (1974, 1975, 1976, 1988, 1989, 1994), a current streak of 26-straight seasons with at least a pair. Eastern extended that from 25 to 26 against Cal Poly on Nov. 16.
 
 
Eagles Have Played 61 Games in Domes
 
The game Feb. 27, 2021, versus Idaho was Eastern's 61st game inside a dome, where the temperatures are always at about 72 degrees and wind or humidity are not factors. After the 28-21 loss, Eastern is 31-30 all-time in domes, including a 4-10 record at the Kibbie Dome. Eastern is also 15-4 at Idaho State's Holt Arena, 10-7 at NAU's Walkup Skydome, 2-0 at North Dakota, 0-1 at North Dakota State, 0-1 at South Dakota, 0-6 at Northern Iowa and 0-1 at the Houston Astrodome.
 
Playing in a dome is a far cry from what Eastern faced Sept. 14, 2019, in Jacksonville, Ala., where the game was delayed by 30 minutes to 3:35 p.m. because of lightning in the area. At kickoff it was 90 degrees with 67 percent humidity. That was the eighth-hottest game in recorded EWU history (since 1980), ranking behind the 106 at Arizona State (8/31/02 at 6 p.m.), 97 at Sacramento State (9/26/09 at 6 p.m.), 94 at Southwest Texas State (9/7/95 at 6 p.m. in San Marcos, Texas), 93 at Spokane's Albi Stadium versus Portland State (9/3/88 at 7 p.m.), 93 at Sacramento State (9/26/15 at 6 p.m.), 92 at Eastern Illinois (9/14/91 at 6:30 p.m.) and 91 at Nicholls State (9/2/04 at 6:30 p.m. at Thibodeaux, La.). On two other occasions the temperature has hit 90 degrees at kickoff.
 
The temperature for the Nicholls State game in 2004 also came with considerable humidity, and a pre-game rain shower soaked Eastern's footballs prior to the 37-14 loss. Eastern also faced severe weather at Sam Houston State on Sept. 28, 2013, when a thunder, lightning and rain storm stopped the game for 78 minutes. With a temperature of 84 degrees and 81 percent humidity, Eastern fell 49-34. There was also a similar one-hour weather delay when Eastern played at Southwest Texas State in San Marcos, Texas, on a 94-degree day on Sept. 7, 1995. Eastern won that game 34-16.
 
 
Eagles Continue Big Sky Success With Impressive Consistency
 
Consistency has been a cornerstone of EWU Football, and the Eagles have cemented a 16-year run of winning the league title and/or advancing to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs at least every other year. Since 2004, Eastern has advanced to the playoffs and/or won the league title at least every other year, and hasn't had back-back-empty seasons since 2002 and 2003.
 
In 2018, Eastern secured its 10th Big Sky title and 13th appearance in the FCS Playoffs in what is now 36 years as a member of the FCS (formerly I-AA). Since 2010 when EWU won the NCAA Division I title, the Eagles have won league titles six times (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018) and advanced to the playoffs all six of those seasons. From 2004 to 2009 Eastern advanced to the playoffs four times (2004, 2005, 2007, 2009), and won the league title twice (2004, 2005). Eastern has three other playoff berths in school history (1985, 1992, 1997) and two other titles (1992, 1997), and has only had two multi-year stretches in which they accomplished neither. Those were both six-year stretches from between 1986-1991 and 1998-2003.
 
The Eagles have been impressive – if not dominant – in the league in the last 13 years (2007-2019), winning 80 percent of their games (83-21) and six titles. In that span, Eastern has had no league finish below 5-3 and five of them have included 7-1 or 8-0 records.


Eagles Denied a Berth into NCAA FCS Playoffs
 
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 on Nov. 24, 2919.
 
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. 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).
 
Nevertheless, Eastern can take solace in that it finished 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. Moreover, the Eagles still rank 12th overall in FCS playoff berths with 13, and currently have the 10th-most victories (19) and the seventh-best percentage (.612, 19-12).  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.
 
