Eagles ready to rack ‘em
After Eastern Washington dispatched Sacramento State 45-17 in a surprisingly easy Big Sky Conference football game last Saturday the coaches started asking questions.
How did Portland State-Montana turn out?
Did Northern Arizona give Montana State a game?
How about Cal Poly-Davis?
What about Idaho State-Weber?
As they learned the answers – which contained no surprises – there were continual proclamations from one coach or another voicing the same theme: What happened today is irrelevant; the only thing that matters is the Eagles’ next game.
That’s a good tact, not only because the Eagles don’t control their own destiny in trying to win the Big Sky Conference, but because Eastern’s last three games are so imposing it’s scary.
EWU can only win the Big Sky automatic berth by beating MSU and then having MSU beat Montana – unless Sacramento State or Northern Arizona can knock off the Grizzlies.
The only sure bet is for the Eagles to run the table – but look at the balls that are left.
The next shot for the now 11th-ranked Eagles is the No. 19 Cal Poly ball on Saturday. That sets up the No. 12 Montana State ball, which leaves the No. 21 UC-Davis ball.
If that sounds like a difficult stretch – or a stretch since there are only 15 numbered balls on a pool table – consider this:
Try the No. 9 ball for Cal Poly, No. 12 for MSU and No. 7 for Davis. Those are the numbers from the Gridiron Power Index, which is the I-AA equivalent of the BCS rankings and includes multiple polls and strength of schedule.
EWU is No. 11.
And how tough is that run?
As of this moment, considering only games played, EWU ranks 65th in strength of schedule, but factoring in the future opponents that jumps up to 13th.
The curious may want to know what is happening around them but the faint of heart are better served by keeping blinders on.
Long, strange trip
For a team coming off a disappointing loss that pushed their season of high expectations close to the edge, the Eagles’ trip to Sacramento on Friday wasn’t what the psychiatrist ordered.
The team left campus at 5 a.m. for a 7 a.m. flight, but problems with navigational equipment delayed the departure for about four hours, after a replacement part was flown in from Seattle.
That put them behind schedule all day.
They landed, took the scenic one-hour tour to the motel – much to the chagrin of head coach Paul Wulff, a native of nearby Davis – instead of a direct 20-minute drive, changed and went straight to practice without lunch.
Apparently there were other snafus, the most frustrating being the lost luggage for three coaches.
Linebackers coach Travis Niekamp’s bags were traced to Ketchikan, Alaska; offensive line coach Aaron Best’s bags stayed in Seattle; and strength coach Darrin Lovat’s, who knows.
Equipment manager Ginny Knox volunteered her crew to go to the mall next to the motel to pick up a few items while the coaches were in meetings.
“I volunteered because I know if it was me …,” she said. “We had about half an hour before the one closed.”
One person went for shoes and socks, one for under garments, one for polo shirts and Knox picked up pants.
“We got it all, all the right sizes,” she said.
“It was amazing.”
Chris Smalley, who was traveling as the team doctor, lent a hand.
“She’s amazing,” Knox said. “She jumps and does everything. She helps unload equipment.”
Smalley also had the idea to swing by Victoria’s Secret to pick up bags to deliver the new clothes to each coach.
Although all the luggage was at the airport when the team departed Sunday morning, one coach, and we won’t mention the offensive line coach’s name, insisted on carrying his pink-and-white striped shopping bag through the airport.
The married coaches chose to dump theirs.
Quick kicks
A 28-for-33 performance against Sac, good for 470 yards and three TDs, boosted the career passing-efficiency rating for EWU quarterback Erik Meyer to 166.1, just behind Montana legend Dave Dickenson, the Big Sky career leader at 166.2. … EWU receiver Erik Kimble had 10 catches for 189 yards, jumping him to third in league history with 3,737 yards. He trails Sac’s Fred Amey (4,049) and Idaho’s Kasey Dunn (3,847). By the way, Amey made the roster of the San Francisco 49ers as a free agent, but goes by the first name Otis. … Former freshman sensation Jason Murietta made a comeback, helping NAU rally from a 22-0 halftime deficit to tie MSU before Travis Lulay made his weekly dramatic game-winning drive for the Bobcats. Murietta, now a junior, who was benched during a dismal performance against EWU, was 30 of 49 for 279 yards and two TDs. … Washington State transfer Tramine Murray and Rick Gatewood have had a multitude of 100-yard receiving games for the Bobcats and now Chaz Guinn has emerged from their shadows – he had seven catches for 117 yards against NAU. … Sac State has lost 16 straight road games heading into Bozeman this week. … Montana is 21-3 at home in Bobby Hauck‘s two seasons and 6-6 on the road with three road games (Sac, NAU, MSU) remaining this season. … UM averaged 23,537 fans at home, which leads the nation.