Things to watch: Eastern Washington receiver Efton Chism continues to produce for Eagles. Can he tip the scale in matchup with Vandals?
Almost exactly two years ago, the Eastern Washington football team came to the end of October with a 2-5 record.
By that point in 2022, Eastern had lost one game (at Oregon) 70-14 and another (at Florida) 52-17. The Eagles had also been beaten 45-21 at Weber State and twice at home: once soundly by Sacramento State (52-28), and once in heartbreaking fashion by Montana State (38-35). Their wins had come over Tennessee State (36-29) and Cal Poly (17-10).
EWU head coach Aaron Best used that year’s team as a reference point during his media availability on Tuesday, pointing out that in 2022, the team’s lack of physical play was its undoing.
“The call was good. The technique was good enough,” he said of that year’s team. “The physicality wasn’t close enough.”
This year’s team again finds itself 2-5 overall (1-2 in the Big Sky), but its path to this point has been different. Aside from a 49-16 loss at Nevada, the other four defeats have been in competitive games by a total of 21 points. Best doesn’t see physical play as the issue now as the Eagles prepare to play the 11th-ranked Idaho Vandals (5-3, 2-2) at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Kibbie Dome.
“Now it’s a little bit different,” Best said. “It’s not a physical element. It’s not a talent gap. It’s trusting yourself in the bigger moments to do your job. We’re starting to get a few more to realize that, but a few more isn’t good enough.”
Eastern’s 48-16 loss two years ago at the Kibbie Dome – in which Hayden Hatten caught four touchdown passes – was all but decided at halftime, when the Vandals led 35-10. But in last year’s game in Cheney, the Eagles held a 28-21 third-quarter lead before the Vandals took control late for a 44-36 victory.
Here are three aspects of Saturday’s game to look for as the Eagles aim to get back in the win column:
1. Who takes control in the first quarter? Eastern got just two first downs in the first quarter of last week’s 48-38 loss to UC Davis. It’s fair to wonder how that game might have played out if the Eagles had done more than take a 3-0 lead against the Aggies over the first 15 minutes.
The only time Eastern has scored more than seven points in the opening quarter was in the season-opening 42-27 win over Monmouth when it scored touchdowns on each of its first two drives (and on six of its first seven drives ).
That sort of fast start just hasn’t happened since then for the Eagles.
Idaho’s best scoring quarter this year has been the first, when the Vandals have put up 54 of their 155 total points. But in their past two first halves – of a 38-7 loss at Montana State and a 34-29 home victory over Cal Poly – the Vandals have only scored six points in the first half.
2. Does Idaho have an answer for Efton Chism III? Even without other proven options at wide receiver, EWU senior Efton Chism III just keeps chugging along. He grabbed a career-high 15 receptions last week for 170 yards and hasn’t made fewer than seven catches in a game this year.
Idaho’s defense has been more vulnerable against the pass than the run, ranking eighth (246.4 yards per game) and third (124.6), respectively, among Big Sky teams. The Vandals gave up 280 passing yards and three receiving touchdowns to the Mustangs last week, including eight catches, 102 yards and two scores by Giancarlo Woods.
But it’s also possible the Eagles could get back to the power run game that has been so good for them at times this year. Montana State overwhelmed the Vandals for 360 rushing yards two weeks ago, and in the Eagles’ two victories they ran for 265 and 286 yards.
3. Is this Michael Wortham’s week to shine? No one in the FCS has returned more kickoffs this season than Michael Wortham (25), nor does anyone have more kickoff return yards (688). That’s good for the ninth-best return average nationally (27.5), a figure all the more impressive considering Wortham hasn’t broken one for a touchdown (he came close against Davis, returning one a season-high 79 yards).
Wortham has continued to be involved in the offense, but his impact has shifted from taking handoffs to making catches. He doesn’t have a carry in the past three games, and though he has 10 receptions over that span he hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 2 against Drake. That was also the last time he attempted a pass.
In a pivotal game against a rival, Saturday’s contest at the Kibbie Dome would be a good time for Wortham to find the end zone again.