#5 Eastern Washington Eagles (8-2, 6-1 BSC) AT Portland State Vikings (3-7, 2-5 BSC)
Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012 • 1:05 p.m. Pacific
Jeld-Wen Field (18,627) • Portland, Ore.
Last Meeting: PSU won 43-26 at EWU in 2011
TV: Televised regionally by Comcast Sports Net Northwest.
Webcast: http://b2tv.com/upcoming_events.asp?q=v&value=bigsky" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Radio: http://spokaneradio.com/player/kxlxam.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/sta ... tlandstate
http://goeags.com/sports/m-footbl/2012- ... fbNov12PSU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;Throw out the quest for a sixth Big Sky title, national rankings and playoff talk. This game alone will be its own kind of postseason challenge for the fifth-ranked Eastern Washington University football team.
Thanks to a fortuitous change of events within minutes of each other last Saturday, the Eagles will be playing for the Big Sky Conference title this Saturday (Nov. 17) when the Eagles end the Big Sky Conference regular season at Portland State. Kickoff is 1:05 p.m. Pacific time at Jeld-Wen Field in Portland, Ore., as the Eagles play a PSU team which handed the Eagles a 43-26 beating a year ago.
With four teams tied at 6-1 atop the league standings, a victory at PSU will give Eastern a share of the Big Sky title, joining the 1992, 1997, 2004, 2005 and 2010 Eagle teams as league champs. It also has ramifications for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs the Eagles expect to be chosen for, including a possible first-round bye and more home games at “The Inferno.”
“It’s as big as it gets,” said Baldwin after his team’s win over the upset-minded Aggies. “I told our team this was the biggest game of the year right here we played, but now the next one against Portland State is bigger. When you play late in November and you have a chance for postseason play, every game you play is huge for a number of reasons. This game has other factors like the Big Sky title and playoff seeding.”
The Vikings are just 3-7 overall and 2-5 in the Big Sky, but much like last week, the win-loss record for Portland State is deceiving. Picked to finish fourth in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media, the Vikings have lost three league games by eight points or less, and two others by 14 and 12 versus nationally-ranked teams. In all, Eastern is the fourth nationally-ranked team they have faced – and second-straight after last week’s 65-30 loss at second-ranked Montana State.
In last year’s EWU loss on Senior Day at Roos Field, the Vikings used their pistol offense to score on four-straight possessions in the second quarter and three-straight possessions in the third. Portland State scored 21 unanswered points to turn a 20-15 EWU lead into a 36-20 advantage in the third quarter. The Vikings finished with 338 yards rushing and 499 total yards, and held the Eagles to minus-1 yard rushing thanks to five sacks.
“Our guys are always playing to win, but when you come on the field there should be a passion and competitiveness no matter what the situation,” said Baldwin. “Portland State is going to have the same attitude and mentality too, I guarantee you. It’s going to be another tough challenge for us on the road.”
