Eagles take break from conference play
Eastern Washington coach Paul Wulff still isn’t sure how he feels about stepping up at midseason to play a non-conference game against an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision opponent.
The Eagles traditionally play a “money game” each year against a higher-level foe. But in the past, such games have taken place early in the season and prior to the start of Big Sky Conference action.
This weekend, however, Eastern (4-2 overall, 2-2 Big Sky) travels to Provo, Utah, to take on Brigham Young University (4-2, 3-0 Mountain West) on Saturday afternoon in a mid-October game that kicks off at 2:35 (PDT) in the Cougars’ 65,045-seat LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Wulff has decided to withhold judgment on the timing of such a venture.
On one hand, he likes having been able to pick up several decent wins and build some team confidence against Football Championship Subdivision schools. But on the other, he worries about how stepping out of conference play to face a big-name opponent at midseason will affect his 22nd-ranked Eagles when they resume Big Sky play at Sacramento State next weekend.
“I really don’t know,” Wulff said when asked if the plusses of Saturday’s game – which include a $325,000 guarantee payout – outweigh the minuses. “It helps our athletic department, financially, so that’s the biggest things it does. … The timing of it, though, is something still to be determined. It’s one of those deals where it depends on how we respond next weekend (at Sacramento State).”
Eagles dodge big hurts
Wulff was hopeful following last Saturday’s 35-13 rout of Montana State that his Eagles had escaped a game – for the first time this season – without suffering any major injuries, and that seems to be the case.
“We just had a few kids nicked up, but nothing that will cause any long-term issues,” Wulff said prior to practice Thursday.
It remains doubtful, however, that any of the players injured earlier in the year will return for Saturday’s game at BYU.
Foul-weather friend
First-year Montana State coach Rob Ash is becoming a fan of inclement weather – particularly on football Saturdays.
Prior to last weekend 35-13 loss to Eastern Washington, Ash’s Bobcats had won three consecutive games in rain, snow and mud and had moved up to No. 11 in the FCS national rankings. But their streak was rudely snapped by the Eagles on a warm, dry and brilliant autumn afternoon in Cheney.
“Who knows, maybe we’re better off in the rain,” Ash said earlier this week. “We just didn’t handle the conditions too well at Eastern Washington.
“It was way too nice.”
Quick kicks
Northern Colorado, since joining the Big Sky last fall, is 0-11 against conference opponents and is riding a 15-game losing streak that dates back to Sept. 16, 2006, when the Bears edged Texas State 14-13 on the road. … Weber State coach Ron McBride picked up the 100th win of the career last Saturday when the Wildcats thumped Northern Colorado 23-0. Eighty-eight of McBride’s wins came during his 13-year stay at Utah. … Eastern Washington’s Greg Peach and Montana’s Kroy Biermann are tied atop the conference’s sack list with six each. … Northern Arizona’s K.J. Gerard has intercepted a conference-high six passes and has had a pick in each of the Lumberjacks’ last four games.