Down-and-out Eagles

First-year Eastern Washington University football coach Beau Baldwin said Wednesday that his Eagles are emotionally hurting a bit as they prepare for Saturday’s Big Sky Conference matchup against Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo.

At the root of that gloom is the realization that all of those lofty preseason goals Baldwin and his players had set heading into the once-promising 2008 season. Those must be altered downward following last Saturday’s unexpected 15-13 home loss to Sacramento State that quashed any hopes the Eagles (3-5, 2-3 Big Sky) might have still been nursing of making the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Instead of trying to win out to secure a coveted at-large playoff berth, they must win out just to assure themselves of a winning season. Even that once seemingly modest goal might be a bit of a stretch considering Eastern’s final two opponents – 23rd-ranked Northern Arizona and ninth-ranked Weber State – are a combined 14-2 against non-Football Bowl Subdivision foes this fall.

“No question, they’re down, as far as when you look at the big picture and where our record is compared to where our expectations were,” Baldwin said of his players. “But, to a man, we have good senior leaders who are excited to go play this weekend and still excited about our last three ballgames.

“Ultimately, we’re excited for the opportunity.”

Baldwin suggested there might be something to gain from the disappointment his team has endured this fall after making it to the quarterfinals of last year’s FCS playoffs.

“Of course, you anticipate things, as far as playoffs and that sort of thing are concerned,” he said. “And when that doesn’t happen, it can be a letdown. But it’s kind of a learning lesson, too – for myself, included – to make sure that doesn’t occur.

“And it all starts with me doing a better job of making these guys understand that it’s a week-to-week deal no matter what you did the year before. Even no matter what you did the week before, that’s not going to change what’s coming up this week.

“And in this conference, it doesn’t matter who you play, you have to play good football every weekend to win. Otherwise, anyone in this conference is going to beat you.”

Four more for McBride

Weber State rewarded its 69-year-old head coach Ron McBride with a four-year contract extension earlier this week.

Terms of the contract were not disclosed, but McBride – who has theWildcats (8-2) sitting atop the Big Sky standings with a 6-0 record and ranked among the top 10 teams in both the Sports Network and FCS coaches’ poll for the first time since 1998 – jokingly expressed his gratitude for the university’s vote of confidence.

“I think it’s pretty good for a senior citizen to get a four-year extension,” he said. “There aren’t too many 69-year-old people that (hear), ‘Hey, we want you around here for a couple more years.’ Most companies or organizations are like, ‘Hey, it’s time for you to retire, man,’ so they were very thoughtful to give men extension.”

McBride added he was most pleased for the members of this coaching staff.

“It gives them a solid foundation,” he said. “They know they have jobs and they know where they’re going to be. And the players you recruit know there’s not going to be a big philosophical change in what’s going on.

“There’s really nothing negative about it.”

The Wildcats can clinch the Big Sky’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs with a road win over Idaho State (0-9, 0-5) on Saturday.

Hauck gets 60th win

Montana’s 45-10 win over Northern Arizona last weekend, gave Grizzlies’ head coach Bobby Hauck his 60th career victory, which ranks him sixth on the Big Sky’s wins list – one behind NAU coach Jerome Souers.

It also improved Hauck’s career record to 60-15 in six seasons at Montana and boosted his winning percentage to .800, which is second in the Big Sky to only Joe Glenn, the man Hauck replaced in Missoula. Glenn was 39-6 in three seasons at UM and posted a winning percentage of .867.

PSU likes friendly confines

The acronym in Portland State’s PGE Park might as well stand for Perfect Game Environment, as far as the Vikings are concerned.

PSU (3-5, 2-3), which hosts fifth-ranked Montana (8-1, 4-1) in the role of spoiler on Saturday, is 0-5 on the road this season, but is 3-0 in PGE Park, having outscored visiting opponents 114-63 – a fact that has not gone unnoticed by Hauck, who calls the Vikings a “very dangerous team.”

“They play with great tempos and effort,” Hauck said of PSU, which lead the nation in passing offense with an average of 413.4 yards per game. “And they’re undefeated at home.”

Quick kicks

Idaho State’s 13-game losing streak equals the second longest in school history and is the second-longest ongoing skid in the nation. … The 157 rushing yards Montana’s Chase Reynolds recorded in last Saturday’s win over NAU were two more than the Lumberjacks had allowed its first five Big Sky opponents combined. … League-leading Weber State has not earned a share of the BSC title since 1968 and has never won an outright league championship. … Eastern Washington’s senior defense end Greg Peach continues to lead the all FCS defenders in sacks (1.75 per game) and tackles for loss (2.25 per game).