EWU looks to end rocky run in Colorado
Eastern Washington University, after losing three of its last four games and dropping out of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision’s playoff picture, gets a chance to heal a few emotional wounds today when it takes on another Big Sky Conference team headed in the wrong direction.
The Eagles (3-5, 2-3 Big Sky) will face Northern Colorado (1-7, 1-4), which has also dropped three of its last four games, in a conference matchup at Greeley, Colo. EWU coach Beau Baldwin is hoping his team can sustain its effort level throughout the rest of the year, despite having little to play for but pride.
“These are times where you find out a lot about your players and the pride and competitiveness they have,” Baldwin said. “This is another chance to compete and win a football game. You have 11 guaranteed football games, and you want to take advantage of every one no matter how your season is going.”
In UNC, the Eagles will face a hard-luck team that has lost four games by a touchdown or less and came within a whisker of upsetting Big Sky leader Weber State three weeks back when it went into Ogden, Utah, and lost 17-10.
“They’re another Big Sky team that has improved their talent level a lot in the past few years,” Baldwin said of the Bears, who rank eighth in the conference in scoring offense with an average of 20.4 points per game, but boast a veteran defensive unit that has done a decent job in limiting opponents to an average of 257.9 passing yards.
UNC’s win came at home against winless Idaho State on Oct. 11. Eastern, picked to finish second in a preseason poll of league coaches, hasn’t done much lately, either, and is coming off a disheartening 15-13 home loss to Sacramento State last weekend.
Still, Bears coach Scott Downing is well aware of the talent the Eagles have on both sides of the football.
“Obviously, they have a very explosive offense,” Downing said. “(Matt) Nichols is one of the top quarterbacks in the entire country, and their receivers are doing a great job. They’re very, very scary, and they’re strong up front.”
Nichols a junior, has struggled recently but still leads the BSC in total offense with an average of 305.2 yards per game.
He has a trio of talented targets in juniors Aaron Boyce, Brynsen Brown and Tony Davis, who all rank among the league’s top-10 receivers in receptions per game.
But it has been Eastern’s defense that has impressed Downing the most in recent weeks.
“They play very, very hard,” he said. “And I think they have two of the best defensive ends (seniors Greg Peach and Jason Belford) in the conference. Obviously, they have a very solid defensive front, but their two defensive ends really stand out.”
Peach continues to lead the nation in sacks with 14, an average of 1.75 per game.
Notes
EWU had beaten UNC three times in a row and leads the series 4-1. … The Eagles won last year’s matchup in Cheney 17-7. … The Bears could be without the services of their leading receiver, senior Cory Fauver, whose status for today’s game, according to Downing, is “touch and go” because of a lingering foot injury.