Winningest Current FCS Teams from 2010-19
 
By percentage . . . 1. North Dakota State .913 (137-13); 2. Kennesaw State .762 (48-15); 3. San Diego .741 (86-30); 4. Harvard .740 (74-26); 5. Eastern Washington .735 (97-35); 6. James Madison .733 (96-35); 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 .687 (79-36); 12. Dayton .676 (75-36); 13. Central Arkansas .667 (80-40); 14. Wofford .650 (80-43); 15. South Dakota State .648 (83-45); 16. McNeese State .646 (73-40); 17. Montana .642 (79-44); 18. Illinois State .634 (78-45); 19. Duquesne .632 (72-42); 20. Montana State .629 (78-46).
By victories . . . 1. North Dakota State 137; 2. Sam Houston State 99; 3. Eastern Washington 97; 4. James Madison 96; 5. Jacksonville State 91; 6. San Diego 86; 7. South Dakota State 83; 8. New Hampshire, Central Arkansas & Wofford 80; 11. Montana & North Carolina A&T 79; 12. Montana State, Illinois State & Bethune-Cookman 78; 16. Northern Iowa 77; 17. Dayton 75; 18. Harvard 74; 19. McNeese State 73; 20. Duquesne 72.
 
 
Eastern Leads FCS in Total Offense for Third Time
 
Eastern closed the 2019 season with the best offense in FCS, finishing at 524.8 yards per game. Eastern also ended the regular season second in scoring (40.6), fifth in passing (317.1) and eighth in turnover margin (+0.92 per game). The Eagles also ranked 19th in rushing at 207.8 yards per game, and were the only team in FCS to rank in the top 24 in total offense, rushing and passing.
 
In EWU's last 16 seasons (2004-2019), EWU has ranked in the top 10 in passing 13 times, total offense on 12 occasions and scoring seven times. In school history, EWU has won a trio of FCS titles for total offense (2019, 2001, 1997), as well as three passing offense titles (2016, 2015, 2011) and two for scoring offense (2014, 2001).

Junior quarterback Eric Barriere was second in total offense with an average of 355.8 yards per game (E.J. Perry of Brown is at 367.8). Barriere was third in passing (309.3, with Northern Arizona's Case Cookus leading the Big Sky and the nation at 342.8) and was eighth with 31 touchdown passes and fourth in points responsible for (20.2 per game with 31 TDs passing, eight rushing and a two-point conversion).
 
Senior running back Antoine Custer Jr. finished 15th in rushing (102.3), 12th in total rushing yards (1,228) and 11th in rushing touchdowns (16). Custer finished the year with six 100-yard performances – including his last four games.
 
On a balanced receiving corp, junior Talolo Limu-Jones was 63rd with seven touchdown catches and his average of 24.04 per catch (second in school history behind the record of 25.8) closed the year second behind the 24.49 average of Isaiah Weston of Northern Iowa. Jones has 42 career catches for 841 yards and 11 touchdowns – an average of 20.0 per reception in his career (currently second in school history behind the record of 22.8) and a TD every 3.8 catches.
 
In addition, Andrew Boston was 79th in receptions per game (4.5 with a total of 50) and 76th in receiving yards per game (66.4 with a total of 730). Dehonta Hayes was 18th in tackles (9.6 per game; 115 total). Redshirt freshman Seth Harrison ended the season first in field goal percentage, with a perfect 12-of-12 performance. He was the only kicker in FCS with at least one field goal attempt per game to make all of his field goals in 2019. He was 29th in field goals with an average of 1.09 per game).
 
Eastern had 2,450 yards of offense in the last four games of the season (612.5 per game) to take over the lead and maintain it. Eastern closed the year with 559 yards against Portland State on Nov. 23 and 496 at Cal Poly on Nov. 16. But the Eagles had 706 versus Northern Arizona on Nov. 2 to rank fifth in school history, and 689 at Idaho State on Nov. 9 to rank seventh all-time. Eastern has also had a school-record 769 in 2019 versus Lindenwood, and 637 against Northern Colorado on Oct. 12 to rank as the 19th most in EWU history.
 
