Task as big as Texas

It looks like Eastern Washington University will have to take Texas Tech’s best shot after all.

For the past couple of days, Internet chat rooms have been raising questions about the status of Tech’s All-American wide receiver and Heisman Trophy candidate Michael Crabtree and whether he might be suspended for NCAA rules violations.

But on Thursday, Texas Tech officials announced that an unspecified player had been cleared of any wrongdoing and is eligible to play, the speculation being that player is Crabtree. The 6-foot-3, 206-pound sophomore wide receiverled the nation in receiving yards (1,962), receptions (134) and touchdowns (22) as a redshirt freshman last fall.

That means, in all likelihood, the 12th-ranked Red Raiders will have their prolific Graham Harrell-to-Crabtree passing combination intact and all tuned up for Eastern when the underdog Eagles travel to Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas, for today’s season opener for both schools.

First-year EWU coach Beau Baldwin figures his team, which comes in ranked seventh among Football Championship Subdivision schools, will have its hands full trying to deal with Tech’s high-voltage passing game whether Crabtree plays or not.

“They’re an incredible duo,” Baldwin said of Crabtree and Harrell, a 6-3, 200-pound senior quarterback, who led the nation in passing last year by throwing for 5,705 yards and 48 touchdowns as the Red Raiders finished 9-4. “But they have a crew of receivers who are all very talented and good players, so that’s a big challenge.

“They’re going to make their catches, and they’re gong to get their yards no matter who they’re playing. We just have to stay with it, stay with it, stay with it, and do everything we can to force them into tough situations where, maybe, they have to score in 10 or 12 plays, where we can force something to go wrong for them. To sit back and thing they’re not going to make plays, you’d have to be crazy. Our guys just have to weather some storms and keep coming back.”

Putting pressure on Harrell might be a tougher task than keeping track of his speedy fleet of wideouts, considering Tech’s interior offensive line, which Baldwin claims is the biggest in the country, averages almost 330 pounds per man.

“Their size isn’t much different than what we’ve faced before,” said senior defensive end Greg Peach, who led the Eagles defense with 11 sacks last fall. “The key for us is to just be consistent every play. You can’t get frustrated by (Harrell’s) quick, one-step drop, because he’s getting in the shotgun and he’s getting rid of the ball. You have to be consistent with your effort and wait for those opportunities to make big plays.”

Peach and his defensive teammates are expecting the Red Raiders to run 90-plus plays out of their fast-paced, quick-pass offense.

“And we’re looking forward to that,” Peach said. “I’m not going to say we’re not going to be able to shut down a team like that, but it’s going to be tough to do.”

Even if the Eagles, who are also coming off a 9-4 season, can’t shut down Texas Tech’s offense, they seem relatively confident they can stick with them on the scoreboard.

“Obviously, with their type of offense, it’s going to be the kind of game where we have to keep up with them,” said Matt Nichols, Eastern’s junior quarterback and reigning Big Sky Conference MVP. “They stay pretty basic on defense. They give you the short stuff if you want it, and we’re the kind of team that will take it.

“They obviously have very, very good athletes on both sides of the football, but we like to think we do, also. And we definitely have a good game plan against them.”

Quick kicks

Nichols has been named to the Walter Payton Award watch list and Peach to the Buchanan Award watch list. … Eastern’s payoff for stepping up a level to play the Football Bowl Subdivision Red Raiders is $450,000, minus travel expenses. … The Eagles are 7-15 all time against FBS opponents and haven’t beaten one since 2003 when they edged Idaho 8-5. … Five Eastern players – linebackers Kyle Wilkins and J.C. Sherritt, safety Matt Johnson and offensive linemen Ryan Forney and Bryan Smith – are expected to make their first collegiate starts in today’s game. … Tech will open the season at home for the 55th time and is 42-11-2 in those games. … This will be the first meeting between the schools, raising the number of foes Texas Tech has played in its 84 years of football to 125. … The Red Raidershave scored 30 or more points in 16 of their last 18 games.