­­­­ Eastern Washington University "Eagles" versus UC Davis "Aggies"  Saturday, April 3 • 1:05 p.m. Pacific UC Davis Health Stadium • Davis, Calif.
TV:	Regionally in Eastern Washington on SWX and in the Sacramento/Davis area on CW- Sacramento
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:	UC Davis Game & EWU Home Games: http://ewustats.com
EWU Game Program:	https://publogix.com/e/20-ewaufbyb/

On a week in which the Eagles would normally be starting its annual spring practice session, this week has a November feel to it. A feel from 2018 to be exact.
 
With the winner staying in contention for a possible playoff berth, the ninth-ranked Eastern Washington University football team plays at No. 11 UC Davis this Saturday (April 3) in a Big Sky Conference game at UC Davis Health Stadium in Davis, Calif.
 
Kickoff is 1:05 p.m. and may be viewed regionally in Eastern Washington on SWX, via Pluto TV Channel 1063 (http://pluto.tv & http://watchbigsky.com) and in the Sacramento/Davis area on CW-Sacramento. 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.
 
There are still four one-loss or better teams in the Big Sky – including EWU and UC Davis – so this week's game is critical to the post-season playoff hopes for each team. The NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs – just 16 teams this year with only five at-large berths -- are slated to begin on April 24 and conclude on May 16.
 
The fact Eastern is even playing this week was because the fall 2020 season was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Normally, the first week of spring quarter classes at EWU also meant the start of spring football practices for the Eagles.
 
What a contrast this week has become as both teams enter the game 3-1 in the league and trying to keep pace with 3-0 Weber State in the race for the Big Sky's automatic playoff berth. Both the Eagles and Aggies are ranked in the top 11 in FCS for both offense and scoring, and have combined for an average of nearly 80 points and more than 1,000 yards of offense per game.
 
"We treat the season on a week-by-week basis no matter who we play," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "We've put ourselves in a situation to be 3-1 going into that game against a very sound football team who scores a lot of points."
 
This week's game has a similar feel to the 2018 season when both the Eagles and Aggies were two of the premier teams in FCS. They met on Nov. 10, 2018, in Cheney, and EWU entered ranked as high as third (coaches; 5th by STATS) and UC Davis was ranked as high as fourth (STATS; 7th by the coaches).
 
The result was an overwhelming 59-20 victory for EWU after falling behind 10-0. The two teams met again just a few weeks later in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs, and EWU needed a touchdown with 26 seconds left to prevail 34-29 on Dec. 8, 2018. The Eagles entered that game ranked fourth by STATS and third by the coaches, and UC Davis was seventh and 10th, respectively. After the narrow win, third-seeded Eastern went on to fall to top-seeded North Dakota State in the NCAA Division I Championship Game.
 
UC Davis is 20-14 in its last 24 games under head coach Dan Hawkins, and three of those losses have been to the Eagles, who have won all eight of the games in the series which started in 2005. In 2017, in the first season for both schools with new head coaches, Eastern rallied for a 41-38 victory on Oct. 7 at Davis, Calif. Eastern leads the all-time series 7-0.
 
Two weeks ago on March 20 in Davis, Calif., the Aggies beat Cal Poly by 49 points (73-24). The next week, Eastern beat the Mustangs by 52 (62-10) in the second-straight road game for Cal Poly, which has elected not to play its final three games of the season (NAU, UC Davis and Weber State) because of a lack of available players.
 
"Davis put up a bunch of points (against Cal Poly) and was petal to the metal the entire game," said Best. "Now we're on the road at UC Davis in the same spot Cal Poly was (on March 20)."
 
Last week, Eastern scored 21 points in the opening six minutes and went on to out-gain Cal Poly 683-238 in total offense, and that was by far the least dramatic of the four league games played. The Aggies edged past Idaho State 31-27, scoring the winning touchdown with eight seconds remaining after a 10-play, 75-yard drive. Also on Saturday, third-ranked WSU won at home over Northern Arizona 28-23 on a Hail Mary pass to end the game, and Idaho edged Southern Utah 33-32 with a touchdown with seven seconds to play.
 
"We always challenge our coaches to coach harder after wins," added Best of EWU's 16th-straight home victory. "It stings after losses, and it's easy to look in the mirror and want to try to get better. The hardest thing is when you have wins and find a way to criticize yourself and really self-reflect. We'll take some things from it."
 
Eastern set its school record for first-half points in leading 45-7 at intermission versus Cal Poly, and had a 447-102 advantage in offense in the first 30 minutes. The 45 points were four better than the school-record halftime total of 41 set in 1994 in the first game in the coaching career of Mike Kramer and the first-ever night game at Roos Field, which was a 61-7 victory over Cal Poly.
 
Eastern finished with the 16th-most points in school history, and the 52-point differential equaled the fifth-best for EWU as a member of FCS. The yardage total (683) for EWU was the eighth-most all-time in school history. The 28 points in the opening 15 minutes were the second-most as a member of FCS behind the record of 29.
 
A 48-5 win in 2019 at ISU extended EWU's current streak of 51 seasons with at least one road win and winning for the 11th-straight time over Idaho State. Those streaks were extended to 52 and 12, respectively, this year when the Eagles edged ISU 46-42 on March 13 in Pocatello. This week, Eastern will try to extend it streak of seasons with at least two road wins to 27.
 
 
 

Game Notes

 
A Look Into the Big Sky Race
 
Entering this week's action, Weber State sits atop the league standings at 3-0, followed by Eastern Washington and UC Davis at 3-1. Idaho is 2-1 and Northern Arizona is 1-2, while the last three teams in the standings are Idaho State (1-3), Southern Utah (1-3) and Cal Poly (0-3).
 
This week's scheduled games also include Weber State at SUU and Idaho at ISU, with April 10 featuring Idaho at EWU, NAU at SUU and ISU at WSU. On April 17th, a make-up day for games previous postponed because of Covid-19 protocols, Idaho is at NAU. Because they decided after its loss to Eastern to cancel the rest of its spring schedule, Cal Poly had games canceled at NAU, as well as home versus UC Davis and Weber State. The Big Sky is deciding if those games will be declared a "no contest" and not affect records, or if they will count as forfeits and give one more victory to the three teams impacted by the cancellations.
 
The NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs – just 16 teams this year with only five at-large berths -- are slated to begin on April 24 and conclude on May 16.
 
