Eagles want to deflate Bears
Northern Colorado, fresh off a 16-13 upset win over Montana State and looking for its first winning streak in almost four years, will provide the homecoming opposition for Eastern Washington University this afternoon at 2:05 at Woodward Field.
The Bears snapped a 16-game losing streak against MSU last Saturday, picked up their first Big Sky win since joining the conference last fall, and put themselves in position to win back-to-back games in the same season for the first time since 2003.
“It was obviously a great day for our program,” UNC coach Scott Downing said of last weekend’s win over the then-19th-ranked Bobcats. Things just started to fall together for us on Saturday. We made some plays when we had to, and we had some young players step up and help us in critical situations.
“It was an exciting day, but it only lasts for one day.”
Now the Bears (1-8 overall, 1-4 in the Big Sky) must deal with 24th-ranked EWU (5-3, 3-2), one of the best offensive teams in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.
Of special concern to Downing is Eastern’s passing attack, which features sophomore quarterback Matt Nichols – who has already thrown for 2,381 yards and a conference-best 20 touchdowns – and a group of young receivers that includes sophomore Aaron Boyce, who leads the Big Sky with 63 receptions, 1,031 yards and eight touchdown catches.
“Nichols is playing very, very well,” Downing said. “A year ago, I thought they had two of the best young receivers in the conference in Boyce and (Brynsen) Brown, and they’ve proven me right.”
Brown, another sophomore, has caught 32 passes for 495 yards and three touchdowns, and there is what Eastern coach Paul Wulff calls an “outside chance” that Tony Davis, yet another sophomore wideout with excellent hands and good speed, could be available for spot duty after missing the last four games with a shoulder injury.
Adding to Downing’s worries is the fact that his secondary is a bit short-handed after losing starting cornerback Eric Brown, who broke his arm during the win over MSU.
Wulff, whose Eagles understand they must win their last three games to have any chance of earning an invitation to the FCS playoffs, said he expects the Bears to bring a bunch of new-found confidence into this afternoon’s game.
“Or at least they should,” Wulff said. “They beat a ranked team – a good football team, and they played very aggressive. They’ve been in a lot of football games this year. They’ve just been on the short end of the score. They’re very capable of beating anybody if you don’t come out and play well against them.”
Wulff has been particularly impressed with the offensive balance the Bears have shown since Dominic Breazeale, a 6-foot-6, 260-pound senior, has settled in as their starting quarterback.
“They run the ball and throw the ball decent,” Wulff said, “and they’re balanced enough where you have to honor both things.”
Breazeale, who has been sharing time under center with junior Mike Vlahogeorge, has completed 77 of 146 passes for 855 yards and four TDs, while throwing five interceptions. The Bears’ top rusher is junior running back David Woods, who has carried 126 times for 536 yards and four scores.
Woods missed last Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury, but it expected to 100 percent healthy for today’s game.
Notes
Eastern leads its series with Northern Colorado 3-1 after shutting out the Bears 34-0 in Greeley, Colo., last fall. The shutout was the first for the Eagles in 215 games, dating back to 1987 when they edged Stephen F. Austin 3-0. … EWU’s Nichols ranks sixth among FCS players in total offense (315.6 yards per game) and passing yards (297.6 ypg). He ranks No. 11 in passing efficiency, with a rating of 157.7. … Nichols’ favorite target, Boyce, ranks second in receiving yards (130.0 ypg) and third in receptions (8.0 rpg) in the nation. … There are no player or coach connections between EWU and UNC, and for a good reason. All of Eastern’s players come from Washington, Oregon, California or British Columbia, and the Bears have only four players from those four states or provinces.