Eastern Washington wary of upset-minded Drake despite lack of success outside Pioneer League

As the head coach of the Drake University football team, Todd Stepsis is all about putting his players in memorable situations.

It is why nearly every year the Bulldogs play teams from Dakotas. It’s why he has brought teams to play at Montana and Montana State.

So, when he was approached a few years ago about playing a game at Eastern Washington, he jumped at the opportunity.

“Our goal here as a program is that we want to create an experience and brotherhood, and with that we believe that we can develop champions,” Stepsis said by phone on Tuesday. “Playing on that red turf … that’s the experience I’m talking about.”

On Saturday, Eastern Washington (1-0) will host Drake (0-0) in the first meeting between the two programs. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at Roos Field in Cheney.

It’s part of a particularly rare start to the season for the Eagles, who until now have never opened their schedule with back-to-back home games against FCS opponents. Pair that with Drake’s eagerness to populate its non-league schedule with teams from the best FCS conferences, and the matchup is an ideal one for both programs.

“When it all marries up, good for them and good for us, then the ink dries and we all get excited and wait three years for that game to play out,” Eagles head coach Aaron Best said during media availability on Tuesday.

“Hopefully we play well in the game so they have another memory to take home with them.”

Unlike their game in Week 3 at Southeastern Louisiana, this game is not part of a home-and-home; the Eagles won’t be making a return trip to Des Moines, Iowa. Eastern will pay Drake $285,000 for playing in Cheney, according to reporting by fbschedules.com. (It paid Monmouth $250,000 for last week’s game.)

Though this is the second game on Drake’s schedule, the Bulldogs only got in a half before weather postponed and then cancelled their home opener against Division II Quincy last week. Drake led 10-0 at half, but the stats – and the score – didn’t officially count.

Stepsis said they tried to figure out a way to complete the game the next day – like the Eagles, the Bulldogs played last Thursday – but there weren’t enough available officials to work a rescheduled finish.

That puts the Eagles in the enviable position of playing a full half more than their opponent.

“It’s definitely nicer for their end than our end,” Stepsis said. “But on the bright side for us, we did get (some) snaps.”

Drake is coming off a 2023 season in which it lost all four games it played outside the Pioneer League but won all eight within it. It produced the Bulldogs’ first playoff appearance, and their reward was a first-round FCS matchup against North Dakota State. In that game the Bison, which beat Eastern Washington in its season-opener last year 35-10, beat Drake 66-3.

Last season Drake also lost to North Dakota 55-7, to South Dakota State 70-7 and to Northwestern (Iowa), the NAIA national runner-up, 27-24 in overtime.

In most years, winning the conference title is about as good as it gets for the Pioneer League champion: Since the league was awarded an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs in 2013, its teams are 2-11 in the postseason, with San Diego earning both victories, in 2016 over Cal Poly and in 2017 over Northern Arizona.

Yet Eagles coaches are being careful to not let Eastern’s players become complacent. Wide receivers coach Jeff McDaniels played and coached against Drake while he was at Davidson, another Pioneer League team, and said he’s told players that some of those final scores against UND, SDSU and NDSU aren’t terribly indicative of how Drake played.

“Drake, no matter who the head coach is, has always played with grit and really sound on offense, defense and special teams,” McDaniels said Monday. “They’re going to play really, really hard.”

Unlike most FCS conferences, the Pioneer League’s programs do not award athletic scholarships. That, McDaniels said, puts “a massive chip” on the shoulders of players at Drake.

It’s also one of the things Stepsis, who has been Drake’s head coach since the start of the 2019 season, said he loves about coaching there.

“Our guys, they’re going to work hard. They’re going to do everything you ask of them,” Stepsis said. “Whatever tools you give them, they’re going to use them and maximize them. That’s why I coach. I love that journey they get to go on.”

Drake is led by quarterback Luke Bailey, a preseason first-team all-conference selection. Now a graduate student, Bailey started all 12 games for the Bulldogs last year, completing 55% of his passes for 2,557 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

“He’s got a really strong arm and a funky release, but the ball really pops out of his hand,” Stepsis said. “Anytime you play a guy where the ball jumps quickly out of his hand, it becomes tough to defend.”

Their defense is led by redshirt junior Finn Claypool, the reigning Pioneer League defensive player of the year. Also a Buck Buchanan Award finalist, the 6-foot-1, 232-pound defensive end made 57 tackles and forced five fumbles last season.

“He’s unbelievably athletic and has a lot of natural gifts,” Stepsis said, “but what sets (Claypool) apart is how he attacks each day. He’s just mature beyond his age.”

As the Eagles prepare for Saturday, he Best said Eastern’s primary focus is on itself and on working to take the strides it needs after winning its opener 42-27 against another first-time opponent, Monmouth.

“We intend to prepare the same way,” Best said. “Concern ourselves with us, but know our opponent in the process, and (know) what we’re trying to expose if given the opportunity.”