Last week's 62-10 win over Cal Poly started the second half of the six-game league schedule for Eastern, while Cal Poly was playing its third contest. So far this season, the Eagles have lost to Idaho 28-21, beat Northern Arizona at home 45-13 and then triumphed over Idaho State 46-42.
 
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.
 
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 14 games for Best in his head coaching career versus the five opponents. In school history, EWU is now 78-40 versus those five foes, and 17 of those losses and just seven wins are against Idaho.
 
 
Eagles Ranked Second in Total Offense in FCS
 
Through four games this season, Eastern is averaging 578.0 yards of offense to rank second in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision and first in the league. Eastern is also third in passing (404.8) and fifth nationally in scoring offense (43.5) while leading the league in both categories. In addition, the Eagles are 27th in rushing (173.2) and 13th in passing efficiency (151.3).
 
Quarterback Eric Barriere is ranked in the top 10 in total offense (sixth, 384.8 per game), passing offense (sixth, 371.8), passing touchdowns (sixth, 13) and points responsible for (eighth, 20.0 per game). Wide receiver Talolo Limu-Jones is ninth in receiving yards per game (106.5) and 10th in receptions per game (7.5, total of 30).
 
Eastern had just 426 yards of total offense at Idaho on Feb. 27, but has averaged 628.7 since then – 622 versus Northern Arizona, 581 at Idaho State and 683 against Cal Poly to rank as the eighth-most in school history.
 
UC Davis is 10th in FCS in total offense (469.0), 11th in scoring (36.0) and an impressive ninth in rushing (228.5). They are 27th in passing offense (240.5) and are 14th in passing efficiency (151.5).
 
 
Eastern is 30-18 Since 2010 ­ Opponents
 
Eastern's game on Oct. 26, 2019, at Montana was the 63rd time and the most recent occasion Eastern has faced a team ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (STATS), as well as the 131st against a ranked foe. Eastern lost that game 34-17 in Missoula to extend its losing streak versus ranked foes to three games.
 
Eastern has won 63 percent of its games (30-18) versus ranked teams since 2010. Eastern is 59-72 in 131 games overall against ranked teams since becoming a member of that classification in 1983 (then known as I-AA). Since 1983, Eastern is 1-7 versus ranked FBS foes, and a loss to Washington (ranked 13th by the media and 12th by the coaches) in 2019 was the eighth such foe EWU has faced.
 
The Eagles are 9-35 all-time versus top 5 opponents (4-7 since 2010), including 2-8 versus No. 1 (0-2 since 2010). Eastern is also 10-9 versus top 10 foes since 2010, including a 5-4 mark in the regular season and 5-5 in the playoffs Eastern is 19-44 in 63 games all-time versus top 10 opponents.
 
Overall, EWU has faced the No. 1 team in FCS 10 times, winning twice -- 35-31 in 2004 over Southern Illinois in the FCS Playoffs and 30-21 in 2002 over Montana at Albi Stadium in Spokane, Wash. One of the losses was in 2016 in Fargo, N.D., when North Dakota State beat No. 8 Eastern 50-44 in overtime. The following season, EWU was ranked seventh and lost 40-13 to second-ranked NDSU in Cheney. Eastern lost a third time to the top-ranked Bison by a 38-24 score on Jan. 5, 2019, in the NCAA Division I Championship Game.
 
The Jacksonville State game on Sept. 14, 2019, was the only other time in the 2019 season the Eagles played a ranked team in FCS in the STATS weekly poll. Eastern, ranked fourth at the time by STATS, lost 49-45 to the 17th-ranked Gamecocks. However, Washington (ranked in FBS) and North Dakota (ranked 25th in the FCS coaches poll but not by STATS), means EWU actually faced three ranked foes in EWU's first five games that season.
 
Eastern was 5-2 versus ranked opponents in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in 2018. Eastern also beat the No. 9 team in NCAA Division II at the time when EWU blasted Central Washington 58-13 to open the season. The Eagles then defeated a ranked opponent for the first time since 2016 when the Eagles beat Northern Arizona 31-26 on Sept. 8. Northern Arizona had entered the game ranked 18th in the STATS Top 25 poll, and the win snapped a three-game losing streak in games versus ranked foes. The last win over a ranked opponent before that was versus No. 12 Richmond 38-0 on Dec. 10, 2016, in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs.
 
Eastern, however, fell 14-6 to No. 13 Weber State on Oct. 13, 2018, in Ogden, Utah, in another game versus a ranked foe, then registered victories over No. 4 UC Davis (59-20), No. 15 Nicholls (42-21), No. 7 UC Davis (34-29) and No. 12 Maine (50-19), with the latter three wins coming in the FCS Playoffs. The Eagles then fell to top-ranked North Dakota State 38-24 in the NCAA Division I Championship Game in Frisco, Texas.
 
 
Eagle All-America QB Wins National Player of the Week Honor Then Comes Off The Bench
 
It's not often that a player wins a national player of the week honor, then comes off the bench in his next game.
 
A week after earning STATS Perform National Offensive Player of the Week honors, All-America quarterback Eric Barriere came off the bench on March 27 versus Cal Poly, which in turn gave backup Gunner Talkington the starting nod and some meaningful – and productive -- snaps.
 
After Talkington led EWU on a game-opening touchdown drive, Barriere took over after that and had 246 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone. Eastern scored a school-record 45 points (as a member of FCS) in the first half of the 62-10 victory, and for the game Barriere was 23-of-33 for 284 yards and three touchdowns.
 
With 40 rushing yards, Barriere surpassed the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback. He now has 1,271, with Vernon Adams Jr. closing his career with 1,232. Barriere finished with 324 yards of total offense to give him 17 performances in his career of at least 300. He also moved past Bo Levi Mitchell into fifth in school history in passing yards (7,787) and moved past the 9,000-yard mark in total offense as an Eagle (9,058).
 
Although he didn't start, EWU is still 12-0 at Roos Field when he starts as the Eagles extended its winning streak at "The Inferno" to 16 games. Talkington had a career day as the starter, finishing 6-of-9 for 132 yards and a pair of TDs as EWU finished with 416 through the air. Eastern had 683 yards of total offense against Cal Poly – the 35th 600-yard game in EWU's history.
 
