CHENEY, Wash.  — The regular season is finally here for Eastern Washington football as they kickoff 2025 this Saturday. Eastern travels to play No. 4 Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, with kickoff scheduled for 4 p.m. Pacific Time and 6 p.m. Central.  

The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and listen live on 700 ESPN and the Varsity App with the voices of the Eagles, Larry Weir and Paul Sorensen.

2025 Outlook
The 2025 Easter Washington Eagles will look different from the 2024 team, with four returning starters and 31 letterwinners overall. EWU has 50 newcommers to the roster to build the depth at all positions. Eastern went 3-5 in the Big Sky last season to finish in a four-way tie for 6th in the conference standings. The Eagles were 4-8 overall, but won two of their final three games. 

Eastern has 7 total road games and 5 at home. This season, EWU currently has games against 5 opponents ranked in the Stats Perform preseason FCS Top 15. The team faces No. 2 Montana State, No. 5 Incarnate Word, No. 7 Montana, No. 12 Idaho and No. 15 Sacramento State. The Eagles also take Boise State on the road, ranked No. 25 in the preseason FBS AP Poll.

The 2024 Eagles' offense was effective and productive, ranking 6th in the FCS and second in the Big Sky with a 35.8 points per game average. EWU averaged 229.3 rushing yards to rank 5th nationally and second in the conference. They scored in the redzone on 91.1% of their opportunities to rank eighth and second. Eastern's 56.4 third-down conversion rate led the FCS. EWU's offense will have to replace its starting quarterback in Kekoa Visperas, but Jared Taylor played in all 12 games for EWU last season. Eastern's top rusher also departed in Tuna Altahir, but Malik Dotson returns after ranking 3rd on the team with 505 yards. The Eagles have experience and depth at the receiver room. The group is led by Nolan Ulm, who made 4 starts last season.

Eastern looks to its defense this season as the veteran unit, with multiple players getting significant playing time last season. The unit has 3 returning starters, along with 5 players who made starts in '24. Big Sky honorable mention DaJean Wells returns to lead the defense after ranking 16th in the FCS with 12 pass breakups. EWU's defense has 3 of its top 10 returning tacklers from '24 with McKel Broussard (45.0), Myles Mayovsky (42.0) and Wells (32.0).

Vs. the Cardinals
Saturday's game will be the first ever meeting between EWU and Incarnate Word. Eastern is 4-2 against the Southland Conference in program history. UIW enters the game ranked No. 4 in the AFCA preseason coaches' poll and No. 5 in the Stats Perform Top 25.

The Cardinals started their 2025 season in Week 0 against Nicholls State, playing in Thibodaux, La. UIW fell to the Colonels, 20-6. The Cardinals had 204 total yards, while Nicholls finished with 287. UIW suffered from five turnovers, with three interceptions and two fumbles lost. 

Preseason Honors
Through the preseason, numerous Eagles earned preseason recognition from around the nation. Redshirt-senior cornerback DaJean Wells was selected as a AFCA preseason All-American. Wells also picked up preseason All-Big Sky honors from the conference and a first team All-Big Sky preseason honor from Phil Steele. Along with Wells, redshirt sophomore defensive end Tylin Jackson and graduate student defensive end Trevor Thurman were named to the preseason All-Big Sky team. Phil Steele handed out preseason honors to multiple Eagles for his All-Big Sky team including Nolan Ulm (2nd Team), McKel Broussard (2nd Team), Jackson (2nd Team), Landon Ogles (2nd Team), Thurman(3rd Team), Myles Mayovsky(3rd Team), Noah Cronquist(3rd Team, kick returner) and Tyson Jacobson(3rd Team). 

Long Road Trip to Start
Eastern Washington will play its first 3 games on the road, traveling to play Incarnate Word in Week 1, Boise State in Week 2 and Northern Iowa in Week 3. It is the first time EWU has 3 road games to start the season since 2012. The Eagles opened that season with a win against Idaho (20-3), followed by a close loss to Washington State (20-24). The road trip ended with a 32-26 win over Weber State. It will be the first time since 1971 Eastern has opened with 3 non-conference road games. In the '71 season, the team lost to Humboldt State (19-35), then defeated Willamette (9-7) and Whitworth (26-9).

