‘It just brings out the best in you’: Eastern Washington has chance to spoil Montana’s playoff push

For those who played in them, the football games between Eastern Washington and Montana last season were certainly memorable.

Efton Chism III, a sophomore now, called them “the two most favorite games I’ve played in.”

The first, a 34-28 Eagles victory on Oct. 2 in Cheney, was nationally televised, ended on an incomplete pass in the end zone and lifted Eastern to its fifth win in what was eventually a 7-0 start to the season.

The second – a 57-41 Grizzlies win in a playoff game on Dec. 3 in Missoula – was not such a highlight for the Eagles, whose season ended that day with a 10-3 record.

“That was my first time at Montana,” said Chism, who caught six passes for 26 yards in that playoff game, “so experiencing that and (playing there) in a night game, that was probably the coolest atmosphere in the Big Sky.”

When the programs meet again Saturday afternoon in Missoula, the stakes won’t be nearly as high as they were in either of those games. Montana (6-3 overall, 3-3 Big Sky) still needs to win at least one more time to reach the 24-team FCS playoff field, but Eastern (2-7, 1-5) is headed for its first losing season since 2006.

Yet EWU coach Aaron Best frequently points out that past outcomes are not good predictors of the future. So the Eagles are heading to Washington-Grizzly Stadium with the same goal they have every week, even if the charged atmosphere may not match the short-term significance of the game itself.

“No matter what the situation is, you don’t play the game different,” Best said Wednesday during his media availability. “The emotions might be different. The records might be different. The environment might be different. The climate might be different. The time of the year might be different. But what I do know is, the game’s not different.”

In addition to the playoff game last year, Eastern has played at Montana two times previously with Best as head coach. The Eagles won there 48-41 in 2017, and lost there 34-17 two years later. Three of the past four games in the programs’ all-time series have been played in Missoula.

From 1980 to 2017, the Eagles and Grizzlies played every season, so at the program level they are quite familiar with each other. Montana holds the lead in the all-time series 28-19-1. Bobby Hauck, whose second stint as Montana’s head coach began in 2018, is 8-2 against Eastern in his coaching career with the Grizzlies.

But through conference expansion the teams have played less frequently, and for much of Eastern’s roster this will be their only regular-season game in Missoula. The programs aren’t scheduled to meet next season, and won’t play again in Montana until 2025. Eastern is slated to host the game in 2024.

EWU junior cornerback Demetrius Crosby Jr. played in both games last season, and in the matchup in Cheney he had a memorable game, forcing a fumble and intercepting a pass.

“I’ll say that was my best game,” Crosby said Wednesday. “Under those bright lights … I always play well against them somehow.”

The playoff game stuck in his memory less – “I just know we lost,” Crosby said – but he does recall the boos and the atmosphere.

“It just brings out the best in you,” Crosby said.

Montana is 4-1 at home this season and was 6-1 at home last year, including that playoff game against the Eagles. At the FCS level, Washington-Grizzly is among the largest stadiums, and this year’s average attendance of 25,277 ranks second among all FCS programs. The playoff game there in December had an official attendance of 24,065.

“They play at home really well,” Best said. “(They) always have.”

Last weekend, Montana hosted Cal Poly and defeated the Mustangs 57-0. That game, played in the snow, ended a three-game losing streak for the Grizzlies. They had 695 yards of offense – the second-best, single-game total in team history – and held the Mustangs to 12 first downs and 192 yards.

“I think there were a couple of things that went into the energy we had,” UM defensive back Nash Fouch said. “One, obviously, we had a tough month of October, and I think we came out and everyone had some pent up aggression to get out.

“But I think the snow was huge for us. I think that was the coolest game I’ve been a part of. That (snow) kick-started us when it started coming down in the first quarter pretty hard.”

No snow is forecast Saturday, but temperatures at kickoff – scheduled for noon – are predicted to be in the low 30s, the coldest weather the Eagles have played in this season, one week after they lost 48-16 to Idaho at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow.

But cold weather is often part of the experience at Montana in November, and the challenge and experience of playing there is something Chism is excited to have once more.

“Their fan base is so dedicated to their team. They hate everyone who walks in, no matter what color you’re wearing,” Chism said. “It makes it more competitive. Your team is playing not just versus their team but the whole stadium.”