A week earlier, Barriere helped rally the Eagles to a 46-42 Big Sky Conference victory over Idaho State on March 13 in Pocatello, Idaho. He has previously received national recognition as an All-American and received weekly honorable mention accolades, but it was his first national player of the week award from STATS. Barriere also earned the ROOT SPORTS Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week Award on March 14 for the second-straight week and fifth time in his career.
 
"Eric is flat-out the best player in the country," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "In my estimation, the ISU game was his best game as an Eagle bar none. I know his stats were immense and he's played a lot of good football, but in that game he played calm, cool and collected. He ran the ball and extended plays when he needed to, and he kept his eyes downfield. Even though we are amazed by the feats he shows us in games, his response in so many situations in the ISU game was so very mature. It was so fun to watch. He was taking what they were giving him and made plays when he needed to make plays. He's the best player in America at our level, just watch the video."
 
Barriere passed for 455 yards and five touchdowns versus ISU, rallying Eastern from a 42-31 deficit with 8:41 left. He completed 34-of-50 passes and had 474 yards of total offense. Besides accounting for 30 points with his five TD passes, he had a key two-point conversion pass to bring Eastern to within a field goal of the Bengals.
 
He passed for TDs on three of EWU's first four scoring drives of 80, 75, 70 and 62 yards. He then led EWU on a 10-play, 86-yard TD drive with 5:49 left to pull Eastern to within three after he passed for the two-point conversion.
 
After an ISU punt, he directed EWU on a game-winning, nine-play, 60-yard drive that included a game-winning 6-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Boston with 25 seconds to play. Anthany Smith clinched the victory with an interception on the game's final play.
 
Barriere now has five 400-yard passing performances in his Eastern career as he recorded the 44th in school history, and has 11 performances with at least 300 yards. Coupled with his 19 rushing yards, Barriere had 474 yards of total offense to give him nine career performances with 400+. His passing yardage total was the second-best of his career and his total offense tally was third.
 
Barriere was honored by the Big Sky after he passed for 413 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-13 victory over Northern Arizona on March 6 at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.  Eastern piled up 622 yards of total offense in the 32-point victory.
 
 
Eagles Now 59-10 on the Red Turf with Record 16-Game Winning Streak
 
Having won all five of its regular season home games in 2019 and all eight in 2018, Eastern has started the  2020-21 season 2-0 at home to give the Eagles a school-record 16-straight wins at Roos Field. Eastern is now 59-10 (85.5 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" – 46-6 (88.5 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 original red turf at Roos Field was replaced in summer of 2020 by a new AstroTurf surface.
 
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 172-65 record (72.6 percent) in 237 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.
 
 
Streak of At Least One Road Win Extended to 52 Seasons
 
A 51-season streak of winning at least one road game was extended to 52 when Eastern Washington won its road game at Idaho State on March 13, 2021, in Pocatello, Idaho, by a 46-42 score. The year prior, EWU had also extended it with a win at ISU on Nov. 9, 2019. That streak now includes all 37 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, 2019, and will try to extend it to 27 when EWU plays is regular season finale at UC Davis on April 3.
 
 
Eastern Now 57-0 Since 2010 When Winning the TO Battle
 
In the last 13 seasons (2008-20), the Eagles are now 66-1 when they've won the turnover battle, 24-9 when they've been tied and 23-33 when they've lost (total of 113-43). 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 57-0 since 2010 when they've won the turnover battle, 21-9 when they've been tied and 22-26 when they've lost. That's a collective record of 100-35 (74.1 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 beat Northern Arizona 45-13 on March 6, but also lost the turnover battle in that one, 3-0. Eastern beat Idaho State by both score (46-42) and the turnover battle (3-2). Eastern won the turnover battle 2-1 against Cal Poly on March 27.
 
 
Total of 19 Players Have Made First Career Starts
 
Junior quarterback Gunner Talkington made the first start of his career versus Cal Poly on March 27 and finished with career highs for completions (6), yards (132), touchdowns (2), rushing yards (14), long rush (14) and total offense (146). On Eastern's second play of the game, he found Talolo Limu-Jones for a 71-yard gain and then followed with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Talkington to Freddie Roberson to open the floodgates. The Eagles finished with 416 yards passing.
 
Junior linebacker Cale Lindsay also made his first career start versus the Mustangs and had a career-high eight tackles. Thus far in the 2020-21 season, 19 players have made the initial starts of their careers – 11 on defense and eight on offense.
 
Sophomore Justin Patterson made the first start of his career at Idaho State on March 13, and had a pair of tackles in his debut.  Four players made their first career starts in the Northern Arizona game, including three on the defensive side. Junior Debore'ae McClain and redshirt freshman Brock Harrison made their first starts, as did redshirt freshman nickel back Marlon Jones Jr. The lone starting debut on offense was by sophomore Brad Godwin at guard.
 
In addition, true freshman kicker Jackson Cleaver made his Eagle debut versus Northern Arizona and scored EWU's first points with a 28-yard field goal, then made all six of his extra point attempts after that.
 
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. In the NAU game, defensive backs Kameron Lane and DaJean Wells and defensive lineman Matthew Brown all played as true freshmen.
 
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 (130 starts by 21 players): Calin Criner 16, Tre Weed 15, Jack Sendelbach 15, Chris Ojoh 14, Mitchell Johnson 14, Kedrick Johnson 8, Darreon Moore 7, Darrien Sampson 7, Ty Graham 4, Anthany Smith 4, Joshua Jerome 4, Keshaun King 4, Jacob Newsom 4, Brock Harrison 3, Ira Branch 3, Caleb Davis 2, Marlon Jones Jr. 2, Cale Lindsay 1, Jusstis Warren 1, Debore'ae McClain 1, Justin Patterson 1.
 
Current Starts on Offense (149 starts by 18 players): Tristen Taylor 44, Eric Barriere 26, Andrew Boston 22, Johnny Edwards IV 12, Dylan Ingram 6, Conner Crist 6, Talolo Limu Jones 6, Freddie Roberson 6, Wyatt Musser 4, Matt Shook 4, Tamarick Pierce 3, Dennis Merritt 2, Brad Godwin 2, Blake Gobel 1, Wyatt Hansen 2, Gunner Talkington 1, Anthony Stell Jr. 1, Efton Chism III 1.
 
