Preview and predictions: Eastern Washington returns group determined to get back to winning ways
Eastern Washington enters this fall trying to avoid a third straight losing season, something the program hasn’t experienced since five consecutive such seasons from 1987 through 1991.
But through the previous two seasons, the Eagles have been building toward this one.
They have a redshirt junior quarterback with a full season of starts under his belt, a roster with 25 players who are seniors or graduate students and a schedule that, while difficult, opens with two home games that they should win.
“Seeing what we had coming back,” sixth-year senior offensive lineman Luke Dahlgren said, “especially on the offensive side – this core of guys we had, a ton of playmakers, up front returning a bunch, more young guys stepping up to add more depth – I felt really good about where we’re at, and it wasn’t something I was going to miss out on.”
The Eagles have fallen from their annual perch atop the Big Sky Conference, but they have the pieces this year to reclaim the spot – even if the collective quality of those pieces isn’t yet proven.
Countdown to kickoff
• How well do the Eagles play along the defensive line? One significant issue of the Eagles’ defense last season was its ability to win the line of scrimmage. The defensive line’s performance in camp has been promising, and sophomores like Jaden Radke, Ben Voigtlaender, Tylin Jackson and Tariq May gained valuable game experience last season to jumpstart their development.
They also return seniors Brock Harrison, Jacob Newsom and Matt Brown up front, with more size at the tackle spots in sophomores Jirah Leaupepetele and Justis La’ulu. Now they’ve got to prove they can compete regularly against the Big Sky’s bevy of sturdy offensive lines.
• How do the Eagles use their three quarterbacks? It’s likely the Eagles will use three quarterbacks more than they did last season, considering that redshirt juniors Kekoa Visperas and Jared Taylor, as well as senior Michael Wortham, are all back at the position. Visperas is unquestionably the best passer, but Wortham can do a little bit of everything and Taylor – at 6-foot, 203 pounds – is built like a running back.
The Eagles will look to exploit the matchup problems using their quarterbacks, sometimes by putting more than one on the field at a time. What is paramount is that they can throw the ball at all levels of the field so that they can beat teams with long, deliberate drives and also with short, explosive ones.
• Can they continue to progress on special teams? Eastern’s kickoff return team and both its coverage teams improved last year, and one goal in making Danny McDonald the full-time special teams coach is to unify the messaging to all units – and to improve a punt return unit that has been the Big Sky’s least effective the last two years.
“We’ve made great strides in a couple of our special teams the last couple years,” EWU head coach Aaron Best said, “and (McDonald) took it upon himself to better ourselves as a whole in all four.”
Men of the hour
• Kekoa Visperas, R-Jr. QB: He led the Big Sky in passing yards per game and touchdown passes last season, his first as the Eagles’ full-time starter. The Eagles need him to continue to develop more discernment – he threw seven interceptions in his last four games – and his ability to throw the deep ball (his longest completion is 46 yards) – to make Eastern’s offense dangerous.
• Brock Harrison, Gr. DE: A defensive captain and the one wearing the venerable No. 4 for a second straight year, Eastern’s sixth-year end is the defense’s most experienced player. He will set the emotional tone for a much-maligned unit that is eager to turn things around under new coordinator Eric Sanders.
• Efton Chism III, Sr. WR: As Eastern’s most decorated player, the senior receiver is looking to back up the accolades with a statistically strong (and winning) season. As great as he’s been, Chism doesn’t yet have a 1,000 yard season, though he came close last year with 932.
Defining moment
October. The Eagles open the month on a bye and then play the three middle games of a difficult five-game stretch: at Sacramento State, home against UC Davis, then at Idaho. Regardless of how they perform in the five games before that, the Eagles could cement their status as a top Big Sky team, climb back into contention or fall out of it entirely over the course of those three games.
Game-by-game predictions
Aug. 29 vs. Monmouth (6 p.m.)
Considering the Hawks will be flying midweek from New Jersey to play a game against an unfamiliar opponent, the Eagles should have the upper hand. Monmouth is coming off back-to-back losing seasons, and it is looking to replace its leading rusher and receiver from last season.
