More than just a non-league game for Eagles

The playoffs start today for the 19th-ranked Eastern Washington University football team.

OK, that was the case a month ago when the Eagles controlled their destiny in the Big Sky Conference going into the Weber State game.

Yes, it was the case two weeks ago when they started this brutal three-game stretch run against Cal Poly, when they could have made it nearly impossible for their fate to be in someone else’s hands.

But that’s just how it turned out because of five-point losses to Weber State and Cal Poly.

So the Eagles (6-4) have to consider today’s 2 p.m. non-conference regular-season finale against UC Davis (5-4) at Woodward Field a playoff game.

The Aggies, who have beaten Stanford, No. 15 North Dakota and No. 10 Cal Poly are certainly a playoff-caliber team.

Any slim hope the Eagles have of getting an at-large bid depends on a win, and probably a decisive one.

Even if Montana State upends Montana today to give Eastern the Big Sky Conference’s automatic bid, the Eagles don’t want to go into the playoffs after a loss with a 6-5 record.

“They’re really good, but it goes back to the same thing,” EWU coach Paul Wulff said of UC Davis. “We know they’re good; a lot of the teams we faced are good. If we spend too much time worrying about or concentrating on them, we take away what we want to do. The reality is if we play the football we want to play and execute like we expect ourselves to do, then the outcome will take care of itself.”

Wulff, who doesn’t want the Montana-MSU score announced during the game, will know what is going on in Bozeman and has hinted he may rest some starters if MSU wins.

Davis, which has a streak of 35 straight winning seasons, opened with home losses to current top-ranked New Hampshire 17-13 and Portland State 14-12 before shocking Stanford 20-17.

This team is built on defense, ranking No. 3 in rushing defense (84.2 yards a game) and No. 9 overall (280.1). The Aggies held two teams than ran freely on Eastern – Portland State and Cal Poly – to 50 yards or less.

Eastern counters with the top overall offense (492.6 yards), thanks to the No. 2 passing attack (355.8). The Eagles score 35.8 points a game while Davis allows 16.2.

The Aggies aren’t bad on offense, despite running for just 89.1 yards a game. Quarterback Jon Grant, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior, averages 270.7 yards passing a game, most of it going to Tony Kays, who has 78 receptions for 1,049 yards and three touchdowns. Kay, a 6-1, 188-pound junior, played just a half at Stephen F. Austin but had seven catches for 119 yards. A week earlier against Cal Poly, he had 13 receptions for 212 yards.

With Eastern’s passing attack of Erik Meyer and Eric Kimble, this could turn into an aerial shootout.

“You never know, that’s a possibility,” said Wulff, who graduated from Davis High School in 1985. “Both teams aren’t afraid to throw the football. I think you’re going to see that. You’ll see two exciting offenses that are willing to take chances and risks. When you get that you’re going to see something big.”

The game may go down to the fourth quarter. The Aggies have only allowed three field goals in the third quarter but have surrendered 76 points in the fourth. EWU has outscored opponents 98-56 in the third and 97-62 in the fourth.

Meyer and Kimble have had plenty of big days, but this could be the last time to see the two players who hold six school career records apiece.

“I haven’t had to say it, but a lot of other coaches have said they’re the best combination in all of college football, obviously at the I-AA level,” Wulff said. “What other people say speaks for themselves. It’s the last time you’ll be able to see them for $5 or $10. They’re worth just coming to watch play. They’re special talents.”