 
Defense Continues Impressive Performances

Offense pays the bills at Eastern, but the defense has definitely cashed in with three impressive performances thus far. Although the Eagles fell to Idaho 28-21 on Feb. 27, the defense surrendered just 366 yards, including only 70 on the ground. In a 45-13 win the next week versus Northern Arizona, the defense surrendered just 338 – 128 rushing and 210 passing. In those two games, Eastern had a 344-yard advantage in total offense (1,048 to 704), and forced opponents to punt 13 times and settle for field goal attempts on four occasions.
 
Eastern followed that by giving up 42 points and 512 total yards at Idaho State on March 13. The defense did allow just 93 yards rushing. Two weeks later in a 62-10 victory over Cal Poly, Eastern surrendered just 238 yards – 70 passing and 168 on the ground. Through four games, the defense is allowing 23.2 points and 360.8 yards per game – 112.0 on the ground and 248.8 through the air.
 
Linebacker Ty Graham has led the way through three games with a team-leading 33 tackles in four games, and linebacker Chris Ojoh has 24 tackles in three games played, with Ojoh also breaking up a pair of passes. Safety Anthany Smith has 23 tackles with three interceptions and three passes broken up, and defensive tackle Joshua Jerome has 23 tackles with a team-leading three sacks.
 
 
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.
 
In the poll released on March 8, Eastern moved up to No. 18 while Weber State remained second and UC Davis entered the rankings at No. 23 after beating Idaho 27-17. The Eagles beat Idaho State on March 13 and moved up one spot to 15th, while Weber State dropped one spot to third and UC Davis moved up to 21st after a close 18-13 victory for WSU over the Aggies. On March 22nd, Eastern was ranked 12th, Weber State was third and UC Davis was 15th.
 
 Most recently, in the March 29th poll, Eastern is ranked ninth, Weber State is third and UC Davis is 11th. The weekly coaches poll will be announced on March 30th.
 
Weber State was ranked No. 2 in the nation in the preseason Athlon poll behind North Dakota State, and Idaho was the other Big Sky Conference school in the rankings at No. 24. Weber State was picked No. 4 by Stats Perform in its initial poll of the season.
 
 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
 
 
 
68 Percent of EWU's Roster Are From Washington in 2020-21
 
The Eagles currently have 96 players on its 2020-21 roster, and 65 of them – 68 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 44 games he has 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-to-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 were 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 marked 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's final regular season home football game on April 10 (Idaho) will 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 March 6 at home versus Northern Arizona (45-13 win), and both were televised by SWX. Eastern then won at Idaho State 46-42 on March 13 before beating Cal Poly 62-10 at home in another game on SWX.
 
Eastern will also play a road game at 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.
 
At this time, no tickets will be made available to the general public at EWU home games, including current season ticket holders. In accordance with the Health Washington – Roadmap to Recovery Phase 3 guidelines, Eastern is permitted to allow attendance at up to 25 percent of capacity of the facility. However, as EWU considered regional and institutional guidelines to safely bring spectators back to campus for EWU Football, it was determined to limit attendance to guests of student-athletes and a limited number of EWU students. In addition, Eastern parking lots will continue to be closed to the general public and no pre-game tailgating or overnight parking will be allowed.
 
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, and leads the Eagles with 33 tackles through four games – including his EWU career high of nine against Cal Poly on March 27. He also had a quarterback hurry in that game that led to a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown by Mitchell Johnson.
 
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 Already Piling Up Yards
 
Senior quarterback and Walter Payton Award candidate Eric Barriere has opened his senior season by passing for 1,487 yards and 13 touchdowns already. Included was a 413-yard passing effort versus Northern Arizona on March 6 to earn Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors for the fourth time in his career. The following week he repeated as BSC Offensive Player of the Week when he had 451 passing yards at Idaho State, giving him a total of five honors in his career.  In addition, he won his first STATS Perform FCS Offensive Player of the Week honor.
 
Barriere has now had 17 performances of at least 300 yards of total offense and 11 with at least 300 yards passing in his 35 games as an Eagle (18-8 as a starter, including 12-0 at home). He has had nine with at least 400 yards of total offense and five with at least 400 passing.
 
In his career, Barriere has completed 60.3 percent of his passes (581-of-964), good for 7,787 yards, 69 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, and has rushed 260 times for 1,271 net yards and 17 more TDs. He had a passing efficiency rating of 146.9 as a sophomore, 151.6 in 2019 and a 147.8 mark in his career to currently rank fifth in school history. His touchdown passes rank sixth, his total of 9,058 yards of offense rank fifth all-time at EWU and his passing yardage is fifth. Barriere has surpassed the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback -- he now has 1,271 with Vernon Adams Jr. closing his career with 1,232.
 
Barriere opened his senior season at Idaho on Feb. 27 by completing 32-of-57 passes for 330 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. 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.
 
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 once in 2018.
 
His second honor in 2019 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 and rushed for 61 versus the Bengals to finish with 467 yards total. 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 Hits Third-Longest Field Goal in School History After Odd Twist to 2020-21 Campaign
 
Sophomore Seth Harrison put an exclamation point on his young career thus far by establishing some history in EWU's 62-10 win over Cal Poly on March 27. His 55-yard field goal late in the first half matched the third-best in school history and ranks only behind makes of 57 and 56 yards. It was the longest by an Eagle in more than 14 years, and helped EWU set a school record as a member of FCS for points in the first half with 45 (the previous record was 41).
 
Later in the game he also kicked a 47-yarder which now equals the 33rd longest, and he also had a 50-yarder at Idaho State on March 20. He became just the seventh Eagle in school history to have at least three career field goals of 47 yards or more, and just the fourth with two of at least 50 yards. There have been just 44 total field goals of 47 yards or more and 22 of at least 50 all-time at EWU.
 
He also made all eight of his extra point attempts and averaged 60.0 yards per kickoff versus Cal Poly with one touchback. For the season, he is 3-of-5 kicking field goals, 16-of-16 on extra points and is averaging 60.8 per kickoff (two touchbacks). In his career he is 15-of-17 on field goals, 66-of-69 kicking extra points and has a 54.2 kickoff average (eight touchbacks).
 
As a redshirt freshman in the 2019 season, he was the only player in FCS with an average of at least one field goal attempt per game to be perfect, 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."
 
Harrison missed the Northern Arizona game, but then kicked a career-long 50-yard field goal in the first quarter at Idaho State on March 13. The boot equaled the 17th longest in school history. He is now 13-of-15 kicking field goals in his career.
 
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 has yet to play in the 2020-21 season.
 
