Maybe they'll get an invite to the Sun Belt and be as irrelevant there as they were in the Big Sky.
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vs. Idaho
- Thread starter EWURanger
- Start date
ewueagfan
Active member
Keep hearing #19 being hyped up, but so many drops including one in the end zone that should have been a TD.
Eagle Talon
Active member
This (mostly) proved true with the exception being their offense which was pretty dreadful.
E-Wu Tang Clan
Active member
If you don't believe in statistics then yea.
Eagle Talon
Active member
Not sure what you mean. Our defense controlled them the majority of the game and our offense and special teams outscored them, so.
Idaho was as bad offensively as any team I’ve seen in the conference sans a couple. I remember Cal Poly being egregiously bad offensively a couple years ago, and if you take the way back machine, I remember Idaho State was atrocious at one point.
Seattle Eagle
Active member
It's amazing how much of a difference an elite Qb can make to an offense. I'm convinced this is the reason we've been in this 4-year long rut. We just didn't recruit Qb well after EB3.
E-Wu Tang Clan
Active member
I meant for the season thus far not one game. They were down to their third or fourth string QB? You think we'd do well if we had to bring out some true freshman QB? Shit our old QB is 7-0 at his new team.
And they still got more passing, rushing and total yards. More first downs and third down conversions. Just didn't translate to points. Defense didn't really "control" them they just made plays when it mattered, fourth downs, red zone etc. Idaho was 1 for 5 on fourth down.
Eastern Washington 21-14 Idaho (Oct 18, 2025) Game Stats - ESPN
Complete team stats and game leaders for the Eastern Washington Eagles vs. Idaho Vandals NCAAF game from October 18, 2025 on ESPN.
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Hambone
Active member
Wagner, who is their backup, is a Sophomore who played in 9 games last year so he is not without experience and most definitely has more snaps in college than Nate Bell does. I'm pretty sure Wagner was their QB1 before Joshua Wood transferred in from Fresno State.
The Freshman they played is a running QB who struggles to throw the ball and only came in because Wagner couldn't do anything. The guy they played in the 4th quarter, who was actually decent is also a Sophomore with some experience so I don't know where you're getting this idea that they had to throw a Freshman to the wolves in this game. Even that guy has played in 4 games this year.
We started the game with what was technically our backup QB at the start the season as well who only had two or three real starts prior to the Idaho game but I never saw you use that same excuse for Eastern.
I see tons of excuses being made for Idaho in this game (too much lost talent, too many injuries, we don't have our QB) as if all of those things don't also apply to Eastern. We got gutted in the offseason and have plenty of injuries to key players ourselves.
Idaho's staff lacks experience and got out-coached in this one plain and simple.
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Hambone
Active member
You could make the argument that we didn't recruit enough quality in greater numbers, but we did in fact recruit a QB to replace EB3. He's playing at Idaho right now.
Seattle Eagle
Active member
Fair point. Either way, I hope the QB spot is wide open for competition in the Spring. Bell has done a great job in my opinion, I just wish he could develop a little more as a passer.
True, we didn't really control them all that much. We made the right plays on defense when it counted, that idaho offense is awful. I think at might our defense looked good against a terrible offense. Our front seven seems to have improved but our defensive backfield is regressing.
E-Wu Tang Clan
Active member
Well I meant our 4th string would be one of the freshmen. Rolfness or Quinones. My fault if that was unclear.
Technically the backup QB? I posted the depth chart. Bell is #1. Schakel is #2. Just cause Taylor started the season doesn't mean he'll end it or not lose his starting spot. Taylor only started on game last season.
I dunno about out coached. Seemed pretty even to me. A few of Idaho's FGs were TDs and they could've easily won. Not to play this or that could've happened game.
I'm not sure what you're mad about, Eastern won fair and square. A pretty messy win but a win non the less.
The comments I was replying to were saying this and that offense and defense were better. Shit looked pretty even to me, stats bear that out. Statistically over the season up to now Idaho is better in both offense and defense.
E-Wu Tang Clan
Active member
Wood's first year was 2022 and EB3's last year was 2021. Eastern usually likes to develop QBs at least for one year burning their redshirt, even under Best. Having a true freshman start? I don't think that has even happened in the 12 years I've been following Eastern.
The thing Idaho never did was adjust to our blitz package. They never blocked it well. They never adapted. Yeah, I’d say they weren’t properly prepared. That’s on the coaches. Their best play was a 4th down Hail Mary that somehow landed. Failure on our DBs to track the ball, certainly, but a bit of luck for them scoring on a play that only hits 5-10% of the time.
Nothing Idaho did impressed me. As bad as we’ve looked at times this year, they looked worse. In modern FCS football… or until there’s some kind of rule change.. revolving rosters are going to be a way of life. Best to get used to it.
I’ve followed Eastern for a lot longer than that, and I’m pretty sure it has never happened.
Yeah, pretty sure it's never happened. Not with Adams, not with Berriere, Myer, Nichols, or any of the other greats.
I believe Adams took over the starting role from Kyle Padron in 2012, but that was after a a RS season in 2011. I believe Matt Nichols was a 4-year starter, but after a RS year.
In terms of coaching, one thing really stood out to me about this game. Idaho's clock management at the end of the first half was terrible. They turned what could have been a 4 point lead going into the second half into a 7 point lead for Eastern by not running out the clock and going into the locker room. Instead, they missed the FG and gave the ball back to Eastern's offense who went down the field and scored a TD.
The other one was on their opening drive going for it on 4th down inside their own 25 yard line and getting stuffed. Pure hubris and Busche League coaching on that one. And as you mentioned, they couldn't figure out a blocking scheme to relieve pressure on the multitudes of Qbs they played.
