The EWU Football Coaches Show will host its final live show tonight (Oct. 31) at Northern Quest Resort & Casino in the main dining area of EPIC at 6 p.m. Along with head coach Aaron Best, redshirt-sophomore tight end Austin York and redshirt-sophomore defensive lineman Jacob Newsom will be in attendance. Larry Weir and Paul Sorensen serve as the hosts, and the show can also be heard live on 700-AM ESPN & 103.5 FM in Cheney.

The 2022 season is in the home stretch as Eastern Washington football prepares for its final three regular season games. The Eagles will begin the stretch with a road test against No. 15 Idaho on Saturday, Nov. 5 with kickoff at 12 p.m. Pacific Time. The game will be played in Moscow, Idaho, at the Kibbie Dome.

The game will be broadcast regionally on SWX and online via ESPN+. Fans can also catch the broadcast on 700-AM ESPN and 105.3-FM. Larry Weir returns for his 32nd season calling the play-by-play, with analysis handled by Paul Sorensen for the 20th season. Broadcasts begin one hour prior to kickoff and include an expanded post-game show.

The Eagles' game against Idaho will be its fourth game this season against a ranked NCAA Football Championship Subdivision opponent. This is the first time Eastern has faced a ranked Vandal opponent dating back to Oct. 8, 1994, when the Eagles lost to No. 4 Idaho 40-15 in Cheney. In the last six meetings dating back to 2012, Eastern has been nationally ranked with a high of No. 2 prior to the 2021 meeting.

Eastern hosted Portland State at Roos Field this past Saturday (Oct. 29), with the Vikings holding on for a 38-35 win. The Eagles dropped to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in Big Sky Conference games. Eastern trailed the Portland St. 35-7 at halftime, before rallying with 28 second half points. A 30-yard touchdown pass from Gunner Talkington to Nolan Ulm pushed the Eagles to within a touchdown of the Vikings. Despite the effort, Portland St. was able to run the clock out on its next possession and escape with the win.

Eastern's offense had a season-high 564 yards of total offense, with a 6.7 average per play that also was the top average for the season.

In the game, Talkington set career highs with 394 passing yards and 36 completions. He also had a career-high 60 pass attempts. The biggest benefactor of Talkington's career game was Freddie Roberson, who caught a career-best, nine passes on his way to 145 receiving yards and his sixth touchdown of the season. Roberson's 145 yards gave him 2000 for his career and he currently sits at 2101 total yards. Efton Chism III also earned a career high, with nine catches and 84 yards. Chism had his own milestone, surpassing 1500 career yards and he sits at 1529 in his career.

The Eagles rank first in the Big Sky and sixth in the nation with nine fumbles recovered. Demetrius Crosby Jr. added to Eastern's total against Portland State, with his second career fumble recovery.

Idaho is ranked No. 15 in the Stats Perform poll with a 5-3 overall record this season, along with a 4-1 conference record. The Vandals are coming off a close, 28-31, road loss to No. 2 Sacramento State. Idaho managed to take a lead in the fourth quarter against the Hornets after trailing by as much as 17 points. Sacramento St. scored with 1:48 on the clock to squeak out the home win.

Eastern trails 9-17 in the all-time series against Idaho but has won the previous two matchups against the Vandals and five of the last seven. Eastern is 4-10 against Idaho in Moscow, with a 3-3 record in Cheney and 2-4 mark at Albi Stadium in
Spokane.

The last meeting between the two teams was the Eagles 71-21 drubbing of the Vandals in October of 2021 at Roos Field. With EWU unbeaten and ranked No. 2 in FCS at the time, Eric Barriere set a program record with eight total touchdowns accounted for, along with matching the program record with seven touchdown passes.

Eastern Washington stays on the road next week as they make the trek over to Missoula to play Montana, ranked No. 16 this week. The game will kick-off on Saturday Nov. 12 at 12 p.m. The Grizzlies are 5-3 this season and have a 2-3 record in Big Sky games.

Ten Eagles Have Made Their Starting Debuts This Season

Through eight games this season, 10 Eagles have made the first starts of their careers.    

Five Eagles, including a trio of transfers, made their first career starts for the Eagles against Tennessee State. On the defensive side, linebackers Derek Tommasini and Jaren Banks made their first starts in an Eagle uniform. Tommasini transferred in from Idaho and had seven tackles. Banks, a Rice transfer, ended with seven as well.
 
On the offensive side, Seth Carnahan who also transferred from Idaho, started at right tackle. Brenden Rivera, a sophomore, earned the start at right guard. Justice Jackson started at running back and was second on the team with 23 rushing yards.
 
Against Oregon, redshirt freshman Tuna Altahir made the start at running back.
 
Micah Smith made his first career start at running back against Montana State. Smith totaled career-highs with 114 rushing yards on 13 carries, plus two touchdowns and a career-long rush of 56 yards. It was the first 100+ rushing yard game of his career.
 
A trio of defensive players made their starting debuts at Florida, in Conner O'Farrell and Trevor Thurman at linebacker, plus Soli Paleso'o at tackle. O'Farrell racked up four tackles and Thurman had one.
 