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 Goes Over 100 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. Including performances of eight receptions for 120 yards versus Northern Arizona on March 6 and another 10 for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns versus ISU, he has 112 receptions for 1,551 yards and 12 touchdowns in 29 career games (22 as a starter) as an Eagle. He 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 Adds First Career Interception for a TD to Go Along With 7 1/2 Career Sacks
 
Junior "buck" defensive end Mitchell Johnson has been an opportunistic player on the Eastern Washington defense in his career, and that certainly was the case in EWU's 62-10 victory over Cal Poly on March 27. He had had his first career touchdown on a 34-yard return just six minutes into the game to give EWU a 21-0 lead over the Mustangs.
 
His return came on his fourth career interception, thanks in part to a quarterback hurry by linebacker Ty Graham. The score came after EWU had scored on its first two offensive possessions of the game, and helped EWU lead 45-7 at halftime. The 28 points EWU scored in the first quarter was the second-best in EWU's history in FCS, and the 45 first-half points broke the previous record of 41. Johnson also broke-up a pass, had a quarterback hurry and had one tackle despite playing sparingly in the second half.
 
He now has 85 tackles, 7 1/2 sacks, four interceptions, four passes broken up, three fumble recoveries and a pair of forced fumbles in his 31-game career (14 as a starter). He had 1 1/2 sacks and eight total tackles versus Northern Arizona on March 6, 2021.  In his sophomore season in 2019, he had 41 tackles with 1 1/2 sacks and an interception.
 
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.
 
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 21-of-47 passes for 267 yards and four touchdowns 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 has not played in the 2020-21 season.
 
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 39 games of experience (six as a starter), and has 72 career catches for 1,267 yards and 12 touchdowns – an average of 17.6 per reception (currently seventh in school history). He is currently EWU's leading receiver in 2020-21 with 30 catches for 426 yards and a score. He had seven receptions – all in the first half -- to equal his career high of 147 yards receiving as 11 different Eagles caught passes in a 62-10 win over Cal Poly on March 27, 2021. He had a 71-yard reception on the game's second play to help open the floodgates for EWU, which scored 45 points in the first half to set a school-record as a member of FCS. In the second quarter, he caught five passes for 76 yards with a long of 34, then played sparingly in the second half.
 
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 both have excelled after three games. Roberson has 24 grabs for 331 yards and two touchdowns, and Stell has 11 for 180 and a pair of scores.
 
Both 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. Stell topped that with five catches for 84 yards and a TD versus Northern Arizona on March 6, and Roberson finished with 65 yards and a score on four catches.
 
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 six passes for 56 yards two scores in his career. Sophomore Aiden Nellor is also back and has 15 games of experience as an Eagle, as well as redshirt freshman Blake Gobel, who now has eight 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 followed that with his first 100-yard rushing game with 105 and two scores versus Northern Arizona on March 6.
 
He now has a 6.48 career average per rush which currently ranks third in school history. Pierce has rushed for 1,296 yards and 22 touchdowns in 43 games as an Eagle with 17 catches for 114 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 738 yards (6.42 average per rush to rank fifth in school history) and five touchdowns rushing in his career, and another 15 catches for 230 yards and four scores in 34 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 13 career games, and has 268 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 44 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 26 career games of experience and six starts under his belt, including seven games and two starts in 2019. Junior starting guard Wyatt Musser now has 30 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 14 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. Sophomore Brad Godwin made his first career start at guard in the next game on March 6 against Northern Arizona and now has 13 games of experience.
 
Eastern had 2,450 yards of offense in the last four games of the 2019 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 current totals of 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 20 games (15 as a starter) and has career total of 60 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. Moore has played in 24 career games (seven as a starter), and has 40 tackles with three passes broken up and a sack, but has yet to play in 2020-21. 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 18 career games now (seven starts) and has 24 tackles, two interceptions and three passes broken up. Branch has 20 games of experience in his career (three starts) with 21 tackles and four passes broken up.
 
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 27 tackles in his 18-game career (four as a starter), and Smith has 50 career tackles, three interceptions and three passes broken up in 22 games (four 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. Doyle had his first tackles of his EWU career against Northern Arizona on March 6 and finished with seven.
 
Sendelbach and Ojoh headline a linebacker corp that includes five returning letterwinners. Sendelbach has not played in 2020-21, 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 174 tackles, three sacks, an interception and five passes broken up in his 33-game career (14 as a starter). He has five performances in his career with at least 10 tackles.
 
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 has not played in the 2020-21 season.
 
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 18 career games (four as a starter), but already has 64 career tackles with 4 1/2 sacks, a pass broken up and a fumble recovery.
 
Junior Debore'ae McClain had 11 tackles in 2019, and now has 28 in 31 career games with 1 1/2 sacks. He made the first start of his career against Northern Arizona on March 6 and had three tackles.
 
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 52 career punts, he has averaged 39.3 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

 
* Including a pair of victories over UC Davis in the 2018 season, the Eagles have won all eight of the all-time meetings against the Aggies, including the notorious "Fog Bowl" in the first meeting in 2005. That 24-7 game at fog-shrouded Roos Field (then Woodward Field) featured near-zero visibility from the pressbox. Although a non-conference game, that day EWU clinched the Big Sky Conference co-championship with Montana and Montana State, and secured the automatic berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs (then known as I-AA). The Bobcats upset Montana 16-6 in Bozeman that same day, opening the door for the Eagles to garner its second-straight league title and playoff berth. The Eagles found out the outcome of the MSU-UM game in the second quarter, then rested many of its starters in the second half. In the other meetings, Eastern won in Cheney in 2007 by a 41-31 score, and then prevailed 31-28 in a Big Sky Conference game in 2012. In 2014, Eastern won at UC Davis 37-14, and romped 63-30 in 2016 in Cheney. The Eagles also had a come-from-behind 41-38 victory at UC Davis in 2017.
 
