EWU defense aims to slow Montana running back Eli Gillman, maintain unbeaten record against Grizzlies on red turf
Eli Gillman only played in two football games as a true freshman, but one came against Eastern Washington, and it was a memorable one.
It was in that game Gillman scored his first touchdown, a 19-yard scamper that got the Montana Grizzlies into the end zone one last time in a 63-7 victory over the Eagles in November 2022 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula.
That was the last time Montana and Eastern played football against each other. Last year, as part of the Big Sky’s scheduling rotation, the two program’s didn’t meet.
Gillman is off to a blistering start, leading the Big Sky Conference in rushing through four games with 456 yards and six touchdowns.
But Saturday, he’ll do something he and many of his Montana teammates have never done: play on the red turf at Roos Field in Cheney. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.
“I think I’ve only ever seen it on TV when I was a senior in high school,” said Gillman, who grew up in Dassel, Minnesota. “It looks bright and annoying.”
From a program standpoint, the annoying part at least is backed up by history. Since the red turf was installed in 2010, the Grizzlies have played on it six times, and they haven’t won . The most recent contest, in 2021, ended with Eastern Washington’s defense swatting away a pass in the end zone to secure a 34-28 victory.
“I had a high school team camp back there when I was a junior in high school,” said Montana redshirt senior Hayden Harris, who played at Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish, Washington. “I’ve been there before. … We’re just looking forward to getting that victory Saturday on the red field.”
Eastern (1-3) would rather keep its streak alive, of course. But beating Montana (3-1), ranked eighth in this week’s FCS Stats Perform Top 25, is likely going to take an improved result from Eastern’s defense, which has shown improvement from last year but hasn’t consistently played as well as its players and coaches would like.
“This is brand new for us,” EWU senior linebacker Conner O’Farrell said. “It’s the first year with (coach Eric Sanders) as the coordinator. There are going to be some growing pains, but we’re looking forward. We still think we can do this.”
The defense Eastern installed heading into this season is one infused with the principles Sanders coached into his players during his time as an NFL assistant. O’Farrell described it as being on attack constantly, employing a variety of personnels, formations, blitzes and coverages designed to confuse and pressure offenses.
The playbook is thicker than any O’Farrell said he’s seen in his five years at Eastern, but coaches haven’t been adding any more pages to it. The plays they’ve run are the same plays they’ve been practicing since spring ball.
“The playbook for the defense was all put in during the offseason,” O’Farrell said. “It’s just a matter of executing. … It’s all the same stuff. We’ve talked about it, practiced it and installed it at one point. Now we practice, practice, practice, because we will get better at it.”
After starting the year by keeping the running games of Monmouth and Drake to a combined 116 yards, Eastern allowed 253 rushing yards to Southeastern Louisiana two weeks ago and 320 to Nevada in a 49-16 loss on Saturday.
O’Farrell said the defense struggled with fundamentals against Nevada, such as missing tackles. He said it came down to execution.
On Tuesday, during media availability, EWU head coach Aaron Best said the team lacked containment along its edges at all levels of the defense against Nevada.
“Our edges weren’t sound,” Best said. “When they were, we were way better.”
Led by Gillman, Montana’s rushing game has produced 271.5 yards per game, second only to Montana State (325.3) in the Big Sky.
But it hasn’t been just Gillman. Running back Nick Ostmo, in his sixth year in the program, has 229 rushing yards. Redshirt freshman quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat has rushed 29 times for 84 yards and six of Montana’s 17 rushing touchdowns.
Ah Yat has split snaps at quarterback with Logan Fife. They have combined to complete 76 of 124 passes this season for three touchdowns, two interceptions and 709 yards.
The Eagles will need to find a way to slow whatever Montana throws or runs at them if they hope to end a three-game losing streak heading into the eight-game Big Sky Conference schedule.
“Our first goal is to win the Big Sky and then win the national championship,” O’Farrell said. “(A) 1-3 (record) is not a great start but going into conference play, we’re coming in with energy and passion and we’re ready to play.”