flyingnail
Active member
When did we pickup Univ. of South Dakota !!! Wow, lotsa travel the first 3 weeks, and only 4 home games for the season ???? Thats weird !!!!!! GOEAGS!
kalm said:I wouldn't want it every year but I will trade a fifth homer against Western Oregon for a very winnable fcs road game this year. Our schedule is brutal and getting to 8 wins was going to be tough. Now we don't have to. On the brighter side, this will also raise our sagarin which raises our GPI. So if we go 9-2 or better it raises the chances of getting seeded. By playing this one we might get 1,2, or 3 additional home games a little later in the season.
Come on peoples, isn't our motto "start something big"? :mrgreen:
marceagfan5 said:kalm said:I wouldn't want it every year but I will trade a fifth homer against Western Oregon for a very winnable fcs road game this year. Our schedule is brutal and getting to 8 wins was going to be tough. Now we don't have to. On the brighter side, this will also raise our sagarin which raises our GPI. So if we go 9-2 or better it raises the chances of getting seeded. By playing this one we might get 1,2, or 3 additional home games a little later in the season.
Come on peoples, isn't our motto "start something big"? :mrgreen:
I like the thinking...anyone...anywhere...anytime. If they can beat USD and Montana, Eastern will be in a nice position to earn a high seed in the playoffs. The Bobcat game will be a great home opener and a payback game.
I'm just frustrated with the amount of home games, I guess I will just have to visit Seattle and Missoula this September...
marceagfan5 said:I think the general consensus is that right now is the best time to capitalize on the momentum from winning the National Championship and bringing back a good portion of our starters. Playing the first 3 games on the road, and only 4 at home, when one of the 4 is not the Griz is going to hurt us in doing this. A lot of people who were going to buy season tickets will not anymore just for the fact that they are only buying into 4 games. I wonder if Troy can give us any kind of an update on ticket purchases to date for the upcoming year?
I agree that we will most likely see a boost in the attendance, especially our first 2 games, but our last 2 home games are against Northern Colorado and PSU, not really big draws, as they have been down the past couple years. We should see 8000+ (at least I hope) for the MSU game, as MSU draws well and it will be the home opener.
The positive about this schedule is it gives us more room for error by playing another FCS opponent, but I am still frustrated we didn't try to capitalize on the National Championship by playing only 4 home games. I can't imagine any other FCS school doing this following a national championship, but I'm sure there are some valid reasons we haven't heard.
kalm said:I wouldn't want it every year but I will trade a fifth homer against Western Oregon for a very winnable fcs road game this year. Our schedule is brutal and getting to 8 wins was going to be tough. Now we don't have to. On the brighter side, this will also raise our sagarin which raises our GPI. So if we go 9-2 or better it raises the chances of getting seeded. By playing this one we might get 1,2, or 3 additional home games a little later in the season.
Come on peoples, isn't our motto "start something big"? :mrgreen:
EWURanger said:I've got a hard time believing this is the best we could do to fill that final spot. Geez, we already had 6 away games scheduled. Obviously, the addition of a winnable FCS game to schedule is a bonus, but there should have been a home and home guarantee out of this, and the stipulation should have been for the first game in the series be at the Inferno. I have a hard time believing that whatever payout USD is providing is enough to make any sort of difference.
Bad for season ticket holders, definitely. But this could possiblyly boost our season per gam average because people probably won't pass on as many games when they've only for 4 times during the regular season to see the team.
Screamin_Eagle174 said:marceagfan5 said:I think the general consensus is that right now is the best time to capitalize on the momentum from winning the National Championship and bringing back a good portion of our starters. Playing the first 3 games on the road, and only 4 at home, when one of the 4 is not the Griz is going to hurt us in doing this. A lot of people who were going to buy season tickets will not anymore just for the fact that they are only buying into 4 games. I wonder if Troy can give us any kind of an update on ticket purchases to date for the upcoming year?
I agree that we will most likely see a boost in the attendance, especially our first 2 games, but our last 2 home games are against Northern Colorado and PSU, not really big draws, as they have been down the past couple years. We should see 8000+ (at least I hope) for the MSU game, as MSU draws well and it will be the home opener.
The positive about this schedule is it gives us more room for error by playing another FCS opponent, but I am still frustrated we didn't try to capitalize on the National Championship by playing only 4 home games. I can't imagine any other FCS school doing this following a national championship, but I'm sure there are some valid reasons we haven't heard.
I tentatively disagree. EWU football right now is definitely a hot commodity. So much exposure, national champions, 8-0 on the turf... people are going to want to see it. The fact there are only four home games this year makes it that much more of a hot ticket, which I think will boost our attendance. I wouldn't be surprised if we packed the stands for all four.
Cheney, WA (Sports Network) - Eastern Washington's defense of its FCS championship in 2011 will include only three games on campus.
The Eagles will play four home games, but one will occur at Qwest Field in Seattle against Portland State.
EWU's games on campus at Roos Field, where the Eagles debuted red artificial turf this past season en route to posting a 13-2 record and winning the national championship, are against Montana State (Sept. 24), Weber State (Oct. 1) and Northern Colorado (Oct. 15), which is Homecoming Day.
EWU will play seven other games, including three straight to open the season: Sept. 3 at Washington, Sept. 10 at South Dakota and Sept. 17 at Montana in its Big Sky Conference opener.
"We really like the composition of playing 10 FCS schools and one FBS game," EWU athletic director Bill Chaves said. "If there was one thing I wish could have happened was that we had five home games and not four, but sometimes that is just what occurs in the scheduling process - it is inexact science. It took some time to complete the schedule given the challenges in the west from an FCS standpoint."
Eastern's schedule includes just four home games for the first time since 1981.
2011 Eastern Washington Football Schedule
All Times Eastern
Saturday, Sept. 3 - at Washington - Seattle, Wash.
Saturday, Sept. 10 - at South Dakota - Vermillion, S.D.
Saturday, Sept. 17 - at *Montana - Missoula, Mont.
Saturday, Sept. 24 - *Montana State - Cheney, Wash. - 7:05 p.m. (tentative)
Saturday, Oct. 1 - *Weber State - Cheney, Wash. - 4:05 p.m. (tentative)
Saturday, Oct. 8 - at *Northern Arizona - Flagstaff, Ariz.
Saturday, Oct. 15 - * Northern Colorado - Cheney, Wash. - 7:05 p.m. (tentative)
Saturday, Oct. 22 - at *Sacramento State - Sacramento, Calif.
Saturday, Oct. 29 - *Portland State - Seattle, Wash. - 4:05 p.m. - (tentative)
Saturday, Nov. 12 - at Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Saturday, Nov. 19 - at *Idaho State - Pocatello, Idaho
*-Big Sky Conference game