Eastern Washington Eagles
Big Sky
Eastern Washington has had a fine season. The Eagles started out strong by beating Idaho and falling just short of another FBS win over Washington State. Since then they have just kept winning with the lone exception coming in a 27-30 loss at Southern Utah. The Eagles may not dominate the competition, but they have certainly made a habit of winning close games and that is always valuable in the playoffs.
2012 Record: 9-2, 8-1
Coach: Beau Baldwin
Big Wins: 8/30 at Idaho (20-3), 10/13 at Montana State (27-24)
Bad Losses: 9/8 at Washington State (20-24), 10/27 at Southern Utah (27-30)
Strengths:
EWU is winning games with their defense. The unit has done a great job creating turnovers and many of them have come at very important times. It all starts up front with the pass rushers. Jerry Ceja has had a great senior season and has turned into a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks. With players like Ceja and Evan Day and Paul Ena getting into the backfield, the rest of the defense will take advantage of the mistakes made by the opposition. Jordan Tonani is the most effective ball hawk in the secondary, but T.J. Lee and Allen Brown can make plays too. Ronnie Hamlin is the leader of the defense and easily led the team in tackles. He is a very versatile linebacker who can come up and help out against the run or drop back in coverage. Coach Beau Baldwin will play both Kyle Padron and Vernon Adams under center and that has proven to be a tough matchup. Padron is the more traditional passer, while Adams can do damage with his arm and his legs. With Brandon Kaufman, who eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark, and Greg Herd out wide, the EWU passing attack can be very potent.
Weaknesses:
The Eagles have been tested all year long and that is a good thing and a bad thing. This is not a team that will dominate decent opponents. Eight of their 11 games during the regular season were decided by seven points or less. Any squad that they face in the playoffs will be good enough to keep it close and, like it did against Southern Utah in the regular season, eventually that will catch up to Eastern Washington. One way they can establish themselves in a game and attempt to pull away instead of allowing the opponent to stick around is by getting more out of their running backs. Quincy Forte and Demitrius Bronson are decent backs, but neither has really put their stamp on the season. Bronson is a decent short yardage back at least, but Eastern Washington does not have a breakaway running threat in the backfield and that is a big problem.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Quincy Forte, RB, 448 yards
Passing: Kyle Padron, QB, 1,689 yards
Receiving: Brandon Kaufman, WR, 1,270 yards
Tackles: Ronnie Hamlin, LB, 107
Sacks: Jerry Ceja, DE, 9.0
Interceptions: Jordan Tonani, S, 3
2012 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 148.90 (63rd in nation, 7th in conference)
Passing Offense: 282.40 (16, 4)
Total Offense: 431.30 (20, 5)
Scoring Offense: 30.90 (32, 7)
Rushing Defense: 157.80 (64, 7)
Pass Defense: 230.50 (80, 5)
Total Defense: 388.30 (71, 4)
Scoring Defense: 22.30 (40, 2)
Turnover Margin: 0.60 (21, 3)
Sacks: 2.60 (22, 4)
Sacks Allowed: 2.20 (67, 6)
Recent Playoff Appearances:
2010 Second Round Defeated SE Missouri State
2010 Quarterfinals Defeated North Dakota State
2010 Semifinals Defeated Villanova
2010 Championship Defeated Delaware
2009 First Round Lost to Stephen F. Austin
2007 First Round Defeated McNeese State
2007 Quarterfinals Lost to Appalachian State
2005 First Round Lost to Northern Iowa
2004 First Round Defeated Southern Illinois
2004 Quarterfinals Lost to Sam Houston State
1997 First Round Defeated Northwestern State
1997 Quarterfinals Defeated Western Kentucky
1997 Semifinals Lost to Youngstown State
1992 First Round Lost to Northern Iowa
1985 First Round Defeated Idaho
1985 Semifinals Lost to Northern Iowa
1985 Semifinals Lost to Northern Iowa
*all team stats through 11/10
