A pair of late touchdowns and a pair of late interceptions were the fourth-quarter hand the Eagles needed on a day that featured 25-mile per hour winds at "The Inferno" and an Idaho run-first attack at quarterback.
 
With two late scoring drives followed by key interceptions by its defense, senior All-America quarterback Eric Barriere rallied the ninth-ranked Eastern Washington University football team to a 38-31 victory Saturday (April 10) in a Big Sky Conference game at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash., to keep alive EWU's postseason playoff hopes.
 
Weber State won earlier over Idaho State 20-15, capturing the regular season Big Sky title. But Eastern's win hopefully clinched a possible berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs for EWU. Pairings will be revealed on a selection show aired on Sunday, April 18 at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time on ESPNU.
 
In a rematch of a February game in which the Eagles played without head coach Aaron Best on the sideline because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Eastern extended a pair of home winning streaks on Saturday after out-gaining Idaho 476-352. The Eagles have won their last 17 homes games at "The Inferno," and Barriere  is a perfect 13-0 as a starter there.
 
"It was astounding," said Best of his team's late-game heroics, especially the key plays and stops made by EWU's defense. "The average field position for Idaho was about the 35-40 yard line (officially the Idaho 41). No matter who is running an offense, it's going to be extremely difficult for your defense when it's out there every time at mid-field. We have to cover kicks better and the wind didn't heed us in the punt game."
 
Barriere passed for 309 yards and two touchdowns, and had another 40 on the ground to give him 349 yards of total offense. Senior running back Dennis Merritt rushed for three scores – including the game-tying and game-winning TDs in the final quarter. An interception by junior Keshaun King set-up the game-winning 78-yard drive, and EWU clinched the victory with an interception by junior Mitchell Johnson with 1:29 to play. It was the fifth career interception for the opportunistic "Buck" defensive end.
 
 "We did enough to win this game and that's what it's all about," Best added.
 
On EWU's final two drives of 87 and 78 yards, Barriere was 5-of-10 for 50 yards and also rushed for another 33. Senior Tamarick Pierce had 26 yards on a pair of carries, and Merritt's two rushes were touchdowns of 21 and 14 yards. Eastern was also aided by major Idaho penalties on each drive.
 
Junior Anthany Smith had a career-high 17 tackles for EWU, eclipsing the 10 he had earlier this season at Idaho. Others with career highs for tackles were Jack Sendelbach (14, his ninth career performance in double figures), Johnson (9), King (9) and Joshua Jerome (9). Barriere had the 13th 300-yard passing performance of his career and his 19th with at least 300 yards of total offense.
 
Seven Eagle receivers caught passes for EWU, led by five by sophomore Freddie Roberson for 53 yards and four for 140 yards and a 66-yard touchdown by senior Talolo Limu-Jones. Pierce finished with 71 rushing yards and Merritt had 64.
 
Entering last week, there were four one-loss or better teams in the Big Sky. But now there are just two standing, with EWU finishing the regular season 5-1 and Idaho closing 2-3. The NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs – just 16 teams this year with only six at-large berths (changed from five on 4/7/21) -- are slated to begin on April 24 and conclude on May 16.
 
"I feel like the Big Sky is a very strong conference," said Best. "We were 5-1 in a six-game conference, and ranked in the top 10. Our resume is pretty strong. We did what we needed to do and are undefeated at home during this abbreviated spring season. If that doesn't cement one of the six at-large bids, I'm not sure what does."
 
The Eagles beat Northern Arizona 45-13 on March 6 in the first game on the new red Astroturf surface installed at "The Inferno" last summer. Most recently, the Eagles had a 62-10 romp over Cal Poly on March 27. In EWU's previous eight home games, EWU had won by an average score of 53-25. During the 16-game Roos Field winning streak EWU won by an average score of 52-23, with all but three games decided by at least 21 points.
 
On Feb. 27 in the 2020-21 season opener for both teams, Eastern was finally able to begin its 112th season in school history after a delay of five months because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Eagles opened a 14-0 lead at Idaho, but the Vandals would take their only lead of the game with 54 seconds left and won 28-21. Eastern had 426 yards of total offense – including 339 by Eric Barriere – while holding the Vandals to 366 yards.
 
