Eastern Washington Eagles young defense learning on the fly

Eastern Washington’s young defense has been learning on the fly.

More often than not, the halftime adjustments have paid off, keeping the Eagles in games and keeping them in contention to win another Big Sky Conference title. It happened again last week with a second-half shutout in a 14-13 nailbiter over Weber State.

“I think as players and coaches we’re doing a good job of adjusting,” defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding said earlier this week as the Eagles prepared for Saturday’s homecoming game against Northern Arizona.

“Now I’d like to see those things happen sooner,” Schmedding said.

But will Northern Arizona give them the chance? In their last two games against Northern Colorado and Weber, the Lumberjacks have put 42 points on the board by halftime. By then, any halftime adjustments were too little, too late.

Left for dead three weeks ago after a two-touchdown loss at last-place UC Davis, the Lumberjacks suddenly are one of the Big Sky’s hottest teams. Quarterback Case Cookus leads the nation in passing efficiency and he’s backed by an athletic offensive line, a shifty all-purpose running back and a wideout whose stats rival those of Eastern’s own Cooper Kupp.

“They’re strong everywhere,” Eastern cornerback Nzuzi Webster said.

Saturday’s game at Roos Field is crucial for both teams. At 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the conference, NAU is already in playoff mode. “We’ve been that way for two weeks now,” coach Jerome Souers said.

Fourth-ranked Eastern is 6-2 overall and a perfect 5-0 in the Sky, but any loss in their last three games will cost them seeding and home-field advantage in the playoffs. The schedule gets no easier after NAU: the Eagles are at Montana next week and close the regular season at home against Portland State on Nov. 21.

Schmedding hopes that Eastern’s rejuvenated pass rush will make life tough on Cookus, who is coming off an otherworldly performance (25 of 31, 363 yards and seven touchdowns) in a 63-21 win over Northern Colorado. Cookus has many targets, with nine different receivers catching at least six passes.

The top target is deep threat Emmanuel Butler, who has 896 yards on just 43 catches – an average of 20.8 yards per reception. EWU also must contend with running back Casey Jahn, who’s averaging 5.7 yards a carry.

But if NAU has an Achilles heel, it’s pass protection – the Lumberjacks have given up 16 sacks in five Big Sky games. That a good sign for Eagle defensive end Samson Ebukam, who was a difference-maker last week against Weber. Slowed by injuries early in the season, “He was on a mission last week,” Schmedding said.

On the other side of the ball, NAU likes to bring pressure while staying in man coverage. That will mean open targets for EWU quarterback Jordan West – if he has time to find them.

“They’re not afraid to be aggressive,” EWU coach Beau Baldwin said.

The difference could be Eastern’s ground game, which struggled last week and is averaging just 3.7 yards per carry in conference games. Says tight end Terry Jackson II, “We just have to come out with the right mind set and need to get the run game started.

“It’s about execution up front,” Jackson said.

Notes: Eastern leads the all-time series 19-11, but lost in the most recent meeting, 28-27 last year in Flagstaff, Arizona. This is NAU’s first visit to Cheney since 2010, when the Eagles prevailed 21-14. Eastern has won seven of the last 10 meetings. … Eastern hasn’t lost a regular-season game at home since Portland State beat the Eagles 43-26 in the last home contest of the 2011 season. … Eastern has never lost a Homecoming game on the red turf, a five-game streak that dates back to 2010.