Eastern Washington hopes to make the most of bye week

The Eastern Washington players and coaches took the practice field with mixed feelings on Tuesday, and for good reason.

Coming off Saturday’s 46-28 loss at Southern Utah, most of the Eagles would rather take out their frustrations on Weber State in four days rather than 11.

On the other hand, the extra time off means more time for healing and introspection – not that Aaron Best or any other coach would use the latter term.

“Self-scouting,” Best called it, implying that the Eagles needed some both sides of the ball after falling to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in the Big Sky Conference race.

“At this point in the season, teams have a lot of film on us,” Best said before Tuesday’s practice. “We have to make our strengths stronger and our weaknesses less weak.”

The biggest problem – a minus-11 turnover margin – has become the elephant in the room that won’t go away, no matter how much the coaches talk about it.

“We’re not causing enough of them on defense and we’re giving up too many on offense,” Best said. “We’ve focused a lot on that already, so maybe we go reverse psychology and not talk about it.”

The 14th-ranked Eagles also are struggling to get off the field on defense. In the last three games, UC Davis, Montana State and Southern Utah were a collective 30-for-61 on third and fourth down.

Offensively, Best said the last two games haven’t been as “dynamic” as in previous games.

That’s partly attributable to MSU and Southern Utah taking away the deep passing game. The result: Eastern averaged 416 yards of total offense in the last two games, compared with 604 yards in the previous four.

The biggest fallout is the fall from first place in the Big Sky standings. Eastern doesn’t get a shot at first-place Northern Arizona (4-0 in the Big Sky), so it will need some help to win its fifth title in the last six years.

Wishing might make it so. Even as he left the field Saturday night, quarterback Gage Gubrud said of Southern Utah, “We wish them good luck in the future.”

Especially on Nov. 18, when NAU visits Southern Utah in the regular-season finale.

However, Best and his players still have plenty to play for. A postseason berth is theirs to lose.

The math is clear-cut: Run the table against Weber, North Dakota and Portland State, and they should earn a first-round bye for the FCS playoffs.

Take two out of three and hope for a first-round home game, though Eastern might have to travel on Thanksgiving.

Lose all three – well, that happened two years ago, and wide receiver Terence Grady said he won’t let that happen.

“It’s about how you finish,” said Grady, now healed from a collarbone injury suffered in the second week of the season.

“I’m ready to get back to work with my brothers,” Grady said.