In some of the more key categories, EWU finished 27th in FCS in third down conversions (42.4 percent) and 13th in red zone scoring (89.1 percent). Defensively, Eastern was 74th in third down conversions (40.5 percent) and 68th in red zone scoring (81.8 percent). They were also 83rd in rushing defense (179.1), 112th in passing defense (266.3), 104th in total defense (445.4) and 97th in scoring defense (34.6) among 124 FCS schools. In addition, Eastern was eighth in turnover margin (plus 0.92 per game), with 24 takeaways (22nd) and 13 giveaways (13th).
 
 
Eagles Extend Record String of Winning Seasons to 13
 
With a 7-5 finish in the 2019 season, Eastern has now had 22 winning seasons in the last 24 years (1996-2019), including a current school record string of 13-straight (2007-19) and another stretch of seven straight (1999-2005). The last time Eastern had that many winning seasons in a row came 75 years earlier in the Red Reese era when Eastern had a string of 11-straight winning seasons from 1931-1941. Since 1996, the only losing seasons for the Eagles came in 1998 under Mike Kramer (5-6) and 2006 under Paul Wulff (3-8).
 
 
Entering 2020-21 Season, Eagles Have Impressive 59-11 Big Sky Record Since 0-2 Start in 2011
 
Entering the 2020-21 season, the Eagles had won 59 of their last 70 Big Sky games since a 0-2 start in 2011. Included were stretches of 49 victories in the last 58 games (including two at the end of the 2012 season) and 27 of the last 32 (since 2016).
 
Including three wins at the end of the 2009 season, Eastern had a 69-14 record in league games since then. Including four non-conference victories (two versus MSU, and one each against Cal Poly and Northern Arizona), two playoff wins (Montana and UC Davis) and one loss (Idaho), the Eagles were 65-12 since the 0-2 start in 2011 and 55-9 since winning the last two games at the end of the 2012 campaign.
 
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 56-year history of the league was Montana, which won 50 of 55 games from 1995-2002 and 46 of 51 from 2003-2009.
 
What is perhaps most impressive is Eastern's ability to consistently win on the road versus conference foes, with records of 25-7 on the road, 29-3 at home and 54-10 overall in the last eight seasons since 2012. From 2012-2019, Eastern defeated every Big Sky team on the road at least once, including former Big Sky member North Dakota and a 2012 non-league road victory at Idaho, which re-joined the league in 2018. Until losing at Southern Utah in October of 2017, the Eagles had won their previous road game versus all 13 other league members.
 
 
Eagles Play 1,000th Game in School History
 
Eastern beat North Dakota 35-20 on Sept. 28 on Hall of Fame Day at EWU, but it was also Eastern's 1,000th football game in school history. Now in its 112th season in program history in the 2020-21 season, Eastern entering the season having played 1007 games and had 560 wins, 424 losses and 23 ties for a .568 winning percentage since 1901. The Eagles are in their 37th season as a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) and 34th season as a member of the Big Sky Conference in 2020-21.
 
 
Eastern Now 55-0 Since 2010 When Winning the TO Battle
 
In the last 12 seasons (2008-19), the Eagles are now 64-1 when they've won the turnover battle, 24-9 when they've been tied and 23-33 when they've lost (total of 111-43). The last time EWU lost a game 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 55-0 since 2010 when they've won the turnover battle, 21-9 when they've been tied and 21-26 when they've lost. That's a collective record of 97-35 (73.5 percent), with 26 of those 35 losses (74 percent) coming in games EWU has lost the turnover battle and 57 percent of EWU's wins coming when they've won the turnover battle (78 percent when including ties).
 
In 2020-21 thus far, EWU lost to Idaho 28-21 after losing the turnover battle 2-1.
 
