Eastern Washington resets ahead of first road test at Southeastern Louisiana: ‘Each game you start over’

Even though Eastern Washington’s game Saturday at Southeastern Louisiana is a rematch of a contest played only 12 months ago, the Eagles’ matchup with the Lions is in many ways a mysterious one.

That’s because the Lions, who are 0-2, haven’t played an FCS team . They have a new offensive coordinator. Their starting quarterback wasn’t starting last season.

And so, as the Eagles prepared for this week, they had a little bit less to go on than they might normally in Week 3 of the college football season.

“(Watching their games) against Tulane and Southern Miss, I don’t think you get a true feeling for who they are, based on the places they played,” EWU head coach Aaron Best said during media availability on Tuesday. “Last year’s game was last year’s game. Outside of the experience of playing against (individual players), every team is a new team.”

Normally, EWU’s coaches would have some useful connection to another program who knows the next opponent so they can get a sense of what that opponent is going to do, EWU safeties coach Zach Bruce said. But even that isn’t the case with SELA.

“When we play Oregon or Washington State, most of the time somebody on our staff has somebody they can reach out to,” Bruce said. “So, (in this case), you try to get a gauge of their conference (the Southland), which is good. But they’re a little bit like us. I don’t think their record shows how good of a football team they are.”

SELA’s two losses this year came to FBS schools. Tulane shut out the Lions 52-0 in Week 1, the same night Eastern beat Monmouth 42-27. On Saturday, Southern Miss defeated SELA 35-10 on the same evening Drake beat the Eagles 35-32 in overtime.

The Lions have thrown the ball 62 times, just about as often as they’ve run it (65). Their 3.7 yards per play average is about half what they’ve given up (7.2), but again, the level of competition hasn’t been even.

“I think in their heart of hearts, they want to be a run-first team,” Bruce said. “I think that’s what they are built for.”

That should provide a formidable test for an Eagles defense that has, for the most part, contained the run, holding opponents to 2.8 yards per carry. But that stat is somewhat misleading, given that the many jet sweeps Drake executed against the Eagles – in which the quarterback pitches the ball forward to a player running across the backfield – count as passes when they function more as running plays.

Regardless, the Eagles are looking to set better edges against the Lions than they have in the past two games.

When the teams met last September in Cheney, the Eagles got their first win of the season (40-29), after a 0-2 start. SELA took a late 29-26 lead in that game before the Eagles scored the final two touchdowns: one on a Tuna Altahir rush and another on Marlon Jones Jr.’s 34-yard interception return.

The Lions ran for 152 yards that game, led by one player who is still around – running back Harlan Dixon, who had 71 yards on 18 carries – and one who is not – quarterback Zachary Clement, who ran for 69 yards and also threw for 80, completing 10 of 19 attempts.

In Clement’s absence, redshirt junior Eli Sawyer has started both games this season, completing 35 of 58 passes for 252 yards, two interceptions and zero touchdowns.

He is also operating with a new coordinator, Anthony Scelfo, who was promoted from an assistant role during the offseason.

When Eastern has the ball, it will see a SELA defense that runs a similar scheme to the one it did last year under coordinator Bill D’Ottavio.

D’Ottavio said Thursday the Eagles present similar schematic challenges to last season, in that they operate at a fast pace, have speed and spread out a defense.

But he also noted one difference from last year’s matchup: This time, he expects the Eagles to use three quarterbacks: Kekoa Visperas, Michael Wortham and Jared Taylor. Last year when the teams met, Visperas and Wortham were playing their third game together, and Taylor didn’t play at all.

“Each guy brings a different style, and you always know there will be a wrinkle in there that we haven’t seen on film yet,” D’Ottavio said.

“It’s very challenging, and you have to have a plan for those types of things as best you can. They’re all good football players. They’re all making plays.”

Taylor was a late scratch against Drake, but Best said he expects him back this week .

Best noted penalties last week – 10 for 115 yards – as one of the primary issues the Eagles had against Drake. But he also said they did not push the ball downfield enough.

“We didn’t stretch the field as much as we wanted to,” Best said.

As Tropical Storm Francine rolled through the South this week, the Lions had to adapt their practice schedule just as the Eagles had to monitor their travel arrangements.

It was just another variable the Lions had to roll with, D’Ottavio said, as they made preparations to play again for their first win of the season.

“Each game you start over,” D’Ottavio said. “It’s a new challenge and a new battle.”