 
Looking Back . . . #4 EWU 34, #7 UC Davis 29
 
After all the blowouts, the Eagles needed a fourth-quarter comeback on their resume. Eastern rallied twice in the fourth quarter to get by UC Davis 34-29 in a rematch between Big Sky Conference teams on Dec. 8, 2018, at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash., in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs. Eastern trailed 21-14 in the fourth quarter, but scored twice within a less than three minute span to pull ahead. After the Aggies regained the lead with 1:13 to play on a two-point conversion to take 29-28 lead, Eastern scored on a four-play, 75-yard drive to advance to the school's sixth semifinal in school history. Sophomore quarterback Eric Barriere accounted for 278 yards of offense and four touchdowns for the Eagles, with 235 through the air and 43 on the ground. Running back Sam McPherson had 143 rushing yards, including a game-winning 35-yard touchdown run. Four Eagles finished in double figures in tackles for the Eagle defense, which had three interceptions and forced a total of four turnovers. Senior linebacker Ketner Kupp led the way with a career-high 16 tackles. Eastern forced UC Davis to punt on five-straight possessions late in the game, and during that time held the Aggies to 1-of-6 on third down. Trailing 21-14 entering the fourth quarter, Eastern went on an eight-play, 82-yard drive that was capped by a 5-yard TD run by Barriere, and featured a 33-yard pass by McPherson to Dennis Merritt. Eastern took a 28-21 lead on a 7-yard TD pass from Barriere to Nsimba Webster to cap a two-play, 62-yard drive. The first play was a 55-yard TD pass from Barriere to Andrew Boston. After UC Davis went on a seven-play, 42-yard drive to pull within one, the Aggies took a 29-28 lead with a successful two-point conversion with 1:13 left. Eastern, though, needed just four plays to take the lead back, starting with a 29-yard run by Barriere. A pass for 10 yards to Webster gave EWU another first down, then McPherson went around the left end for the final 35 and a TD with 26 seconds to play. Eastern clinched the win on a sack and forced fumble by Jim Townsend that was recovered by Chris Ojoh with 15 seconds left. The Eagles had a slight edge in total offense 482-469, with nearly identical numbers rushing and passing. Eastern rushed for 214 while UCD had 191, and the Aggies had a 278-268 advantage in passing yards. Although Eastern didn't turn any of them into points, the Eagles did win the turnover battle 4-1.
 
 
Looking Back . . . #5 Eastern Washington 59, #4 UC Davis 20
 
The No. 5 Eastern football team scored 59 of the game's last 69 points to blow past No. 4 UC Davis 59-20 in a Big Sky Conference showdown of teams ranked in the top five nationally on Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day on Nov. 10, 2018, at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash. The victory moved EWU into a first-place tie in the league, and put Eastern one win away from the school's 10th Big Sky Conference title and a 13th berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs. Eastern finished with a dominating 669-395 advantage in total offense after spotting the Aggies the first 10 points of the game. Sophomore quarterback Eric Barriere accounted for 345 of the yards with 285 passing and 60 on the ground. He had a touchdown pass, but EWU rushed for six TDs and 372 yards. It was just the seventh time Eastern has played a top 5 matchup in the FCS, including just three in the regular season. It came on a cold and foggy 30-degree day at sold-out Roos Field. A crowd of 8,789 were on hand for EWU's 30th-consecutive sellout and 42nd in school history. The offensive total was the sixth-best in school history (at the time), and EWU scored at least 50 points for the 59th time in school history and the fourth time in the 2018 season. Eastern had just one turnover and forced five, including interceptions by seniors Josh Lewis and Nzuzi Webster, and one on the last play of the game by junior Brad Alexander. Webster returned his 45 yards for a key touchdown in the third quarter, and his twin brother Nsimba Webster was EWU's leading receiver with three catches for 103 yards. It was a fitting send-off for 27 Eagle seniors in their final regular season game at Roos Field. Aside from two long touchdown runs of 46 and 69 yards, the Eagle defense allowed UCD into the red zone just once all day, and the Aggies had to settle for a field goal. Eastern's defense finished with five forced turnovers (equaling the most since 2010), 13 passes broken up (the most for EWU since at least 1996), five quarterback hurries and six tackles for loss. After giving up 10 early points to the Aggies, Eastern gave up just 78 yards on the next 25 plays and EWU's offense scored 21 unanswered points to take a 21-10 lead. The Eagles then scored 38 second-half points, including seven on a defensive touchdown. Junior running back Antoine Custer Jr. had the sixth 100-yard performance of his career, finishing with 100 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns. Senior running back Sam McPherson and junior running back Tamarick Pierce also had two touchdowns apiece, with McPherson finishing with 95 yards on 21 carries and Pierce adding 75 on eight rushes. Sophomore linebacker Chris Ojoh made the third start of his career and had what was then a career-high 10 tackles with a forced fumble and quarterback hurry. Senior Ketner Kupp also finished with 10 tackles and two passes broken up. Senior safety Mitch Fettig had seven tackles and was credited with three passes broken up. Sixth-year senior kicker Roldan Alcobendas kicked a 24-yard field goal to remain perfect on the season at 13-for-13. He also converted all eight of his extra points and punted five times for a 39.8 average with four of his punts downed inside the UCD 20-yard line.
 
 
Looking Back Further. . .
 
* In 2017, Eastern rallied from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter by scoring 21 points in the period and went on to spoil the upset hopes of UC Davis with a heart-stopping 41-38 victory over the Aggies Oct. 7, 2017, at Davis, Calif. Quarterback Gage Gubrud engineered scoring drives of 71, 55 and 75 yards in the final quarter, and finished with six touchdown passes and 452 yards passing. He passed 6 yards to Nic Sblendorio for a game-winning TD with 1:37 to play, followed by a missed 49-yard field goal by the Aggies that could have knotted the game. The Aggies finished with a 551-501 advantage in total offense, but Eastern had 205 in the fourth quarter alone. The Eagles managed only 13 points in the first 41 minutes of the game, having five three-and-outs in that span. Eastern, however, finished with five touchdown drives of 73 yards or more, and another of 55. Gubrud completed 33-of-53 passes as he finished with 452 passing yards, and six touchdown passes. Wide receiver Nsimba Webster caught six passes for 102 yards and a touchdown, tight end Talolo Limu-Jones had three catches for 66 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns, and Sblendorio finished with seven catches, 82 yards and a score. Six Eagles had nine or more tackles, led by defensive end Keenan Williams with a career-high 12 tackles.
 
