Link to Stats Perform FCS National Awards Show Produced and Aired on 5/16/21

After a thrilling winter/spring run to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs, the Eastern Washington University football team ended the 2020-21 ranked No. 10 in the final Stats Perform Top 25 poll. It's the 10th time in school history EWU has closed the season that high in the Stats Perform poll, which has had EWU in 115 of the last 123 polls, including the last 11.
 
On its way to a 5-2 finish that included a 42-20 loss to North Dakota State in first round of the NCAA Division I Playoffs, Eastern spent the season as high as No. 8 in the nation and as low as No. 22 while being ranked each of the 11 weeks. The Eagles were No. 18 in the preseason poll, then sandwiched a five-game winning streak around its two losses during the season shortened because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
In the final American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Poll announced on May 18, Eastern was 11th after ranking as high as eighth during the year and ninth to end the regular season.
 
Overall, this is the 16th time Eastern has finished the season nationally ranked, including 12 times since 2004. The other seasons were in 1985, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Seven times the Eagles have finished in the top four – fourth in 1997, 2012, 2014 and 2016; third in 2013; second in 2018; and first in 2010 after winning the NCAA Division I title.
 
By finishing second following the 2018 season when Eastern finished as the FCS runner-up, the Eagles have had a top four finish six times in the past 11 years (2010-2020/21). In the 2015 season, Eastern extended its string of nationally-ranked weeks to 57 before the streak was ended with the final poll of the season, then followed with a 46-week streak that ended in the 2019 season -- a span of 103 of 104 polls.
 
The Eagles were unranked in the final eight weeks of the 2019 season, but then were ranked in all 11 in the 2020-21 campaign. Thus, EWU has been ranked in 114 of the last 123 polls entering the fall 2021 season.
 
In 1997, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016 and again in 2018, Eastern advanced to the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs. Besides its 2018 runner-up finish, EWU won the national title in 2010. In 2014, Eastern advanced to the quarterfinals.
 
The Eagles are scheduled to open the 2021 fall schedule on Sept. 2 at UNLV, with the school's home opener the following week versus Central Washington. Eastern's complete 2021 schedule is available at: https://goeags.com/sports/football/schedule.

 

 EWU in the Stats Perform Rankings in 2020/21 . . .

 
Final: #10 (#1 Sam Houston State, #2 South Dakota State, #5 North Dakota State, #9 Weber State, #14 UC Davis). Final Regular Season: #9. April 12: #8. April 5: #9. March 29: #9. March 22: #12. March 15: #15. March 8: #18. March 1: #22. Feb. 22: #12. Preseason: #18. Through the 2020-21 season, Eastern has now been ranked in 114 of the last 123 polls, including the last 11.
 
 

EWU's Season-Ending National FCS/I-AA Rankings . . .

1985 – 11th (NCAA Division I-AA Poll)
1992 – 14th (NCAA Division I-AA Poll)
1993 – 20th (The Sports Network)
1997 – 4th (The Sports Network) & 4th (ESPN/USA Today)
2004 – 8th (The Sports Network) & 7th (ESPN/USA Today)
2005 – 13th (The Sports Network) & 13th (ESPN/USA Today)
2007 – 8th (The Sports Network) & 8th (Coaches)
2009 – 13th (The Sports Network) & 13th (Coaches)
2010 – 1st (The Sports Network) & 1st (Coaches)
2012 – 4th (The Sports Network) & 4th (Coaches)
2013 – 3rd (The Sports Network) & 3rd (Coaches)
2014 – 4th (The Sports Network) & 4th (Coaches)
2016 – 4th (STATS) & 4th (Coaches)
2018 – 2nd (STATS) & 2nd (Coaches)
2020/21 – 10th (Stats Perform) & TBA May 18 (Coaches)