Nov. 6—After its bye, Eastern Washington spent two weeks preparing for Montana only to find that the Grizzlies, over their own bye week, had significantly overhauled their defensive scheme.
“The defense that was thrown at us was totally different than what they had shown on film the entire year,” EWU head coach Aaron Best said during media availability on Tuesday. “All in all, when you put yourself in a one-possession game having really no tape on that defense, the way we adapted was good enough to put us in position to have a two-point try to tie the game up late.”
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Eastern still absorbed 11 sacks in the process of adjusting to the Grizzlies (6-3, 4-2 Big Sky), who won that Oct. 31 game 42-33, spoiling the Eagles’ chance at a .500 record. Instead, the Eagles (2-7, 1-5) are on their way to a fifth straight losing season.
Saturday, they head to Moscow for a rivalry game against the Idaho Vandals (4-5, 4-2). The Eagles haven’t won in Moscow since 2012, and that was six years before the Vandals returned to the FCS and the Big Sky Conference.
A few years ago, then-Idaho coach Jason Eck revived the Che-Scow Cup, something the Eagles currently possess after a 21-14 victory over Idaho last year in Cheney.
Here are three elements of the game this weekend to monitor as the Eagles seek to keep that trophy.
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1. Defensive containment. Big plays have maligned the Eagles’ defense all season: They are allowing a Big Sky-high 7.4 yards per play. Their rushing defense has been particularly susceptible, giving up 220.6 yards per game, the most in the league.
Idaho’s rushing defense hasn’t been particularly robust, ranking ninth in the league in yards per rush (3.9), and the three teams worse are Utah Tech (3.7) and Portland State (3.5) — Eastern’s next two opponents — and then Eastern itself at 3.3 yards per rush.
EWU linebacker Matt Eskridge II insisted that the Eagles defense is just looking to “get all the pieces together.”
“It’s really just (about) finishing,” Eskridge said, “about playing a perfect game. That’s all we’re reaching for is to play a perfect game.”
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2. Effectiveness in the running game. Despite returning four of its five starting offensive lineman from a year ago, the Eagles have been less effective at running the ball, down to 3.3 yards per carry compared to 3.7 yards per carry in 2025.
That figure is down from 5.2 in 2024 and 4.1 in 2023.
Part of the Eagles’ struggles have been due to attrition at running back, where they are down Game 1 starter Malik Dotson (165 rushing yards on 49 carries across five games this season) and sophomore Wilson Medina, who began the year as the Eagles’ third option in the backfield.
The emergence of freshman Jaxon Bell (53 carries, 225 yards) and redshirt sophomore Kevin Allen III (73 for 293) has helped.
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“I’ve just seen a lot of growth in (Allen’s) game in shaking tackles and finishing the block to get free,” redshirt junior guard Cole McGovern said. “His reads have gotten significantly better. He’s really starting to take strides in his game.”
But sacks have decimated Eastern’s rushing total, too. It has allowed a 39 — at least 17 more than every other Big Sky team — for a loss of 225 yards.
3. Flawless special teams. Redshirt senior Soren McKee has made 15 of 17 field goals this year, which gives him the best success rate in the Big Sky and the second-most made kicks, one shy of Idaho State sophomore Mason Lindberg, who is 16 for 22.
Sophomore punter Luke Faccone has also contributed to a punt coverage unit that ranks third in the Big Sky in net yards per punt (40.3).
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The return game has not been as effective — the Eagles rank seventh in kick returns and 11th in punt returns — but a strong showing in all these phases of special teams could buoy Eastern’s chances of upending the Vandals and spoiling their rival’s playoff hopes.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