Two days prior to that game, Eastern confirmed that Best had tested positive for Covid-19 and would miss the season-opening game at Idaho.  He followed proper isolation protocols via CDC guidelines and the Spokane Regional Health District, and came out of isolation on Saturday, March 6 to coach versus Northern Arizona.
 
The Eagles have won their last five games since then, while Idaho has slipped to a final finish of 2-3 overall.
 
 
Records
 
* Eastern is now 5-1 and Idaho is 2-3. Eastern was ranked ninth in this week's Stats Perform NCAA Football Championship Subdivision top-25 poll (ninth by the coaches). Previously, the Eagles opened the season with a loss to Idaho 28-21, then beat Northern Arizona at home 45-13 and Idaho State on the road 46-42. Eastern's most recent home game was a 62-10 romp past Cal Poly at home on March 27, then EWU won at 11th-ranked UC Davis 32-22, extending EWU's streak of seasons with at least two road wins to 27. At ISU EWU extended its streak of at least one to 52 seasons.
 
* With just the Northern Arizona at Southern Utah game remaining on April 10, Weber State sits atop the league standings at 5-0, followed by Eastern Washington at 5-1 and UC Davis at 3-2. Idaho is 2-2 and Idaho State is 2-4, while the last three teams in the standings are Northern Arizona is (1-2), Southern Utah (1-4) and Cal Poly (0-3).
 
* 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. Those games are considered a "no contest" and do not affect records. League tiebreakers will include winning percentage as the first tiebreaker because of an imbalance of games played. The next tiebreaker would be head-to-head, followed by record versus common conference opponents; combined conference winning percentage of all opponents defeated and then average point differential in conference games (capped at 21 points).
 
 
Game Details & Turning Point
 
Eastern scored on a six-play, 63-yard drive to open the game, with Freddie Roberson catching an 18-yard touchdown pass from Barriere. Idaho, however, scored the next two touchdowns behind the legs of starting quarterback Zach Borisch, normally a wide receiver who was pushed into action because of the unavailability of a trio of Vandal QBs. He ended up with 205 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and another 74 passing as he accounted for 279 of Idaho's 352 total yards.
 
Eastern scored the next 10 points, starting with a 23-yard field goal by Seth Harrison and followed by a 95-yard drive that took 15 plays and 5:38 off the clock. The Eagles took a 17-14 lead at that point on a 3-yard TD rush by Dennis Merritt, but Idaho tied the game and it was 17-all at halftime.
 
Borisch, who was a high school quarterback at nearby Kamiakin High School in Kennewick, Wash., where he had a pair of Eagles as teammates (Wyatt Musser and Darreon Moore), had 102 rushing yards in the first half alone. Barriere had 177 passing yards in the first 30 minutes.
 
Idaho took the lead early in the third quarter, but Eastern responded quickly with a 66-yard touchdown pass from Barriere to Talolo Limu-Jones. It was the third-straight game in which Limu-Jones has had a reception of at least that many yards.
 
Idaho took a 31-24 advantage with 6:55 left in the third quarter before EWU struck twice in the fourth, with both capped by touchdown runs by Merritt. The first capped a nine-play, 87-yard drive to knot the score, then the next with a seven-play, 78-yard march that put EWU up 38-31 with 6:50 to play.
 
 
Series Notes
 
* Eastern had lost the previous two times EWU and UI have met in Big Sky Conference games – 28-21 earlier this season and 35-27 in the 2019 season – both at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho. The Vandals re-joined the Big Sky in football in 2018, and Eastern won 38-14 in Cheney in 2018 after leading 31-0 at halftime. Prior to that, the last time the former league rivals had met in a Big Sky game was in 1995 when the Vandals prevailed 37-10 and the last time they met in Cheney was 1994. That 2018 game was the first meeting between the two schools since 2012 when Eastern won in Moscow 20-3.
 
* Since the series started in 1942, Idaho has won 17 of the 25 games played between the two schools, with a pair of five-game winning streaks. The Eagles are 4-10 all-time in Moscow, including a 35-27 loss in 2019 when the Vandals opened a 28-0 lead at halftime. Until 2018, Eastern had never defeated the Vandals in Cheney, losing 28-7 in 1942, 38-21 in 1992 and 40-15 in 1994. Eastern is now 2-3 versus Idaho in Cheney, and 2-4 all-time at Albi Stadium in Spokane (1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1997, 1999).
 
