EWU and Big Sky Links
It's a big week for Eastern and Montana, who meet Saturday at Roos Field with a lot on the line. For the injury-plagued Eagles, it's the hope opener, a near-sellout crowd, the debut of the new scoreboard, and the chance to give their rivals an 0-2 start in the conference. For the Griz, it's a chance to get back on track after last week's devastating home loss to NAU, the Grizzlies' first home loss to the 'Jacks in 14 games. Here's a commentary piece on the the Grizzlies' loss. The Eagles are coming off a 32-26 win at Weber State and are ranked seventh in this week's FCS poll, Montana is 21st.
Elsewhere in the Big Sky, North Dakota (which visits Cheney on Oct. 6) turned to its defense in winning its inaugural Big Sky game at Sacramento State. ... Second-ranked Montana State, which hosts Eastern on Oct. 13, had no trouble with Northern Colorado.