EWU vs. No. Iowa: three things to watch

1 The beef: Though the Eagles give up 158.6 yards a game on the ground, they have allowed more than 150 only four times, including three losses. San Jose got 253, Idaho State 234 and Cal Poly 372 in defeating the Eagles. But when Portland State had 201, EWU kept the damage to a minimum.

If they can do that against the Panthers, the odds of winning increase dramatically. UNI averages 177.6 yards on the ground. Tailbacks Terrance Freeney, a 5-10, 225-pound senior, and Nebraska transfer David Horne, a 6-0, 210-pound senior, have combined for 1,356 yards and 19 touchdowns running behind a front line that goes 301-301-310-313-277 from left to right.

The EWU defensive line has been banged up since the opening game but is probably as healthy as it’s going to get. Veterans Harrison Nikolao, Garrett Quinn and Keith Grennan make a huge difference, positively in the Montana, Montana State and UC Davis wins and negatively when they’re out, like they were against Cal Poly.

2 E2 passing combo: There isn’t much more to say about Eastern stars Erik Meyer and Eric Kimble. Meyer has thrown for 3,616 yards and 26 TDs with five interceptions, four in three of the Eagles’ losses. Kimble has 78 receptions for 1,264 yards and 10 TDs. Don’t forget Raul Vijil (62-930-6) and Craig McIntyre (32-563-7) and tight end Tim Calhoun (15, 213) when he isn’t needed to block, which was the case most of the season.

Northern Iowa allows 226 yards through the air and has given up 18 touchdowns (compared to nine on the ground). However, the Panthers have 31 sacks and Eastern’s young offensive line has allowed 46. It’s imperative that Meyer be given time to throw and his arsenal of receivers time to get open. The Eagles will also probably need to reach their average of 140 yards a game on the ground to keep the pressure off Meyer. Ryan Cole has 873 yards and 14 touchdowns but the difference might be having backup Dale Morris and his 4.5-yards-a-carry average back.

3 Dome din: Eastern has fared well in Montana’s raucous stadium and in Northern Arizona’s dome, but this is different. By all accounts the Panther faithful are loud and none of the noise escapes the 16,000-seat UNI Dome. The best remedy is for the Eagles to get off to a good start and take the crowd out of the game. But this is a playoff game and the crowd is likely to stay revved up for a long time.

If that’s the case, the Eagles will have to be really focused, especially the offensive linemen. They can’t afford to take 5-yard penalties for false starts or get off the ball a half-tick after the snap, which won’t open holes or give Meyer protection. And if they get into second-and-long or third-and-long situations, the crowd will only get louder and the situation worse.

There are three domes in I-AA football and the Eagles will have played in all three this year. They won at Northern Arizona, 42-14, but lost 34-30 at Idaho State.