* The two teams played at least once for 17-straight seasons from 1983-1999, but only twice from 2000-2017. The Vandals and Eagles were Big Sky Conference rivals in the 1980's and 1990's before Idaho moved to NCAA Division I-A (now NCAA FBS) in the 1996 season. Eastern was 3-3 versus the Vandals during Idaho's stint as a FBS member. In 1992, Eastern and Idaho shared the Big Sky Conference title. Idaho was a member of the Big West Conference in four meetings versus the Eagles from 1996-99, and the Vandals were a member of the Sun Belt in the 2003 game. The 2012 game came with Idaho as a member of the Western Athletic Conference.
 
* Starting in 1984, the game was billed as the "Governor's Cup" with a large traveling trophy presented to the victor, and for a time, a bushel of apples and potatoes were wagered between the two governors. The President's Cup was last played between the Vandals and Eagles in 1997, but was rebranded to the Eastern-Montana contest for four seasons after that. In 1998 and 2000, it was called the George Gee Governor's Cup; in 2002 it was the Rockwood Clinic Governor's Cup; and in 2004 it was named the WestCoast Ridpath Hotel Governor's Cup presented by TicketsWest. The first three meetings were at Albi Stadium in Spokane, and the 2004 game was at Woodward Field in Cheney (now Roos Field).
 
 
More Game Notes
 
* The rematch with Idaho on April 10 was the first time in 52 seasons EWU has played the same opponent twice in the regular season in the same year. The last time was in 1969 when Eastern was a member of the NAIA and the Evergreen Conference. Eastern played Central Washington, Western Washington and Whitworth twice that season, with the last rematch coming on 11/15/69 versus Central. Eastern has played three other opponents times twice in the same season, but all three times the second meeting came in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs. The first came in 1985 versus Idaho, then EWU played Montana twice in 2014 and UC Davis twice in 2018. Eastern won five of the games, losing only to Idaho in the regular season in 1985.
 
* In research of past box scores this past week, it was confirmed that Eastern's 22-play, 94-yard touchdown drive that took 9:29 off the clock in the second quarter at UC Davis on April 3 set a pair of school records. The number of plays was the longest recorded drive in school history, ranking behind the previous mark of 19 set on 9/30/17 versus Sacramento State (92 yards, 7:29, ended with a made field goal). It was also the longest drive all-time at Eastern, breaking the previous mark of 9:06 on 9/26/98 at Cal State Northridge (17 plays, 78 yards, ended with a missed field goal). The drive at UC Davis was the 21st of seven minutes or longer, and there have now been a total of 35 drives of at least 94 yards. The record for longest drive is 99 set on seven occasions.
 
* Having won all five of its regular season home games in 2019 and all eight in 2018, Eastern has started the  2020-21 season 3-0 at home to give the Eagles a school-record 17-straight wins at Roos Field. Eastern is now 60-10 (85.7 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.  
 
* During Eastern's previous 16 games in the winning streak at Roos Field, the Eagles had just two games decided by less than double figures and all but three decided by at least 21 points. In fact, Eastern has won by an average score of 52-23, more than doubling its opponents 839-362. The margin of victory in 13 of the 16 games has been at least 21 points, eight of them have been by at least 30, three by 40 or more and a pair have been won by at least 50 points (52 and 53, both versus Cal Poly).
 
* After winning the turnover battle versus Idaho 2-0, in the last 13 seasons (2008-20), the Eagles are now 67-1 when they've won the turnover battle, 24-9 when they've been tied and 24-33 when they've lost (total of 115-43). 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 58-0 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 101-35 (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, but lost 1-0 at UC Davis in a 32-22 victory on April 3.
 
* In EWU's last eight home games, EWU won by an average score of 53-25 (424-198). Those games came after EWU's 34-29 victory over UC Davis in the 2018 FCS Playoffs. The only other game decided by less than 10 points was a 53-46 victory over Portland State to end the 2019 campaign. During the 16-game Roos Field winning streak EWU has won by an average score of 52-23, with all but three games decided by at least 21 points.
 
