Story by
The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
What Eastern Washington needs to do to upset No. 14 Montana
- Story byThe Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
- What Eastern Washington needs to do to upset No. 14 Montana
Oct. 30—It's been 11 years since the Eastern Washington football team played a game on Halloween, something it will do again Saturday when it hosts the 14th-ranked Montana Grizzlies at Roos Field in Cheney.
That year, the Eagles beat the Weber State Wildcats 14-13 in what proved to be their final victory of the season. Eastern followed that with three losses, spoiling a 5-0 start to Big Sky Conference play and sinking the Eagles to a 6-5 record overall. They missed the playoffs.
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This year's Eagles (2-6 overall, 1-4 Big Sky) are just trying to get out of last place in the league, a spot they currently share with newcomer Utah Tech (1-7, 1-4).
Montana, like the Eagles, is coming off its bye week for this contest. The Grizzlies (5-3, 3-2) are coming off back-to-back losses to Northern Arizona and Idaho and are still fighting for a playoff spot. They head to Cheney with a lot to prove to their first-year head coach, Bobby Kennedy.
"We looked at a lot of tape. We evaluated ourselves. We had some real candid conversations really on all three phases, offense, defense and special teams," Kennedy said during his Monday news conference. "Because quite frankly, I was really (angry) the last three weeks. And I think we're better than that."
The Eagles haven't beaten the Grizzlies in their last four tries; their last victory in the series came in 2021, when Eastern's defense made a goal-line stand against Montana's offense in a 34-28, nationally televised victory.
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Here are three elements of Saturday's game to watch as the Eagles try to repeat that result.
1. Eastern's ability to keep up offensively. Eastern Washington head coach Aaron Best summed up the task his team faces this weekend in two words: "Gotta score."
Best then said the Eagles simply haven't scored enough points offensively, considering that their defense has sunk to 11th in the league in scoring, allowing 38.1 points per game.
Montana has averaged nearly that much on offense, 37.8 points per game, the second most in the Big Sky and 10 more per game than the Eagles (27) have averaged. And Montana's defense has allowed just about the same (28 points per game) as the Eagles have scored.
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So, Best's straightforward assessment seems apt.
"Ultimately we've got to score more than we have been, and we've got to hold them to less than we've been holding them," he said.
2. The middle eight minutes, again. During the bye week, Eagles defensive coordinator Zach Bruce watched the film and did the math.
"We're losing by 62 points in the middle eight," Bruce said, referring to the Eagles' 83-21 scoring deficit during the last four minutes of the first half and first four minutes of the second half.
"There are a lot of reasons for that," he said.
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Big plays have been a big one. But turnovers have, too. Against Montana State two weeks ago, for example, the Eagles lost that stretch 21-0, including two scores directly caused by quarterback Nate Bell's interceptions. Montana State also started the second half with a 59-yard kickoff return.
Last year when these teams met in Missoula, they tied during that middle eight, 7-7. Over the game's final 26 minutes, the Eagles outscored the Grizzlies 10-0 and nearly pulled off an upset. They ended up losing 29-24.
3. Any adjustments the Eagles made defensively. On a per-play basis, no defense in the Big Sky has been more generous than the Eagles', who have allowed 7.3 yards per play (and 464.5 total yards per game). Montana's has been the league's third-stingiest at 5.6 yards per play.
Bruce said the Eagles identified some problems during the bye week and that they have been addressed in this week's game plan. He did not divulge what those adjustments would be, but he said it required some structural change.
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Montana's offense presents plenty of challenges. Senior quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat leads the Big Sky in passing yards (2,280) and passing touchdowns (22), and senior running back Eli Gillman ranks second in the league with 1,016 yards and first with 13 touchdowns.