Current Starts on Defense (270 starts by 21 players): Mitchell Johnson 38, Tre Weed 33, Darrien Sampson 27, Joshua Jerome 26, Ely Doyle 17, Anthany Smith 16, Marlon Jones Jr. 15, Debore'ae McClain 14,  Brock Harrison 14, Matthew Brown 12, Caleb Davis 10, Keshaun King 9, Jacob Newsom 7, Derek Tommasini 7, Demetrius Crosby Jr. 6, Jaren Banks 6, Conner O'Farrell 5, Soli Paleso'o 3, Trevor Thurman 2, Cage Schenck 2, Ahmani Williams 1.
 
Current Starts on Offense (181 starts by 19 players): Freddie Roberson 27, Wyatt Hansen 26,  Wyatt Musser 25, Dylan Ingram 21, Efton Chism III 17, Luke Dahlgren 10, Gunner Talkington 9, Brenden Rivera 8, Jakobie James 8, Matthew Hewa Baddege 7, Seth Carnahan 6, Tuna Altahir 5, Anthony Stell Jr. 4, Blake Gobel 4, Andrei Leonardi 4, Nolan Ulm 4, Brad Godwin 2, Micah Smith 2, Robert Mason III 1, Justice Jackson 1.

Series History Against Idaho

Eastern Washington has found success against Idaho in recent series history, winning the last three home games. The Eagles are 3-2 against Idaho since they rejoined the Big Sky Conference in 2018. The average score during the five-game stretch is 39 to 24 in favor of Eastern.
 
The Eagles put on in an offensive clinic against the Vandals in the fall of 2021, winning 71-21. In addition to setting the record for most touchdowns accounted for, Eric Barriere set a program record with 600 passing yards that also qualified as the record for total offense for an individual player. The team's 71 points were the most scored at Roos or Woodward Field, along with being the fifth-most in program history. Eastern amassed 837 total yards of offense to set another program record. In the first quarter of the game, the Eagles scored 29 points that added another program record to the already historical performance.
 
With a win this weekend, Eastern can match its longest winning streak against Idaho. The team won three games starting with two road wins in 2003 (8-5) and 2012 (20-3), adding a home win in 2018 (38-14). The Eagles have two, five-game losing streaks against the Vandals.
 
Outside of the regular season, Eastern and Idaho played each other in the 1985 FCS Playoffs. In the first round matchup, the No. 11 seed Eagles defeated the No. 5 Vandals, 42-28, in Moscow.

Game Notes
 
Eastern is coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history and its 15th Football Subdivision Championship playoff berth. Gone is 2021 Walter Payton Award winner and All-America quarterback, Eric Barriere, along with fellow All-Americans Tristen Taylor and Talolo Limu-Jones, but what's back is a group of players who learned under their tutelage and are ready to emerge.
 
Eastern Washington lost 10 starters from the 2021 squad that finished the year 10-3 (6-2 in league play). The Eagles did not lose a regular season game on the road, a feat that hadn't been done since 1967, and won their first seven games for the program's best start the FCS level. Starters lost include six on offense and four on defense along with 18 total letterwinners. Back are 12 starters (five offense, seven defense, plus three kickers, a punter and snapper) and 47 letterwinners.
 
Headlining the cast of returners are eight players who have previously earned All-Big Sky Conference honors, with five being honored following the 2021 season. Among the five are wide receivers Freddie Roberson and Efton Chism III, guard Wyatt Musser, and defensive line members Joshua Jerome and Mitchell Johnson. Safeties Anthany Smith and Tre Weed, along with kicker Seth Harrison, earned honors in 2020-21.
 
Eastern entered the fall season with a total of 31 players returning with 285 games of starting experience, including 16 players on defense with 181 starts and 15 on offense with 104 starts.
 
And the Eagles entered it as one of the top 25 teams in FCS as well. In the preseason rankings released in June by Athlon Sports, the Eagles ranked No. 15. In the HERO Sports preseason poll released in May, Eastern came in at No. 18. Eastern closed the 2021 season seventh in the Stats Perform NCAA Football Championship Subdivision top 25 poll, and EWU was ninth by the coaches. Eastern was ranked in 30-straight Stats Perform polls until falling out on Oct. 10, 2022.
 
Eastern was picked to finish sixth by both the coaches and the media in the Big Sky preseason poll. It was also ranked No. 13 in the preseason Stats Perform poll and No. 12 by the AFCA.
 
Consistency has been a cornerstone of EWU football, and the Eagles have cemented an 18-year run of winning the league title and/or advancing to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs at least every other year. Eastern has achieved that feat ever since its last back-back-empty seasons in 2002 and 2003. Eastern has led the nation in total yards of offense per game twice in the last three years (2021, 554.5 and 2019, 524.8).
 
In 2018, Eastern secured its 10th Big Sky title. Three years later, the Eagles secured their 15th appearance in the FCS Playoffs in what is now 38 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 plus in 2020-21 and 2021.
 
While the Eagles were making their 15th appearance overall in the FCS Playoffs in the 2021 season, sixth-year head coach Aaron Best made his 12th as an EWU player or coach. In six years at the helm, Best owns an overall record of 42-21, including 30-10 in Big Sky play.
 
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 16 years (2007-2022), winning 76 percent of their games (101-32) 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.
 
The remaining conference games include a road contest against Montana. Eastern's final home game will be on Nov. 19 against Northern Colorado. The Saturday game will be senior day for the Eagles.
 
The COVID-19 pandemic may have caused headaches and the need for adaptation, but it did allow 11 seniors to participate in a sixth fall. Among them is quarterback Gunner Talkington who was tabbed the front runner at quarterback following fall camp.