No. 7 Eagles host nation's top rushing team

Mid-term exams come early for the Eastern Washington University defense and a football team riddled by injuries in the first four games.

But after a bye week, the seventh-ranked Eagles will receive their test results when they host Cal Poly Saturday on Hall of Fame Day and Cancer Awareness Day at Roos Field.

The game kicks off at 1:05 p.m.

The Eagles were successful in their league opener on Sept. 26 at Sacramento State, winning 28-20 to begin their pursuit of their fourth-straight Big Sky title. Eastern’s first four games have included numerous injuries.

Regardless of who is available to play Saturday, Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin vows his team will be ready for another match-up in the Big Sky Conference and NCAA Football Championship Subdivision between teams a combined 4-5 on the season.

“It’s a fun match-up, but it can be a headache of a match-up because of what they do and the fact they do it so well,” Baldwin said.

The bye week helped the Eagles (1-0 Big Sky, 2-2 overall) rest and get healthy, plus get an early start on preparing for an option-oriented Cal Poly offense that leads the FCS in rushing with an average of 363.8 yards per game and are led by quarterback Chris Brown.

The Mustangs are 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big Sky, but all of their games have come against teams nationally ranked at some point this season. Among them was a 20-19 non-conference win over 12th-ranked Montana.

Eastern features the top passing offense in the FCS behind the play of Jordan West. The junior quarterback has led EWU to a school record for passing yards (526 versus Northern Iowa), broke a 23-year record for passing efficiency (313.5 versus Montana State) and then broke a 21-year old record for passing yardage by throwing for 491 yards and three touchdowns against the Hornets.