* Through five games this season, Eastern was averaging 575.0 yards of offense to rank second in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision and first in the league. Eastern was also second nationally in passing (404.2) and fifth in scoring offense (41.2) while leading the league in both categories. In addition, the Eagles were 26th in rushing (172.8) and eighth in passing efficiency (155.0).
 
* Quarterback Eric Barriere entered Saturday's game ranked in the top 10 in total offense (third, 394.8 per game), passing offense (third, 377.8), passing touchdowns (third, 16) and points responsible for (10th, 19.6 per game). Wide receiver Talolo Limu-Jones was second in receiving yards per game (116.0) and fifth in receptions per game (8.0, total of 40).
 
* Eastern had just 426 yards of total offense at Idaho on Feb. 27, but averaged 612.3 in its next four games – 622 versus Northern Arizona, 581 at Idaho State, 683 against Cal Poly (eighth-most in school history) and 563 at UC Davis.
 
* The Eagles entered the game ranked 59th in total defense in the 2020-21 season, allowing an average of 370.2 yards per game and allowing 23.0 points per game to rank 41st. Eastern was allowing 135.4 on the ground and 234.8 through the air.
 
* Because of the lack of quarterbacks and the wind, Idaho receiver Hayden Hatten was neutralized and had only one catch for 16 yards. He entered the game leading FCS in receiving yards per game (122.3) and was fourth in catches per game (8.7). The Vandals were 20th in FCS in total offense (415.3) and 34th in scoring (26.0), and 87th in defense (460.7) and 54th in scoring defense (26.7).
 
* No Eagles made their starting debuts versus the Vandals. Thus far in the 2020-21 season, 20 players have made the initial starts of their careers – 12 on defense and eight on offense.
 
Current Starts on Defense (138 starts by 21 players): Calin Criner 18, Tre Weed 17, Jack Sendelbach 17, Mitchell Johnson 16, Darrien Sampson 9, Kedrick Johnson 8, Darreon Moore 7, Ty Graham 6, Joshua Jerome 6, Jacob Newsom 6, Brock Harrison 5, Anthany Smith 5, Keshaun King 4, Marlon Jones Jr. 4, Ira Branch 3, Caleb Davis 2, Ely Doyle 1, Cale Lindsay 1, Jusstis Warren 1, Debore'ae McClain 1, Justin Patterson 1.
 
Current Starts on Offense (171 starts by 18 players): Tristen Taylor 46, Eric Barriere 28, Andrew Boston 23, Johnny Edwards IV 12, Conner Crist 8, Talolo Limu-Jones 8, Freddie Roberson 8, Dylan Ingram 6, Wyatt Musser 6, Matt Shook 6, Tamarick Pierce 5, Wyatt Hansen 4, Dennis Merritt 2, Brad Godwin 2, Anthony Stell Jr. 3, Efton Chism III 2, Blake Gobel 1, Gunner Talkington 1.
 
 
On the Horizon
 
* The NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs – just 16 teams this year with only six at-large berths (changed from five on 4/7/21) -- are slated to begin on April 24 and conclude on May 16. Pairings will be revealed on a selection show aired on Sunday, April 18 at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time on ESPNU. All rounds of the FCS playoffs will be broadcast on ESPN's family of networks, with the national championship game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, taking place on Sunday, May 16, at 11 a.m. Pacific time on ABC.
 
* 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.
 
* The NCAA Division I Football Championship committee announced on April 8 the selection of 14 predetermined preliminary round sites for this year's playoffs. Due to the health and safety protocols surrounding the pandemic, it was deemed necessary to conduct NCAA championship competition at predetermined sites. Of the 14 selected sites, eight will be chosen to host first-round games. Twelve of the 14 sites will be in contention to host the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the championship. The sites include: Newark, Delaware – Delaware; Cheney, Washington – Eastern Washington; Jacksonville, Alabama – Jacksonville State; Harrisonburg, Virginia – James Madison; Kennesaw, Georgia – Kennesaw State; Orono, Maine – Maine; Springfield, Missouri – Missouri State; Murray, Kentucky – Murray State; Grand Forks, North Dakota – North Dakota; Fargo, North Dakota – North Dakota State; Huntsville, Texas – Sam Houston; Brookings, South Dakota – South Dakota State; Villanova, Pennsylvania – Villanova; and Ogden, Utah – Weber State. The designation of predetermined sites will have no bearing on the teams selected to participate in the 2020 Division I Football Championship. The championship field will consist of 10 automatic qualifiers and six at-large qualifiers (changed from five on 4/7/21), and fall competitions will be considered when determining the field for the spring championship.
 
