Things to watch: EWU seniors hit the red turf for last time against Idaho State
Last season, when Eastern Washington headed to Pocatello for a mid-October matchup against Idaho State, things looked good for the Eagles for one half.
With just more than a minute left in the first half, Kekoa Visperas hit Miles Williams for a 32-yard touchdown catch that gave the Eagles a 35-7 lead. Eastern looked to be on its way to an easy win and a .500 record midway through the football season.
And then it all came apart, specifically in the fourth quarter, when the Bengals scored three unanswered touchdowns and Soren McKee missed what would have been a winning field goal in the final seconds. Idaho State won 42-41, and Eastern’s playoff hopes were essentially squashed.
On Saturday, the Bengals will make the visit to Cheney, where the Eagles will honor 22 seniors.
It’s been eight years – an unexpectedly long time – since Idaho State played at Roos Field.
The last time it did, Cooper Kupp broke the FCS all-time receptions record while scoring on a rushing touchdown and on a punt return. The Eagles won 48-17 and, a month later, hosted and lost an FCS semifinal game to Youngstown State.
Aside from some receiving milestones that could be reached by senior Efton Chism III, the stakes of this Saturday’s game aren’t as lofty. Neither team will be playoff bound.
But there are streaks on the line. Idaho State (5-5, 3-3 Big Sky) needs two wins to secure a winning season in Big Sky play for the first time in six years, and it is also looking to win on the red turf at Roos Field for the first time .
Meanwhile, the Eagles (3-7, 2-4) are trying to avoid three consecutive seasons of four or fewer victories.
Here are a few parts of the game to keep an eye on as the Eagles try to win one for their seniors:
1. Can Wortham break another one? Senior Michael Wortham is probably already a shoo-in to be named first-team all-conference at kickoff return, seeing as he’s returned 11 more kickoffs than anyone else in the conference, has a 100-yard return touchdown and also sports the best return average (29.8 yards) in the Big Sky.
The Bengals are certainly aware of him.
“Wortham is really dangerous,” ISU head coach Cody Hawkins said this week, noting that Wortham had a touchdown return called back by a penalty last year against the Bengals.
Hawkins also noted what redshirt junior Jackson Cleaver has done on kickoff, booting 32 touchbacks while also executing three surprise onside kicks, one successfully.
“Credit Aaron Best for getting those guys going, because if you want a good special teams unit, it starts with your kicker and returner,” Hawkins said. “They’ve got those boxes checked.”
2. Can the Eagles pick off some passes? The Eagles’ lack of turnovers on both sides of the ball has confined the field position battle mostly to its special teams. But as he has all year, EWU head coach Aaron Best exhorted his team to force a couple of them this week against the Bengals.
They will have opportunities. After beating a Northern Colorado team last week that has thrown the ball the third-fewest times in the Big Sky (257), this week they see an Idaho State team that has thrown it the most times (420).
“We’re playing the antithesis of the outfit we played last week,” Best said.
The Eagles have five interceptions this year, more than four other Big Sky teams have, including the Bengals (who have three). But a couple of those came late in halves when the game was already out of hand or weren’t meaningful from a field-position standpoint.
Idaho State senior Kobe Tracy has thrown for 2,458 yards, second most in the conference. But he’s also thrown six interceptions, also the second most in the conference.
3. Will this be another shootout? Whether it’s something about Idaho State’s defense or Eastern Washington’s offense, this is a matchup in which the Eagles have consistently put up points. In their past eight games, the Eagles have scored at least 41 points in all .
At times, the Bengals have hung with them, like in last year’s 42-41 win and losses in 2021 (46-42) and 2014 (56-53).
The Bengals (427.8 yards per game) have the offense to keep up with the Eagles (432.6) this season. Unlike previous years, it’s the Bengals – not so much the Eagles – who will come in with a pass-first offense.