* In 2016, Eastern erupted for 35 points in the third quarter and rolled past UC Davis 63-30 on Oct. 1, 2016, at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash. The Eagles scored all of their points in the first 49:44 of the game en route to EWU's highest-scoring game since 2001 when the Eagles had 63 versus Cal State Northridge and 66 two games earlier versus Simon Fraser. The 63 points equaled EWU's best against a member of FCS and in a Big Sky game. Quarterback Gage Gubrud had 254 passing yards in the third quarter alone, and finished with 486 to come five from the school record (at the time) of 491. Eastern had 627 yards of total offense – the ninth-most in school history (at the time) – including a 131-0 advantage after two possessions each for the Eagles and Aggies. Already the FCS leader in career touchdown receptions, Cooper Kupp broke the FCS record for career receiving yards as he surpassed the previous mark of 5,250 set by Elon's Terrell Hudgins from 2006-09. Kupp finished with 12 catches for 274 yards and TD receptions of 71 and 32 yards, coming one yard from his own school record of 275. Shaq Hill and Kendrick Bourne each had two touchdown grabs and 82 receiving yards, with Hill catching seven and Bourne finishing with eight. D'londo Tucker made his first start of the season and had a pair of tackles, a pass broken up and an interception he returned 27 yards for a touchdown. His return gave EWU a 56-30 lead eight seconds into the fourth quarter. Miquiyah Zamora led Eastern with 10 tackles and Jay-Tee Tiuli had four, including a pair of sacks and a quarterback hurry.
 
* In 2014, it wasn't easy – and sometimes excruciating – but Eastern got by UC Davis 37-14 in its first-ever game in Davis., Calif., on Sept. 27 at Aggie Stadium. The victory came in EWU's Big Sky Conference opener as the defending league champions. The Eagles scored the first three times they had the ball in the third quarter, after having only three possessions total in the first half. As a result, the Eagles turned a 9-7 halftime lead into a 30-7 advantage late in the third quarter. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. led the way with 298 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns. Eastern out-gained UC Davis in total offense 475-260. In the pivotal third quarter, EWU had a 203-11 advantage until a 70-yard pass play by the Aggies on the final play of the period. Mario Brown, starting in place of injured starter Quincy Forte (shoulder), rushed for 78 yards on 13 carries and scored a touchdown. His 45-yard run led to his own 6-yard TD rush to give the Eagles a 30-7 lead. He also returned three kickoffs for 64 yards and a caught a pass for five, giving him a game-high 147 all-purpose yards. Wide receiver Nic Sblendorio made the first start of his career and had one catch, and defensive end Samson Ebukam had a pair of sacks and three total tackles for the Eagles. His first sack led to a punt that helped lead to an EWU field goal that gave the Eagles the lead for good. His second sack slowed a drive with UC Davis at its own 44-yard line with a minute left in the first half.
 
* In 2012, the Eagles were out-scored 22-0 in the second quarter, regained the lead in the fourth quarter then blocked a field goal in the final minute to preserve a 31-28 victory. The Aggies were poised to pull off the upset with a long drive on their final possession, but Eastern's David Gaylord blocked a 52-yard field goal attempt by Brady Stuart with 46 seconds left to preserve the Eagle win and keep Eastern's Big Sky Conference championship hopes alive. Eastern led early 14-3 and had a 141-31 advantage in total offense. But over the next 18 1/2 minutes, UC Davis converted four of five third downs and rolled up 247 yards of offense to take a 25-14 lead at halftime. In that same time span, Eastern had only 37 yards of offense and only one first down, and had to punt on its final three possessions. Eastern quarterbacks Vernon Adams Jr. and Kyle Padron combined to complete 19-of-31 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown, but the Eagles were out-gained in total offense 435-361. Adams scored the go-ahead points for Eastern with a 9-yard run with 8:13 left in the game. Redshirt freshman safety Jordan Tonani had seven tackles, an interception and a pass broken up.
 
* In 2007, Eastern had 478 yards of offense and two interceptions on defense that led to second-half touchdowns to defeat UC Davis 41-31 on Sept. 15. The two teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards of offense as UC Davis finished with 517. However, a third-quarter interception by sophomore Kevin Hatch and a fourth-quarter interception by freshman redshirt Lonnie Hosley turned out to be the biggest plays of the game for the Eagles. Eastern trailed early 14-6, but roared back behind three rushing touchdowns by junior Dale Morris. Morris had 85 yards rushing on 17 carries, and Alexis Alexander added 122 yards and a touchdown, also on 17 carries. Eastern also had a good day through the air as sophomore quarterback Matt Nichols completed 25-of-42 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns. Fellow sophomores Aaron Boyce (9-107), Brynsen Brown (7-82) and Tony Davis (5-35) combined for 21 receptions for 224 yards.
 
* In the 2005 meeting, Eastern scored four-straight times in the first half and went on to defeat UC-Davis 24-7. Eastern quarterback Erik Meyer, who would go on to win the Payton Award, left the game for good late in the second quarter after completing 11-of-19 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Plus, he had a 67-yard run on his only carry of the game that set-up an Eagle score. All-America wide receiver Eric Kimble also left the game before halftime after finishing with five catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. Eastern punted on its first possession, then scored touchdowns on drives of 45, 80 and 78 yards. UC Davis scored its only touchdown on a 50-yard interception return by Nolan De Graff in the third quarter. Eastern finished with 329 yards of total offense, while UC Davis finished with 308.
 
 
 
 
 
  