 
EWU Playoff Notes
 
• Eastern made a 13th appearance in the playoffs in 2018, becoming just the 12th team in FCS to have 13 or more appearances (still ranked 12th following 2019 selections). The other appearances for the Eagles came in 1985, 1992, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016. With a 6-5 record during an injury-ravaged season in 2011, Eastern fell a victory shy of making its first back-to-back-to-back appearances, but accomplished that feat in 2012-13-14. The Eagles were also 6-5 in 2015 and missed the postseason, and 7-4 in 2017 when they were also passed over.  Eastern was also 7-5 in 2019 and did not receive a bid.
 
• The 2018 season was Aaron Best's first playoff appearance as head coach, but 10th overall. He was a player in 1997, then coached in 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and now 2018). He has now been a part of 26 playoff games (17-9), with 23 as a coach (15-8) and three as a player (2-1). He has been involved in 21 of those games at home (15-6), just three on the road (1-2) and was offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2010 when the Eagles won the NCAA Division I title with a 20-19 victory over Delaware on a neutral field in Frisco, Texas. He returned to Frisco as head coach in 2018, with the Eagles falling 38-24 to North Dakota State.
 
• Eastern still has 10 playoff berths in a 16-year span (2004-19), ranking the Eagles as one of only six schools among 124 in FCS to accomplish that feat. Montana (2004-05-06-07-08-09- 11-13-14-15-19) now has 11 appearances in that stretch, as does James Madison has 11 (2004-06-07-08-11-14-15-16-17-18-19). Northern Iowa (2005-07-08-10-11-14-15-17-18-19) and North Dakota State (2010-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19) each have 10. New Hampshire (2004-05-06-07-08-09-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17) made the playoffs for the 14th-straight time in 2017 but has not qualified the last two seasons.
 
• The Eagles have a 19-12 record in their 13 playoff appearances, ranking ninth all-time for wins, seventh for percentage (.612, 19-12) and 12th for appearances entering the first round in 2019. Eastern has a 15-6 record at home, 3-5 on the road and 1-1 in the championship game on a neutral field. Eastern has advanced to the semifinals in the FCS Playoffs six times (1997, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2018) and is 2-4 in those games. The Eagles have won their opener 10 times (1985, 1997, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018) and are 6-4 in the quarterfinals. The Eagles won the title in 2010 in its first appearance in the championship game. The Eagles have received first-round byes in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018 (the playoffs were expanded to 20 teams in 2010 and to 24 teams in 2013).
 
 
More Comments from Head Coach Aaron Best
 
On Pulling Out Win: "It feels good. Idaho is a very good defensive team, and we did what we needed to do – score more points today. The wind didn't help us out, and the wind element probably hurt us more than them. They were going to run the ball 90 percent of the time today, and ran Borisch over and over and over. That was obviously something we knew we were going to get coming into this game. Our hat is off to him for running so tough. They are playing with the guys they have, and so are we. We came out on top and that's most important today."
 
On Not Being Able to Prepare for Idaho's Run-First Scheme at Quarterback: "It's extremely tough, but the players made plays and fought through a ton of adversity."
 
On Look Back at Regular Season Resume for Playoff Berth: "We were a field goal away from being up 24-21 and kicking the ball over in Moscow in the first game of the season. If a 5-1 record with that scenario doesn't play, I don't know what does. We've left no doubt the last two weeks – we played extremely well at UC Davis last week. This week we were down some guys going into the game and had some guys go down during it. We persevered and got ourselves to a 5-1 mark."
 
On Week Off Before Possibly Playing Again: "We always need that. We'll continue to find ways to manufacture points, find ways to keep points off the board and find ways to play well enough on special teams to give our offense and defense a chance. I'm just so proud of our bunch for facing adverse situations and coming out victorious once again."