Eagles’ stretch run begins with Montana
This isn’t about payback, though that would be nice too.
For the Eastern Washington players and coaches, Saturday’s Big Sky Conference game against Montana is just another chance to get better.
“Ascending,” coach Beau Baldwin called it earlier this week.
“Your whole goal, no matter who your opponent is, no matter how you’re going through the season, is to be ascending as a team,” Baldwin said.
So far, so good for the third-ranked Eagles, whose 6-1 season has divided itself neatly into four-week blocks: overachievement in September, an October filled with comebacks against weaker teams, and now a challenging final month of the regular season.
The Eagles will be clear favorites in only one of their remaining four games: Nov. 12 against Idaho State.
Road games at Cal Poly (Nov. 5) and Portland State (Nov. 18) are just as important as Saturday’s game against the Griz.
The goal, as always, is a conference title and at least a couple of home postseason home games. To that end, “You’re just trying to get better in every area, every week,” Baldwin said.
If that comes at the expense of 16th-ranked Montana (5-2 overall, 2-2 Big Sky), all the better for players and fans who’d like to avenge last year’s outcome.
But that 57-16 beat-down in Missoula is a nonfactor, Baldwin said. Last year, Eastern was descending in all phases of the game: The defense couldn’t get off the field the offense stagnated to the point where Baldwin got desperate and played three different quarterbacks in Missoula.
No such problems this year. Led by quarterback Gage Gubrud, the Eagles lead the Football Championship Subdivision in passing offense (445.6 yards per game) and are second in scoring (46.6) and total offense (569.6).
The Eagles also are moving the chains, converting almost 53 percent on third down.
There’s still room for improvement: The running game has been inconsistent, and the Eagles are committing too many penalties. Last week at Montana State, they had 12 for 105 yards. A better first half also would be welcome; Eastern has led at halftime just twice, by a combined eight points.
Montana counters with a defense that’s held opponents to 25.5 percent on third down, the second-best mark in the country, and is 21st overall at 319.3 yards per game. The Griz are even better in the red zone, ranking third.
Baldwin has noticed. “They able to create chaos in an aggressive manner, but without being out position of out of control,” Baldwin said. “They have guys who can lock up in man (coverage) and guys who can get pressure.”
Montana’s offense is almost as fearsome. Six-foot-7 quarterback Brady Gustafson has the Griz ranked third nationally in scoring (44.9), fourth in passing (348.7) and fifth in total offense (495.3).
The Griz carry some self-doubt into Saturday’s game, as they’re 0-2 in Big Sky road games so far. “We need to be more focused on the road,” second-year UM coach Bob Stitt said.
With rain in the forecast, the game may hinge on who can better handle adversity.
In some ways, the Griz have even more at stake. Their 5-2 record is built on a relatively weak nonconference schedule (a win at Northern Iowa notwithstanding), which means a third loss will see them playing in the first round of the playoffs on Thanksgiving weekend.
At 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Sky, Eastern has more margin for error. But the Eagles remained tied atop the standings with North Dakota and Weber State, who square off Saturday in Grand Forks. Eastern doesn’t get a shot at either team, and would only control its own destiny in the league race by going unbeaten.
Notes: Eastern had won four straight in the series until last year. Montana leads the overall series 27-15-1, but is just 4-5 against Baldwin, including two losses in 2014. … The Eagles were just 3-12 against Montana before Baldwin took over the program in 2008.