Eastern finished the 2019 season seventh in turnover margin (plus 0.92 per game), with 24 takeaways (15th) and 13 giveaways (17th). Neither team had a turnover in the first game of the season between EWU and Washington, then EWU lost the battle versus Lindenwood 2-1 and tied Jacksonville State 2-2. Eastern lost by another 2-1 margin at Idaho, but swung the tide by winning 6-0 versus North Dakota. Eastern was tied 2-2 versus Sacramento State, won 2-1 versus Northern Colorado, tied 1-1 against Montana and won 2-0 against Northern Arizona. In a game in which EWU had to settle for field goals three times in the red zone and converted 43 percent on third down, Eastern's 3-0 turnover advantage led to a 48-5 win against Idaho State on Nov. 9. Eastern lost the turnover battle at Cal Poly 3-1 on Nov. 16, but won the game 42-41. Eastern was 3-0 in turnovers in a season-ending 53-46 win over Portland State on Nov. 23. In 2019, Eastern was 5-0 when it has won the turnover battle, 2-2 when it has more turnovers and 0-3 when tied.
 
In the final 12 games of the 2018 season, Eastern had a plus-16 turnover advantage (32 takeaways and 16 giveaways), but in the first three the Eagles were a negative six (two takeaways and eight giveaways). For the season, Eastern was second in turnovers gained with 34, was third with 22 interceptions and ranked 16th overall in turnover margin (34 takeaways, 24 giveaways, +0.67 per game).
 
In 2018, Eastern was 9-0 it when it won the turnover battle, 1-3 when it had more turnovers and 2-0 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).
 
 
 
 
  

Recent Game Recap

 
No. 12 Eagles Fall Late to Idaho 28-21
 
New pieces – and one big missing piece – can make for a puzzling day. But the Vandals placed the final piece with a winning touchdown with 54 seconds to play as the 12th-ranked Eastern Washington University fell to Idaho 28-21 in a Big Sky Conference game on Feb. 27 at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho. The game was the opener for both teams as Eastern began its long-awaited 112th season in school history. Eastern led early 14-0, but the Vandals took their only lead of the game after an eight-play, 68-yard drive led to game-winning touchdown with 54 seconds to play. The Eagles could only get to the Idaho 49 on the next drive before running out of time. Senior All-American Eric Barriere passed for 339 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 57 attempts as EWU managed 426 yards of offense. In 2019 when EWU led the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense, the Eagles averaged 40.6 points and 524.8 yards per game. Senior Talolo Limu-Jones caught a career-high nine passes for 93 yards for EWU, and senior Tamarick Pierce rushed for 63 yards. Eastern had an interception return for a touchdown by junior Anthany Smith and held Idaho to 366 yards, including just 90 rushing. Smith also had a career-high 10 tackles, and former Vandal Ty Graham had nine in his Eagle debut. Defensive tackle Joshua Jerome made the first start of his career and had eight tackles with a sack. Entering his fourth season at the helm, Aaron Best was unable to be at the game after testing positive from Covid-19 earlier in the week. Ena, EWU's associate head coach/defensive coordinator, filled the coaching duties that Best was unable to fulfill remotely while in isolation. After a 462-day wait to play a game, the Eagles had 12 players – six on each side of the ball -- make their starting debuts. Although the Eagles had three new coaches on the defensive side of the ball – plus Ena assuming head coaching duties – the Eagles held Idaho to 34 yards in the first quarter and scored a touchdown on Smith's 71-yard interception return for a score. Eastern extended the lead to 14-0 when Eastern capped a seven-play, 70-yard drive with a 27-yard Barriere-to-Merritt scoring connection. But the Vandals scored the next 14 and the game was knotted at halftime. The Eagles regained the lead on the first possession of the second half, driving 75 yards on nine plays. Barriere hit Stell for a 16-yard touchdown to put EWU up 21-14. On the next Idaho possession, Eastern held on a fourth down and stopped a Vandal drive, but Idaho would later knot the score at 21 after a short Eagle punt. The game was 21-all in the fourth quarter, and a key turning point came with 11:01 left when a short 24-yard field goal by EWU's Seth Harrison was ruled as a miss, but was so high it appeared to hit the scoreboard as opposed to the upright. It was reviewed, however, there was no video proof at the time to overturn the play (the Big Sky would apologize the next day for the error). A punt, Eastern's seventh of the day, led to Idaho's game-winning drive. The Vandals also punted seven times.
 
