These are the games and times everyone works for and plays for this time of year.
They’re the matchups that matter, like Saturday’s at Roos Field when the No. 5/3 Eastern Washington University Eagles take on No. 4/7 UC Davis in a showdown of teams ranked in the top -10 nationally. Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. on Senior Day, as 27 EWU players and their families will be honored in pre-game introductions.
“We talk about it all the time, how we want to get everybody’s best shot and how we want to give everybody our best shot,” Eastern head coach Aaron Best said. “You have two great teams playing on our home field, and we’re excited.”
This game likely decides, or at least goes a long way in determining the 2018 Big Sky Conference champion. An Eastern win and they potentially toss the league into a possible four-way tie with one week to go.
The Eagles are now 5-1 in the Big Sky and 7-2 overall and is one of four teams with one loss or less in the standings. The lone undefeated team in the league is UC Davis (6-0, 8-1 overall), which maintained sole possession of first in the league after last week’s 42-20 home win over Northern Arizona. Other one-loss teams in the league are Idaho State (5-1 and 6-3 overall after a 48-45 win at Portland State) and Weber State (5-1 and 7-2 overall after a 26-14 home win over Sacramento State).
Weber State plays at Idaho State on Nov. 17 in another key game. The Eagles close the regular season on Nov. 16 at Portland State (4-5/3-3).
Eastern used a rushing attack that gained 308 yards in a 48-13 win over Northern Colorado last week. Quarterback Eric Barriere accounted for 309 yards of offense and four touchdowns for an Eagle offense now leading the nation in total offense at 532.4 yards per game.
Defensively against the Bears, Eastern had six sacks and three interceptions. With six straight games of allowing 17 or fewer points, the Eagles allow just an average of 15.3 points per conference game to lead the league. They rank 19th overall in Football Championship Subdivision play with a 21.1 average per game.
But they’ll be tested this week with a UC Davis offense which ranks fourth in FCS in passing (326.2), fifth in scoring (43.1) and eighth in total offense (485.0). The Aggies feature quarterback Jake Maier who is fifth nationally in passing (301.6) and second with 27 touchdown passes and receiver Keelan Doss who ranks second nationally with an average of 8.8 catches per game (79 total for 779 yards and seven TDs).
Judging the importance of this game, “No game is bigger than the next one,” Best said on the Nov. 5 EWU Coaches Show. “The next game is always the biggest game no matter whether it’s the first game of the year or the 10th game.”
Best looks to having a full house at Roos Field, providing an edge for his Eagles, however.
“Fans don’t get enough credit for a lot of our success on the red field,” Best said.
“It’s a little more special in front of your family, in front of your friends, especially on Senior Day which adds another element.”
Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].
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