QB1, A Familiar Face
After appearing in 15 games for Eastern Washington, Jared Taylor is now the starting quarterback for the Eagles. Taylor earned the starting spot in the offseason and will elevate his contributions to the team this season. Taylor replaces Kekoa Visperas, who started 11 of the team's 12 games last season. The starting job is familiar to Taylor, who has made 2 starts at EWU. He got the call against No. 2 Montana State and passed for 144 yards on 20-of-27(74.1%) passing, along with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. During the 2023 season, Taylor started against Idaho, passing for 92 yards and throwing 1 touchdown on a 43.5 completion percentage. Taylor threw for 320 yards last season and has 421 for his career with 7 touchdowns and 1 interception, while completing 65 percent of his passes. 

Since arriving at Eastern, Taylor has made a name for himself running the ball. Taylor rushed for 708 yards - 2nd on the team - on 137 attempts last season, scoring 10 touchdowns. His touchdowns ranked 7th in the Big Sky and his yards ranked 9th in 2024. Taylor was key in EWU's record 77-42 win over Idaho State last season, tallying a career-best 160 yards and scoring 3 touchdowns. In total, Taylor has 927 rushing yards and averages 4.9 yards per attempt at Eastern. The Eagles are 5-3 when Taylor scores a rushing touchdown. 

Red Turf Takeover
EWU football hosted a unique event during fall camp, as the team took the short drive northeast to Spokane for the Red Turf Takeover. The Eagles hosted their first scrimmage of fall camp at the ONE Spokane Stadium. Over 1300 Eagle fans were in attendance to see the team on the field for the first time in 2025. Post scrimmage, the entire roster signed autographs for the fans on the main concourse. The ONE Spokane Stadium opened in 2023 and hosts two professional soccer teams; the Spokane Velocity (USL League One) and the Spokane Zephyr (USL Super League). 

One More Ride for Ulm
Nolan Ulm has one more season on the Red and looks to go out with a statement. Ulm has 1102 career receiving yards, with 90 receptions and 10 touchdowns. During the 2023 season, Ulm had career-bests with 45 receptions and 564 yards, while matching his career-best with 4 touchdowns. He was limited to 4 games last season, and finished with 56 yards and 1 touchdown. Going into his final year, Ulm was listed as the No. 9 Canadian-born prospect by CFL Scouting Bureau. 

Graduating a Legend
For the first time since 2019, Eastern Washington's wide receiver room will not have Efton Chism III. Chism played his last game for EWU last November before moving onto the NFL, where he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New England Patriots. The Monroe, Wash. native left Eastern ranking second all-time receptions (346) and receptions per game (6.5), both behind Cooper Kupp. Chism's 3852 receiving yards and 37 touchdown both rank 3rd all-time behind Kupp and Eric Kimble. With 216 points scored, Chism is 9th on the scoring list. In his final season as an Eagle, Chism broke Kupp's single season receptions record (117), with 120 catches. He averaged 10.0 receptions per game, second only to Kupp. He finished with 1311 receiving yards in '24, 10th most for a single season in program history. During Chism's last collegiate game against Northern Arizona, he broke the FCS record (Kupp) for consecutive games with a reception with a 53-game streak. Chism was named to the Patriots 53-man roster earlier this week. 
 

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2025 EWU football tickets are now on sale! Join Spokane County's team for all five home games at Roos Field in Cheney starting as low as $99. Group tickets, fundraising options and single game tickets are also available. For more info, visit goeags.com/fbtickets or contact the EWU Ticket Office at 509-359-6059 or tickets@ewu.edu. 

Join the Eagle Athletic Fund for as low as $50 per year! Support Eagle student-athletes on and off the field while enjoying exclusive EAF perks such as season ticket and tailgating priority, invitations to special events, exclusive access, and more. Visit goeags.com/eaf for more information.

ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.

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