 
Associate Head Caoch Eti Ena on Idaho Game: "The players did some really good things and fought well," said EWU associate head coach Eti Ena. "We were proud of how so many players stepped up in roles they have been practicing for, and now they have a game under their belts. We have things to build off of but we still have some work to do."
 "Idaho had a lot of new pieces too," said Ena. "This was a game where both teams found out what each other has. That's the intriguing part. As we got into the flow of the game, you kind of try to counter-punch each other and attack where you can. It was a well-played game by both teams, but unfortunately we didn't get it done at the end."
 
 
 
 
 

More Aaron Best Comments

 
On Needed Improvements From 2019: "We needed to learn how to play better team football more consistently, and we lacked that at times. There were games where we played the best football I've ever seen in all my years as a part of this football program. But at other times we played some of the worst ball I've ever seen. Luck and the injury bug sometimes gets involved, but you have to be more consistent in league or non-league. You can't get too high and you can't get too low."
 
On Keys to Success: "It starts with turnovers, then it's third down conversion percentage and red zone. You have to move the sticks to get to the red zone, and those are the three things we've hammered home these past few years. We have to be better in those three areas than our opponent."
 
On Replacing Four Starters on the Offensive Line:  "We lost some offensive linemen who started a lot and played a lot of football in the past few years. It's always exciting, refreshing and difficult to put new players in those positions that have never really played college football. We are putting them in an impactful game setting and will be forced to play 75, 80 snaps – they haven't done that in their careers thus far."
 
On Cornerback Experience: "The cornerback position was very young and green in 2019. We lost four seniors after the 2018 campaign, so all the guys who saw action in 2019 really hadn't played before. It was hard to watch early and we weren't as good as we knew we would be. But we had guys step-up, including Tre Weed who earned freshman All-America honors after being moved from safety to corner. We're excited to see that group as a whole go from year one to year two, and see how much progress they've made. We want to see what kind of production and competition they've gained."
 
On Eric Barriere: ""The quarterback is the linchpin of the team. No matter what you run, the quarterback is the player you really rely on. It is settling to have back such a dynamic quarterback like Eric. This will essentially be his third year as a starter, so we're expecting huge things out of him for sure. Eric is one of the most electrifying playmakers I have witnessed play in person. He made a huge jump in touchdown-to-interception ratio in 2019, which in turn made him that much harder to defend. I expect his senior season to be even better. He is certainly one of the best players in this league and at this level. I can't wait to see what is in store. "He's highly-respected, and, on top of that, he's made a lot of progress. He's stayed consistent and really cut down on his turnovers in 2019. That was something he really wanted to do and he did it, and now he has to build on that."
 
On Andrew Boston:  "Andrew is a film junky and he absolutely gives all he has on Saturday. He will strive for more in the future and the best version of 'Boss' is yet to come. He followed up a productive freshman year with a solid sophomore campaign."
 
On Tristen Taylor:  "Tristan is a tough-minded and gritty player. He had a brilliant bounce-back season coming off an injury in 2018. He's a physical player who still has room to grow and lead as a player, and with time to accomplish those tasks. Tristen becomes our bell cow up front. He's played a lot of football and we're excited about his ability to play multiple positions. He's capable of playing all three positions, so we'll rely on him heavily."
 
On Other Offensive Linemen: "Matt Shook is coming off an injury from the 2018 season and early in the fall of 2019, and we're excited to get him back. He's played enough ball for us in the past to get a great evaluation on him. Wyatt Musser played a bit in 2019 and rotated in with Will Gram, and this season we'll lean on him for more reps than he had that year. There is some experience, but we want to build on that experience and continue to build competitive depth up front."
 
On Seth Harrison: "Seth started the season as a backup and ended as the guy at our kicker position. He followed our perfect 2018 season kicking field goals with one of his own. We're excited to see him continue to grow and compete for more."