Many scary games remain on Eagles’ list
Eastern Washington University football fans who were a little queasy after watching the Eagles’ spotty performance on Saturday can reach for the Maalox now.
The Eagles dispatched Division II Western Oregon 48-7, but all precincts, from head coach Paul Wulff to record-breaking quarterback Erik Meyer, reported that the high-powered offense sputtered, despite almost 600 yards.
That’s nerve-wracking for fans – and the Eagles themselves – with unprecedented expectations on the fifth-ranked I-AA team, especially with Big Sky Conference play commencing this week.
Idaho State, Saturday’s opponent, has been impressive in a 2-1 start, especially the 41-29 loss at Kentucky.
The Eagles also have two non-conference games against teams from the Great West Conference remaining in November. Everybody knows the trip to 12th-ranked Cal Poly on Nov. 5 and the visit from UC Davis in the finale Nov. 19 are difficult games.
Now consider this: Cal Poly just stymied visiting Montana State 38-10. Even more shocking, Davis won – dominated actually – at Stanford, 20-17.
As EWU coach Paul Wulff said, “The Davis game surprised the heck out of me. Holy cow. We knew Davis was a good team, but that’s pretty amazing.”
Portland State coach Tim Walsh, whose team lost 41-12 at Oregon State said, “I guess we should have played Stanford.”
With the odds of skating through the Sky unscathed long, the thought of having a playoff berth riding on those two games is a little upsetting.
“Idaho State suspended four players, including two regulars, after an off-campus incident on Saturday night in Pocatello.
Starting defensive tackle Jermaine Horn has been suspended indefinitely and redshirt David Beverly was suspended for one week for their participation in a fight.
Additional one-week suspensions, although not directly related to a fight, have been handed out to redshirt Michael Harris and reserve cornerback Jason Wright.
Davis was dandy
EWU is good, but I-AA teams just aren’t supposed to beat I-A teams – 20-plus more scholarships and all – so the opening loss at San Jose State isn’t devastating, just disappointing.
So what is 0-2 Davis doing badly beating Stanford?
Well, the Aggies lost to No. 2 New Hampsire 17-13 and Portland State 14-12 because of offensive deficiencies. They fell behind Stanford 17-0 because the Cardinal scored two touchdowns on fumbles.
But when the final numbers were in, Davis outgained Stanford 361-192, ran more plays – a staggering 90-51 advantage – and limited the Cardinal to eight completions in 21 attempts.
The Aggies won by marching 72 yards in the final 3 minutes, scoring with 8 seconds to play.
“What better stage could we be on?” quarterback Jon Grant reportedly asked his teammates as the drive started. “We’re at Stanford Stadium. We’re about to go on a game-winning drive.”
Graybeal gets nod at Weber
Weber State University announced that Eastern Washington University graduate and former assistant coach Jerry Graybeal has been selected as the new athletic director. Graybeal had served as interim athletic director since April.
Graybeal was head football coach for the Wildcats from 1998-2004 and was named the 2003 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year following an 8-4 campaign.
Prior to joining the Wildcats, he spent 17 years as an assistant professor of physical education and assistant coach for the Eastern Washington University football team, including nine seasons as defensive coordinator.
Sky writing
With its win, Eastern fell from third to fifth in the USAToday coaches poll, with Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois swapping places after SIU lost. New Hampshire jumped two spots to third and Montana went up one to fourth. … Montana’s 7-0 win over South Dakota State was the lowest-scoring game in Washington-Grizzly Stadium history. … ISU has 10 rushing touchdowns, two more than all of last season. The Bengals, last in the conference in rushing in 2004, are the leader at 205.3 yards a game. … Travis Lulay is ninth on the all-time Big Sky total offense list with 9,670 yards (8,708 passing). Former Weber State QB Jamie Martin is No. 1 with 12,287.