Montana State has to make the trip on I-90 West to play on the Inferno for the second year in a row.
Last time MSU trekked the 418 miles from Bozeman to Cheney, the Bobcats posted a 23-20 win in their first victory over the Eagles since 2011. Eastern have still won 14 of the last 16 meetings against the Bobcats, and are 32-11 overall in the 43-game series dating back to 1948.
Eastern had its seven-game winning streak over Montana State snapped last season, one of two landmark road wins in places the Bobcats have recently struggled; the other, a 13-7 win over Weber State in Ogden.
Eastern has won six of the last seven in Bozeman and eight of the last 10 meetings at home (including a 2003 win in Spokane). Overall, Eastern is 17-6 at MSU, 14-5 in home games and 1-0 on neutral fields.
This week, Montana State comes in as the No. 4 ranked team in the FCS while Eastern Washington sits at No. 15 in the latest poll. Eastern Washington has occupied the Top 10 consistently for the last 15 years, winning six Big Sky titles (2010, 2012-2014, 2016, 2018) and have made the playoffs 12 times since 2004, including nine times since 2010 and three times under fifth-year head coach Aaron Best.
Each team is coming off being blown out by West Coast powers. Two weeks ago, Eastern Washington lost 70-14 at Oregon. The Eagles had a bye this week leading into their conference opener. EWU is 1-1 entering the game with a 36-29 win over Tennessee State in its opener and a third non-conference game coming in Gainesville at Florida next week.
“Looking at their two games this year, it’s not a holistic look at them; it’s two games, one they found a way to win and one against a really good opponent in Oregon,” Vigen said. “I think we have far from seen what this team is capable of. We have to expect them to be very prepared with the extra week and expect their best shot.”
In Portland, Oregon on Saturday, Oregon State settled right in at downtown Providence Park even though the Beavers hadn’t played a game there since 1986. OSU scored every time they touched the ball, rolling up 32 first downs, averaging 14.7 yards per completion and rolling to a 68-28 victory in front of a near-sellout crowd of more than 25,000.
“If a few of those plays look a little bit differently, the margin wasn’t going to be what it was and if you can get that game in the second half where the margin is attainable, it would be different,” said Vigen, whose Bobcats gave up its most points since 2008 last week. “I thought our guys played hard and stayed in the fight but by no means did we play well enough. Certainly, some of that credit goes to Oregon State but I do think there are things we can correct.”
Eastern Washington is ranked 15th in the nation but is outside the Top 5 in this week’s Skyline Sports Power Ranking (coming soon). The Big Sky got five teams into the FCS playoffs last season and EWU has to remain in that group of contenders for a top 5 league finish again until someone displaces them.
Saturday will mark a pivotal game for both squads to open conference play. EWU is almost certainly staring another lopsided loss in the face at Florida in two weeks. Montana State has a under the lights national television date with UC Davis that same week. What sort of momentum can MSU carry and how do the Bobcats bounce back from a drubbing? Vigen acknowledged the importance of the game openly.
“In the game of football, you have to be able to turn the page,” Vigen said. “If you win you win, if you lose you lose, but each week is its own week with its own opportunities and challenges. You have to be able to own the previous performance. And we’ve done that.
“It does help that it is the Big Sky opener and we are playing at Eastern Washington. Both of those factors should help us.”
QUICK HITS
Location: Cheney, Washington
Nickname: Eagles
Founded: 1882. Eastern Washington is a public university which is academically divided into four colleges: Arts and Letters; Business and Public Administration; Science, Health and Engineering; and Social & Behavioral Sciences and Social Work.
Enrollment: The school has 10,892 total students and a $25.3 million endowment.
Stadium: Roos Field holds 8,700 fans. Complete with its trademark red turf, the stadium is named after Michael Roos, an All-Big Sky offensive lineman who is currently a Pro Bowl offensive lineman for the Tennessee Titans. EWU drew just 3,932 to its opener.
THE TEAM (1-1 overall, 0-0 in Big Sky play)
The Coach: Aaron Best, sixth season and fifth year leading his alma mater. The longtime EWU offensive line coach was an All-Big Sky player for Mike Kramer’s Eagles in the late 1990s before joining Paul Wulff’s staff as a graduate assistant. Best served as Eastern’s offensive line coach from 2002 until 2006. He spent a season in the CFL before returning to his alma mater as the offensive line coach in 2008, a position he served on Beau Baldwin’s staff until 2016.
In 2017, Best took over as the head coach. The Eagles finished 7-4 that first season and held a No. 21 national ranking in the final poll but was left out of the FCS playoffs. In 2018, the Eagles played for a national championship as Eric Barriere first emerged as a start.
Over the last three fall seasons plus the 2021 spring campaign, Barriere blossomed into the most prolific quarterback in EWU and Big Sky Conference history, leading the Eagles to a 10-win season last fall. Barriere was the Walter Payton Award winner.
This season begins the first without Barriere for Best as Eastern’s head coach. The rest of the roster has Best’s fingerprints all over it. Can the consistent run of elite quarterbacks and wide receivers continue, especially as EWU’s place in the college football landscape continues to be murky?
Saturday will be a big step toward answering that question.
WHAT TO WATCH — THE OFFENSE
Gunner Talkington, quarterback redhirt senior, 5-10, 215 — Talkington earned Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week after completing 29-of-46 passes for 348 yards and five touchdowns to go with 60 rushing yards in Eastern’s first win of the year. Against Oregon, he was 12-of-21 for 87 yards and two scores while rushing eight times for 22 yards.
Efton Chism III, wide receiver, sophomore, 6-0, 200 — The shifty yet strong in-state product caught 57 passes for 735 yards and nine touchdowns to earn third-team All-Big Sky and HERO Sports Freshman All-American honors last fall. He enters his sophomore year with 90 catches for 1,064 yards and 10 TDs thanks to seven games played last spring.
Freddie Roberson, wide receiver, redshirt junior, 6-2, 195 — Roberson now has 29 games of experience (19 starts) in his career and with five 100-yard receiving performances. He has caught 96 passes for a total of 1,469 yards and 10 touchdowns, and he has also rushed for a touchdown.
He was a third-team all-league honoree last season after catching 49 passes for 779 yars and six touchdowns. He has nine catches for 124 yards this season. His lone touchdown came against Oregon.
Wyatt Musser, offensive tackle, redshirt senior, 6-5, 310 — The former three-star recruit has started 22 games and counting for EWU.
WHAT TO WATCH — THE DEFENSE
Anthany Smith, safety, redshirt senior, 5-11, 190 — Like Montana and Montana State, EWU has a legacy number: it’s No. 4 at Eastern, which Smith will wear his final year with the Eagles. Smith was a first-team All-Big Sky selection during the spring season but was limited to just six games last season.
Mitchell Johnson, defensive end, redshirt senior, 6-3, 245 — Once upon a time, Johnson was committed, at least vaguely on Twitter, to Montana State. He landed at Eastern and he’s been a standout. He’s started 32 games and played in 47, rolling up 148 tackles, 26.5 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks and snaring five interceptions during his career. He was a first-team all-league selection last spring and a third-team selection last fall.
Joshua Jerome, defensive tackle, redshirt junior, 6-1, 280 — Jerome was also a third-team all-league pick last fall and a HERO Sports Sophomore All-American. He led EWU with seven sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss.
Photos by Blake Hempstead, Jason Bacaj and attributed. All Rights Reserved.
