In a repeat of a 2012 quarterfinal game at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash., the fourth-seeded Eastern Washington University football team will host fifth-seeded Illinois State from Normal, Ill., on Saturday (Dec. 13) at 1:05 p.m. in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs.
The game, carried live via ESPN3, will be rematch of Eastern's 51-35 victory over the Redbirds in 2012 when the two teams also squared off in the quarterfinal round. The game will also be carried live on 700-AM ESPN and via the web at http://www.700espn.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, with pre-game coverage starting 1 1/2 hours prior to kickoff.
The Eagles advanced with a 37-20 victory over Montana last Saturday at "The Inferno," where Eastern is 31-4 all-time and 8-2 in the playoffs. Illinois State was a 41-21 winner in the second round over Northern Iowa, who will host the Eagles in a regular season game in 2015 and visit EWU in 2016.
The Redbirds are now 11-1 after avenging their only loss of the season, a 42-28 setback in a Missouri Valley Football Conference game at UNI on Nov. 1. Despite sharing the league title with three-time defending FCS champion North Dakota State, the Bison were one of two teams ISU did not play this season in the 10-team league.
Illinois State is ranked in the top 16 in FCS in both offense and defense, both from a yards and points standpoint. Their offense averages 460.9 yards (20th) and 38.9 points (ninth) per game, while the defense allows just 320.9 yards (20th) and 19.1 points (13th).
"Just watching video last week of both Illinois State and Northern Iowa, we knew we were going to be playing a very good team if we could beat Montana," said Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin. "We understand that and we embrace it. They do a lot of things right, and you have to give them a lot of credit. There's a reason both teams are here as two of the top eight teams remaining, and it's not an accident. We'll just go let'r rip."
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