Sep. 25—In consecutive weeks, Eastern Washington offensive linemen have talked about how the Eagles' offense has yet to really take charge along the line of scrimmage.
This week, as the Eagles prepared to play Cal Poly, it was redshirt sophomore left guard Mark Johnson.
"Being mean and physical, taking the fight to them, and giving (quarterback) Nate (Bell) time," Johnson said of what Eastern needs to do on Saturday. "And then in the run game, (we've got to get) bigger holes. There's definitely a lot more on the table that we can give."
Eastern Washington is off to a 1-3 start overall and, after a Week 0 loss at Northern Arizona, an 0-1 start to Big Sky Conference play. Now the Eagles will play nothing but Big Sky games until late November.
Saturday's game against the Mustangs (2-2, 1-0), which is set to kick off at 4 p.m. from Roos Field in Cheney, is a litmus test for an Eagles team with Big Sky championship aspirations. In short, it's a game they can ill afford to lose.
Here are three aspects to keep an eye on as they work their way back toward a .500 record:
1. Can Eastern slow the Mustangs' high-powered trio? Through four games, Cal Poly's offense has relied heavily on three players: fifth-year quarterback Anthony Grigsby Jr., junior receiver Tayvion McCoy and junior running back Jaden Green.
Grigsby currently leads the Big Sky with 11 passing touchdowns and ranks fourth in passing yards with 983. He has thrown just two interceptions.
Eastern Washington head coach Aaron Best likened Gigsby Jr. to Demond Williams Jr., Washington's quarterback who ran for 33 yards and threw for 373 in a 48-16 victory over the Eagles last week. He also complimented McCoy, who has 25 catches, 354 yards and three touchdowns, and Green, who has rushed 55 times for 343 yards and one score.
"They have playmakers at the skill positions all over the place," Best said.
McKel Broussard, one of Eastern's starting safeties, said that the Eagles have respect for Cal Poly's explosiveness.
"If we can hold them in their pocket and not do anything out of the ordinary, I think we'll be good," he said. "They're a pretty good offense and they have the tools, but so do we (on defense)."
2. Can Eastern break a few big plays? Hampered by injuries at wide receiver, the Eagles haven't connected on a pass play longer than 42 yards, and their longest run from scrimmage was Bell's 34-yard touchdown against Northern Iowa.
That lack of explosiveness has contributed to the grind-it-out nature of their offense, which has averaged the fifth-fewest yards per game (370.3) and the third-fewest yards per play (5.0) in the 13-team Big Sky Conference.
Their return games, by comparison, have been a little better, averaging the fifth-fewest yards per kickoff return (19.9) and the sixth-most yards per punt return (11.7) in the league.
One change the Eagles made two games ago was to employ freshman Jaxon Bell as a returner, and since then Bell has established the team's long return on kickoffs (31) and punts (30).
"Jaxon Bell is super explosive," EWU sophomore punter Luke Faccone said. "It obviously runs in the family with Nate. ... (Jaxon Bell) is a guy who can break off (a big return) whenever."
In the running game, grad senior running back Malik Dotson credited the offensive line for being "a gritty group." But he also said he could do more.
"I've got to break tackles and keep my feet," Dotson said.
3. Can they win dominantly? Eastern's remaining schedule includes matchups with UC Davis, Montana State and Montana, three teams ahead of the Eagles in the Big Sky who are also currently ranked among the FCS Stats Perform Top 25. Cal Poly needed a last-second play to defeat Idaho, which is 0-4 this season, and it lost to nonscholarship FCS San Diego (1-2) at home last weekend.
So, if the Eagles are to be a playoff team, this is the sort of game that could, maybe even should, get out of hand.
Even championship-level teams have to squeak by from time to time — just ask Montana State, which came back to beat Central Connecticut State last week in Bozeman — but they also rout teams at home just as often.
A decisive victory at home — one even more dominant than the Eagles' 34-24 victory against Northern Iowa on Sept. 5 — would help the Eagles build a stronger case that they should be considered among the best in the Big Sky.