Prediction: EWU 31-20
Sept. 7 vs. Drake (4 p.m.)
Drake won the Pioneer Football League last season by winning six one-score games in conference play while averaging 25 points per game. Then the Bulldogs lost 66-3 to North Dakota State in the playoffs. Eastern should hold serve at home.
Prediction: EWU 42-27
Sept. 14 at Southeastern Louisiana (Sept. 14)
The Eagles get an evening road game, likely in humid weather, which will test their defense’s ability to stop the Lions’ running game. SELA is coming off a down year (3-8), and it doesn’t have an established star quarterback as it often has. Expect a close rematch after EWU beat SELA last year.
Prediction: SELA 34-27
Sept. 21 at Nevada (Noon)
Idaho handed Nevada a 27-point loss last season, and the Wolf Pack finished 2-10 – but they have a new head coach, Jeff Choate, who knows the Eagles well: He coached at Montana State from 2016 to 2019. It nearly beat a good Fresno State team last year, so it’s certainly possible Eastern could beat a rebuilding Nevada team this fall.
Prediction: EWU 31-27
Sept. 28 vs. Montana (5 p.m.)
A visit to Cheney by the preseason Big Sky favorites promises to bring out a big crowd at Roos Field. An evening start should make for an even better atmosphere. These teams last met two years ago, in Missoula, and the Grizzlies dominated a depleted Eagles team 63-7. Expect a much better showing but ultimately a Grizzlies victory.
Prediction: Montana 34-19
Oct. 12 at Sacramento State (6 p.m.)
Both teams will be coming off byes, playing in a city Eastern has won 12 times in 13 visits. But the Hornets return senior quarterback Kaiden Bennett, who can throw and run effectively, from a team that won a playoff game last year. By this point we should know whether Eastern’s defense has improved. We’ll say it’s better, but it’s not top tier.
Prediction: Sac State 35-31
Oct. 19 vs. UC Davis (4 p.m.)
This is another difficult test to start conference play for the Eagles, who beat the Aggies last year in California – but barely. Lan Larison missed the end of that game (as well as four others) and still finished with 1,101 rushing yards in just eight games a year ago. Expect lots of Larison – but a desperate Eagles team shows enough for a win.
Prediction: EWU 27-21
Oct. 26 at Idaho (6 p.m.)
Eastern lost to Idaho by eight points last year, and the Vandals are replacing many key players this season. It’s possible by midyear they have established a new core of offensive studs. But the Eagles will desperately want to erase the embarrassing 32-point loss of their last visit, and they have enough offense to beat a strong Vandals defense in an upset.
Prediction: EWU 27-23
Nov. 2 vs. Montana State (1 p.m.)
While the Bobcats escaped with victories in their last two trips to Cheney, it’s hard to ignore what they did to the Eagles in Bozeman last year: putting up 57 points and 551 yards of offense. The Bobcats will be coming off their bye. This could get ugly.
Prediction: MSU 44-17
Nov. 9 at Northern Colorado (11 a.m.)
Finally the Eagles get to the softer part of their schedule, and while the Bears might be improved, they won’t have enough offense to stay with the Eagles. And make no mistake: The Eagles absolutely have to have this victory. They will play like it.
Prediction: EWU 51-20
Nov. 16 vs. Idaho State (1 p.m.)
Don’t be surprised if the Bengals are even more competitive this year, their second under head coach Cody Hawkins. The fourth quarter of last year’s game in Pocatello was one the Eagles would like to forget. This year’s edition in Cheney should provide plenty of offense again, but the Eagles aren’t going to fritter away a lead on the Red as easily as they did on the road last year.
Prediction: EWU 38-27
Nov. 23 at Northern Arizona (Noon)
This will be Eastern’s first trip to Flagstaff since 2018, and if there’s one thing reliably true about matchups with the Lumberjacks, it’s that the Eagles can score points. NAU has a new head coach, and it would love to steal a victory in its season finale, but the Eagles will have too much on the line. Expect them to roll into the playoffs.
Prediction: EWU 45-21
Predicted record: 8-4 (5-3 Big Sky)