After two games, the new scheme is still a work in progress. On Saturday, things don’t get any easier for the Eastern Washington defense.
Eastern began its season with FBS powerhouse Oregon, one of the most explosive offenses in all of college football. The Ducks piled up 485 rushing yards, 731 total yards and notched 34 first downs in a 61-42 win in Eugene. Last week, Northern Iowa ran the ball 48 times, averaging 5.5 yards per carry in racking up 266 yards and 13 rushing first downs in a 38-35 victory.
On Saturday, the No. 14 Eagles host No. 11 Montana State. The Bobcats’ multi-faceted, explosive offense averaged nearly 500 yards last season, including almost 250 yards per game on the ground. The Bobcats set a school record by scoring 496 points.
Matthew Sommers
During the off-season, EWU head coach Beau Baldwin elevated longtime assistant Jeff Schmedding to defensive coordinator. John Graham, EWU’s associate head coach and defensive coordinator for the last seven seasons is now the tight ends coach and no longer involved with the defense. On Saturday, Schmedding’s defense will get a third straight stiff test from MSU quarterback Dakota Prukop and a Bobcat squad that hasn’t played in 16 days.
“No matter what you schematically, no matter who you put on the field, no matter what defensive calls you are making, it’s going to be a challenge with Montana State’s offense,” Baldwin said on Wednesday. “To sit here and say anyone matchups up great against them would be off because they have the ability, they have the talent and they have a trigger man in Dakota who are incredibly good. Until I see something different, I think he is as good as anyone in the nation. We have to make things difficult on him, make him earn everything.”
Schmedding, an assistant in Cheney for the last 11 seasons, has been the special teams coordinator since 2008 and the safeties coach the past five seasons. He takes over a defense that allowed 442 yards a game last year, ranking 95th out of 125 FCS teams. In 2014, Eastern actually ranked in the middle of the pack among the 13 Big Sky schools in scoring defense (7th, 31.4 points per game), total defense, rushing defense (4th, 175.4 yards per game), passing defense (266.4 ypg) and led the league with 19 interceptions.
But big point totals were not out of the ordinary. EWU gave up 51 points to Montana State in a one-point win in Bozeman, 53 points to Idaho State in a three-point home victory and 59 in a 13-point home loss to eventual national runner-up Illinois State in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs. EWU scored a Big Sky-record 84 touchdowns and piled up 618 points to lead the country in scoring at 44.1 points per outing, but the Eagles failed to advance to the FCS final four for the second time since 2009.
Schmedding has implemented a new 4-2-5 scheme that helps get more speed and quickness on the field. Senior captain Todd Raynes is a key element from his Rover spot, an extra defensive back with linebacker size (6-2, 210) who can help in run support or cover slot receivers. The scheme along the line is somewhat similar, with junior Samson Ebukam playing the “Buck” end spot, a hybrid end that can come off the edge or drop and cover skill players in the flat.
Jeff Schmedding
“I personally think with Coach Schmedding as the d-coordinator, we have the potential to be one of the best defenses in this league but we have to put it together,” said junior middle linebacker Miquiyah Zamorah, EWU’s second-leading tackler and an honorable mention All-Big Sky selection in 2014. “We can’t do it all at once. We will gradually build over the weeks and when it’s all said and done, we have to be playing our best football in November.”
In the early going, the scheme has struggled but much of that might be the caliber of opponent rather than the quality of the strategy or EWU personnel.
“They’ve had an interesting two weeks because they played Oregon, who’s a really fast team, so sometimes you watch that film and you catch yourself thinking, ‘Eastern isn’t that fast on defense’ and then you realize everyone at Oregon runs a 4.2 (40-yard dash),” MSU offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey said. “Last week, they played a really good Northern Iowa team and they looked fast and aggressive.”
“It’s hard to look at the numbers. They are a solid defense that plays together and does enough to make you prepare for a lot of things. They have the ability to go into three-down, they switch up the coverage in the secondary, they bring pressure from a couple of different places. They do a good job of playing together as a team. They play hard, physical and fast.”
Last week, UNI ran zone-read option plays at the EWU defense relentlessly as quarterback Aaron Bailey piled up 134 yards on 19 carries and running back Darrian Miller added 112 yards on 18 carries.
Prukop is a wizard in the zone-read and he has juniors Chad Newell and Gunnar Brekke as his thunder-lightning backfield duo behind an offensive line that averages 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds.
“I think we match up with them well,” said 6-foot-9, 295-pound senior left tackle John Weidenaar, who will make his 40th straight start on Saturday. “I think we can run the ball against them. But you can say you match up good and you can do this or that but if you can’t execute, nothing matters. We know they will be playing with their backs to the wall and playing as hard as they can looking for a win.”
Samson Ebukam
Compounding EWU’s early struggles is a rash of injuries that have struck both sides of the ball. Offensively, right tackles senior Cassidy Curtis (foot) and junior Jerrod Jones (knee/shin), redshirt freshman Reilly Hennessey (ankle), junior running back Jalen Moore (ankle) and senior wide receiver Shaq Hill (knee) are all listed as doubtful. Baldwin said Moore, Hill and Curtis are out indefinitely. All-America junior wide receiver Cooper Kupp will be a game-time decision with a hip pointer.
Defensively, Raynes (back) did not practice on Thursday but Ebukam (hamstring) and junior strong safety Zach Bruce (shoulder) did and are expected to play. Healthy or not, EWU will play a slew of young players regardless. Defensive ends Jonah Jordan and Keenan Williams, defensive tackle Kaleb Levao, outside linebacker Alek Kacmarcik, inside linebacker Kurt Calhoun, Rover Cole Karstetter, cornerback Nzuzi Webster and free safety Mitch Fettig are all redshirt freshmen listed on the EWU defensive two-deep depth chart. Jordan, Kacmarcik, Webster and Fettig are all slated to start.
“All the young guys are doing really well,” said Zamorah, a team captain with Raynes, Kupp and All-America guard Aaron Neary. “Last week, we had a couple of young guys get their first career sacks. It was good to see that. They are really smart too. It’s good to have a little brains behind the physical aspect. That will take you a long way, especially against Montana State, a team that will try to trick you with your eyes with their formations.”
EWU hasn’t faced a 0-2 start since 2011, the only time the Eagles missed the playoffs this decade. Saturday marks Eastern’s home debut. Since installing blood-red turf at Roos Field — a venue now known as The Inferno — in 2010, EWU is 31-5 at home, including 16 straight regular-season wins. EWU has lost just twice in the regular season: a 36-21 loss to Montana State in 2011 and a 43-26 loss to Portland State later that season.
“There’s no pressure or urgency, just excitement,” Zamorah said. “That’s why we put in all the work in the off-season. We want to show out on Saturday. You can stop talking about it, stop learning and go out there and do it. It’s the first time in a long time we’ve been on the red. That’s where all the magic happens is on the red.”
Photos courtesy of Eastern Washington Athletics. All Rights Reserved.