Recent Game Recap

 
Eagles Rally to Win With 25 Seconds Left at Idaho State
 
It didn't take long for Eastern to recover from a two-week layoff. The 12th-ranked Eagles scored three touchdowns in the first six minutes of the game and went on to rout Cal Poly 62-10 in a Big Sky Conference game March 27 at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash. Eastern rolled up 683 yards of offense and allowed just 238 versus its former head coach and some familiar names on the opposing sideline. Eastern had a 21-0 lead with 8:59 left in the first quarter, and went on to score the second-most points in the first quarter as a member of FCS to take a 28-7 advantage. Eastern set its school record for first-half points in leading 45-7 at intermission, and had a 447-102 advantage in offense. The Eagles capped the half with a 55-yard field goal by Seth Harrison, matching the third-best in school history and ranking only behind makes of 57 and 56 yards. It was the longest by an Eagle in more than 14 years. Eastern finished with the 16th-most points in school history, and the 52-point differential equaled the fifth-best for EWU as a member of FCS. The yardage total for EWU was the eighth-most all-time in school history. All-America quarterback Eric Barriere didn't start, but EWU is still 12-0 at Roos Field when he starts as the Eagles extended their winning streak at "The Inferno" to 16 games. He had 246 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone, and for the game was 23-of-33 for 284 yards and three touchdowns. Starter Gunner Talkington was 6-of-9 for 132 yards and a pair of TDs as EWU finished with 416 through the air. Senior Talolo Limu-Jones had seven receptions for a career-high 147 yards as 11 different Eagles caught passes. Senior Tamarick Pierce rushed for 80 yards and a pair of scores for EWU, which had eight different players carry the ball. Eastern finished with 267 rushing yards. Senior Ty Graham and Arizona State transfer Ely Doyle each had nine tackles for the EWU defense. Eastern had six quarterback sacks, led by the two of sophomore Joshua Jerome, who also had seven tackles and a fumble recovery. Junior Mitchell Johnson had an interception he returned 34 yards for a touchdown to give EWU its 21-0 lead, and he also broke-up a pass, had a quarterback hurry and had one tackle. On Eastern's second play of the game, Talkington – a surprise starting quarterback -- found Limu-Jones for a 71-yard gain to open the floodgates. The Eagles followed with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Talkington to Freddie Roberson, then Pierce rushed 44 yards for a score. Eastern's then scored on a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown by Johnson, just 6:01 into the game. Eastern finished the quarter with a Dennis Merritt recovery of a fumbled pass completion into the end zone from Barriere to Andrew Boston. The 28 points came just a single point from EWU's FCS-best of 29 in the first quarter. The first career touchdown reception for Efton Chism III followed in the second quarter, tight end Dylan Ingram also caught a TD pass, then Harrison booted his field goal just before intermission. The 45 points were four better than the school-record halftime total of 41 set in 1994 in the first game in the coaching career of Mike Kramer and the first-ever night game at Roos Field. Eastern scored in the third quarter on a 47-yard field goal by Harrison, then Pierce had his second TD of the game with a 7-yard run to cap a 95-yard drive. Eastern's final TD came on an 18-yard pass from Talkington to sophomore Michael Taras.
 
 

More Aaron Best Comments

 
On Playoff Feel to UC Davis Game After Lopsided Cal Poly Win: "They are all big. We came off a bye and they come at a good time – there is never a bad bye on the schedule. But you are always anticipating how you are going to play coming off an off week with some rest. At the end of the day, with a six-game season every game is a playoff game. It leaves you little room for error. We do know we are 3-1 and going against a very capable and high-caliber UC Davis team."
 
On Win over Cal Poly: "Our guys came out and flat-out played relentless from the first snap of the game. We went down and scored on our first two possessions on offense, and scored a defensive touchdown too. When you can get up in a game early, it creates momentum – especially when the defense gets stops and the offense scores points. It was a total team win by all three phases. There were a lot of players who had a hand in the winning effort today."
 
On Balanced Victory Over Mustangs: "It was a well-rounded game by us again. The last two times we've played at home – Cal Poly and Northern Arizona – we've played really well in all three phases. And we played together and the units fed off of each other. We put ourselves in a precarious position with a turnover in the red zone on offense, but the defense stopped Cal Poly for no points. Later in the game we had a blocked punt in our own end, and the defense yielded just three points. That's what you have to do to gel and bond as a team to buckle down in those situations."
 
On Performance Versus CP: "We were efficient on offense and we only gave up yards between the 20s. When you only give up 10 points – especially at home – there are going to be good things that happen on the red. This a Cal Poly team which was coming off a road game at UC Davis, so we knew it would be tough for them going back-to-back on the road -- it always is no matter who you are. We were fortunate we played as well as we did today, and it was because of great preparation. I commend our team for that."
 
On Deepness at Some Positions: "We have depth and it's been built over time. We have a lot of guys capable of making plays. And when given the opportunity – whether it be the first quarter or fourth quarter – those reps are earned. They are not deserved and they aren't just handed out. We were fortunate to be in the situation to bring players in at certain times throughout the game. Looking at the stats, there wasn't a guy who had the bulk of the yards. They shared the mail, so to speak. We did a good job of keeping Cal Poly off-balance."
 
On Winning Third Game After Season-Opening Loss: "Wins are hard to come by – half the country loses every week. We just happened to be on the better half of things today. From top-to-bottom, it was a total team effort. We were efficient, we moved the ball, we broke tackles and we held onto the football for the better part of the day."
 
On Winning 16th-Straight at Roos Field: "It's always fun to play at home, and we got to play in front of some fans. It was our 16th win in a row on the red, and that is something we look to continue when we get back here in a couple of weeks. Now we'll put our efforts toward UC Davis after this total team victory. We're proud of everybody involved."
 
On Long Road Trip to Idaho State: "It takes a little bit of wind out of your sails when you take two days to get to a destination to play an early-evening/late-afternoon game on Saturday. But our team fought and fought hard. It was a very, very gutsy performance and far from perfect in a lot of ways. We just ended up making a couple of plays at the end when we needed to. It was a very good team victory, and I thought our special teams group stepped their game up quite a bit from the NAU game. We played more consistently in the main four special teams units, and it was good to have Seth Harrison back to kick that 50-yard field goal. That was a boost in the arm. We just made more plays in the end."
 
On Anthany Smith: "He's an emotional leader for us, and he absolutely knows where he needs to be. He's a physical and vocal leader for us – he plays on the backend so everybody hears him. He plays the game the way it's supposed be played – very fast, very fearless and very physical. That's what we want out of any defensive player, especially one who is playing center field like he does. There is no doubt he's been a force these last three games, and we lean on him to make plays."
 
On Victory Over NAU: "Our team did a great job with the game plan in all three phases. It was a windy environment but the sun was out, and it was our first home game in the 2020-21 season and the first game on the new red turf. We held serve and we've won 15 in a row at home. We're happy for the fans who weren't in the stands, but were on the hills watching. It was nice having Andrew Boston back making plays and over 100 yards. His leadership and his ability be able to catch the ball and get up field really helped in that department."
 
On Offensive Explosion Versus NAU After 426 Yards and 14 Points from Offense at Idaho: "We are thankful for what we have. We sometimes get so accustomed to offensive fireworks at Eastern and sometimes there aren't as many fireworks. Fourth of July happens only once a year, and fans expect that every Saturday – I do as well. But this is the second time two weeks in that our defense has allowed us to rely on some different things. We can play more team ball together, and we've done that for two weeks. We came up short against Idaho, but against NAU we put 45 points up on the board. But that doesn't come without a ton of hard work."
 
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."