CHENEY, Washington — Beau Baldwin could feel something different about his team throughout the entire off-season leading up to this 2016 campaign. His Eastern Washington Eagles had a killer instinct.
Baldwin’s pass-oriented offenses have produced Big Sky Conference Offensive Players of the Year and Walter Payton Award finalists as prolifically as the Eagles have piled up passing yards and points. Around the Big Sky and the FCS, most view Eastern Washington as an offensive juggernaut who simply outscores the opposition. But this EWU squad is different. The offense is as prolific, as evidence by sophomore quarterback Gage Gubrud and senior wide receiver Cooper Kupp serving as two of the three finalists for this season’s Payton Award. But the defense continues to build momentum as the Eagles continue to march through the FCS playoffs.
With a second straight swarming effort led by senior defensive end Samson Ebukam, the EWU defense has begun to catch up to its offensive counterpart. On Saturday with temperatures hovering in the low 20s and the red turf at Roos Field dusted with snow, Eastern Washington’s defense put forth one of its best performances.
A week after shutting out Central Arkansas after halftime and allowing a season-low for total yards, the EWU defense raised its level another notch and helped boost the Eagles into the semifinals in the process. Eastern Washington forced four first-half fumbles and five turnovers overall, pitching its first shutout since 2009 with a 38-0 win over Richmond.
Eastern Washington senior defensive end Samson Ebukam chases down Richmond quarterback Kevin Johnson/ by Jason Bacaj
“This team has something special,” Baldwin said after his 12th playoff win as EWU’s head coach and his 18th playoff win as a part of the EWU program. “In my opinion, you could see it even before we played a game. You could see something special back in January – something different the way they were going to push the standard. There was something different in how they were going to come back from a 6-5 year (in 2015). They took 6-5 as being unacceptable. The seniors led that charge and it trickles down. It is special.”
EWU forced four first-half fumbles thanks in part to a relentless pass rush and in part to frigid conditions. Eastern Washington turned two of the fumbles into touchdowns in building a 21-0 halftime, scored on the first possession after halftime with a dominating run-oriented drive capped by a 20-yard scoring sprint by senior Jabari Wilson and continue to bury the Richmond offense for the duration of the game.
“It’s pretty simple: if you let them back in the game, their confidence is going to grow,” Ebukam said after a memorable performance in EWU’s first shutout in 101 outings. “Us as a team, our mentality right now is to keep them down. If we are up, we will finish them and if we are tied, we are going to be the mentally tougher team and finish them.
“It’s just a brotherhood; we built the bond in the off-season and now we keep building on it. We are brothers and we don’t want to let each other down.”
EWU sophomore quarterback Gage Gubrud threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns Saturday/ by Jason Bacaj
The Eagles piled up six sacks and notched 10 tackles for loss all told, flustering quarterback Kevin Johnson and Richmond’s normally explosive offense throughout the game. EWU sophomore safety Mitch Fettig forced a first-quarter fumble to set up the first of three first-half touchdown passes by Gubrud, a seven-yard strike to Nsimba Webster. Richmond answered with a 12-play drive to the EWU 3-yard line but EWU senior J.J. Njoku sacked Johnson, Richmond’s sophomore quarterback who had his redshirt pulled before the playoffs, for a 14-yard loss on fourth down.
Gubrud threw an interception five plays later but the EWU defense held. After a Richmond punt pinned the hosts deep, Gubrud looked to Kupp, the reigning Payton Award winner. The all-time leader in college football history in catches, yards and receiving touchdowns caught two passes for 88 yards during a 92-yard drive that lasted 79 seconds. The march included a 68-yard Kupp catch-and-run and was capped by a 20-yard Kupp touchdown to put EWU up 14-0 with seven minutes, 45 seconds left in the first half.
“The defense did a great job of putting us in great situations,” Kupp said. “We have to be critical in our execution and getting points out of those things. I think there was still a lot of points left out on the field but the confidence we get knowing we can step on the field and know the defense is out there making stops and causing turnovers for us, that’s a big deal for us.”
