Final exams aren’t until December at Eastern Washington University, but the tests continue for the school’s third-ranked football team trying for their seventh Big Sky Conference title in school history.
Fresh off their 54-29 dismantling of previously fourth-ranked Montana State, the Eagles play at NCAA Football Championship Subdivision rushing leader Cal Poly on Saturday (Nov. 16). Kickoff is 12:40 p.m. Pacific time for the second of three-straight EWU games televised on ROOT Sports
The Eagles are 8-2 overall and a perfect 6-0 in Big Sky Conference play for the first time in school history. Eastern hasn’t lost since falling at Sam Houston State 49-34 on Sept. 28 and are ranked third in The Sports Network FCS Top-25 Poll for the fourth-straight week.
Eastern can wrap-up at least a share of their seventh Big Sky Conference title in school history with a win this week. The Eagles can clinch the automatic berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs with a victory and a Northern Arizona loss. A win and losses by both NAU and Montana State would clinch the outright title. The Eagles shared the title with Cal Poly and Montana State last year, and have also won league titles in 1992, 1997, 2004, 2005 and 2010.
“We have to go play a really good Cal Poly team on the road and that is all that matters,” said Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin. “Whether we are 5-1, 4-2, or 6-0 in the Big Sky, this is a big game coming up. It is huge to get this win and to get in this position. We control our own destiny which is all you can ask for this late in the year. But with all that being said, we are playing a Cal Poly team that is really impressive, especially defensively.”
The triple-option attack of Cal Poly is averaging 308.6 rushing yards per game to lead FCS, and had 424 in an easy 42-7 home win over Sacramento State last week. The Hornets had just 258 yards of offense, as Cal Poly enters this week’s game ranked 34th in FCS in total defense (350.0 per game) and 16th in scoring defense (21.0).
But the Mustangs, who earlier this year were ranked six-straight times by The Sports Network, are this year’s hard-luck Big Sky team. Two of their losses were to NCAA Football Bowl Division teams (nationally-ranked Fresno State 41-25 and Colorado State 34-17), as well as narrow losses to then No. 9 Montana (21-14 in overtime) and No. 16 Northern Arizona (17-13). Cal Poly also fell at home to Yale (24-10).
“We are going to play a really good Cal Poly team, and it is a really tough atmosphere to play in,” said Baldwin. “They are a couple nail-biters away from being in this race.”
Eastern, meanwhile, tries to keep on its current roll which has seen the Eagles score a combined 109 points in back-to-back games. That is unprecedented in the school’s history in the Big Sky, and the best for an Eastern team since 1966. EWU has scored 151 in the last three games, also its best since 1966. Eastern is just 80 points from the school record of 488 set in 2004.
During its current six-game winning streak – all against Big Sky foes -- Eastern has outscored its opponents by a 261-143 margin – a 43-23 average score. The last loss for EWU was 49-34 at Sam Houston State on Sept. 28, and its other loss was 33-21 to NCAA Football Championship Subdivision foe Toledo.
“We just have to stay on course,” added Baldwin. “We are in a great position, but at the same time, it is going to take an even better week during practice. We can’t have any emotional letdown coming off the Montana State win because Cal Poly is very good.”