Ebukam was all over the field on Saturday afternoon. The senior finished with eight tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks in leading an EWU defense that gave up a season-low 205 total yards. He chased down Johnson and stripped the ball in the second quarter. Eastern did not turn the turnover into points but Johnson fumbled the snap on the next possession as well. After sophomore Jonah Johnson’s recovery at the Richmond 23, Gubrud hit senior Shaq Hill for a touchdown to extend EWU’s lead to 21-0.
Eastern Washington’s defense swarms Richmond running back Deontez Thompson/ by Jason Bacaj
“My hat is off to our guys on defense – (defensive coordinator) coach Jeff Schmedding and more than anything, the men that are out there on the field battling,” Baldwin said. “I don’t think I’ve been a part of a playoff shutout in my life, let alone thinking that we’ve had seven quarters of scoreless football by our defense. In college football these days that doesn’t happen. They’ve earned that and I’m so happy for them.”
Ebukam, a first-team All-Big Sky selection, finished with eight tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks. On Richmond’s first possession after halftime, Ebukam notched his second sack on second down and snared his first interception of the season on the next play. The Eagles turned Richmond’s fifth turnover into a 27-yard field goal by Roldan Alcobendas.
“That was pretty incredible, never seen something like that,” Kupp said when asked about Ebukam’s stellar performance.
Kupp finished with six catches for 128 yards and his 71st career touchdown. Kupp’s outing is his 30th 100-yard game in his 51 career games and he has now scored in 42 different games. He now has 6,284 yards in his career, more than any receiver in the history of college football at any level.
In its third consecutive playoff appearance, Richmond’s season ended at 10-4. The Spiders lost junior quarterback Kyle Lauletta to a season-ending knee injury in a loss to William & Mary in last game of the regular season. Johnson spent the entire regular season as a redshirt. He went to Rocco after Lauletta’s injury and asked to lead his team through the playoffs.
Eastern Washington sophomore Dylan Donohue/ by Jason Bacaj
Johnson led Richmond to a 39-10 win over North Carolina A&T in the first round. In the second round against No. 7 seed North Dakota, Johnson threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns and helped Richmond rally from a 24-7 deficit to post a 27-24 win on a last-second field goal.
“I was very impressed with their defense today and it hasn’t probably been the phase of the program here that has been the most impressive here as you look through this season,” Richmond fifth-year head coach Danny Rocco said.
“Today, we played one of the top two or three teams in the country and they played like it. On their home field, in the conditions they are comfortable playing in, they beat us from start to finish.”
Johnson, a native of Atlanta, finished 20-of-31 for 157 yards. Richmond managed 205 yards of total offense on 69 plays, including 48 yards on 37 rushes.
“The four fumbles we had in the first half, slippery ball, bad footing, wet conditions, it all makes it hard to execute at a high level,” Johnson said after his second year of eligibility expired in three games, the same number he played in 2015. “I have never played in conditions like this but the cold wasn’t really the factor. We didn’t execute and that was the story of the game”
EWU senior Shaq Hill caught his 16th touchdown against Richmond/ by Jason Bacaj
The win moves Eastern Washington into the Final Four of the FCS playoffs for the fourth time in Baldwin’s tenure. The second-seeded Eagles will host Youngstown State, a 30-23 victor over Wofford in double overtime in Youngstown on Saturday. The day and time for kickoff for the two semifinal games have yet to be announced.
The other semifinal features fourth-seeded James Madison at No. 1 North Dakota State, the five-time reigning FCS champion. James Madison posted a 65-7 win over No. 5 Sam Houston State on Friday night. NDSU rallied from a 10-0 deficit to post a 36-10 win over No. 8 South Dakota State.
“It will keep getting tougher – we know that,” Baldwin said. “Our players are ready to attack the week – not just Friday or Saturday – they are going to attack the week. It’s an amazing group to coach and they’ve done some amazing things. I know one thing: both teams are 0-0 going into this week. We’re excited for that challenge.”
