Go Eags

The Eastern Washington Eagles were back in Cheney last Saturday defending the Red at Roos Field. At 0-2 I’m sure most people wondered how good this year’s team was. When a difficult schedule is put together with a couple of road games we all hope for an upset to get us feeling good about the next version of Eagle football.

EWU opened up in Minnesota where the NFL Vikings call home versus the perennial FCS top tiered North Dakota State Bison. The Eagles would fall 35-10 but there were enough good things to see that maybe EWU would find a way to keep their defense off the field more than they did a year ago.

The second week Eastern would travel to Fresno State to play the Bulldogs. Fresno State is no slouch and many have them favored to win the Mountain West Conference this season. The Bulldogs were favored to win this game by nearly 30 points. The Eags were down but rallied to take the lead but FSU tied things up to force overtime. The Eags would drop to 0-2 after the Bulldogs kicked a field goal and their defense made an interception in the end zone in the second OT.

I guess I was wondering to myself just how good Fresno State was going to be this season. On Saturday the Bulldogs dropped Arizona State 29-0. I’m not saying that EWU would beat ASU I’m just saying that the Eagles with a bit more luck in the second OT could have beaten Fresno State.

Saturday the Eagles hosted the Southeastern Louisiana (SELA) Lions who were rated 19th in the FCS rankings largely due to a playoff run a year ago when they beat Idaho in the first round. The Lions lost their first two games to FBS schools so that was not going to go against them but now they are 0-3 and will need to regroup if they want to make the playoffs again this season.

Eastern will again travel to California to take on always tough Cal Davis another ranked opponent. It will be a night game which should help if it is hot but after playing on a very warm September day in Cheney that shouldn’t be a problem.

For the third game of the season the Eagles are showing signs of progress and will hopefully be able to make a run of their own this season after a difficult 2022. The biggest turnaround is on the defensive side of the ball where the team has been able to get off the field and forcing punts. IF the Eagles can keep that up it can be a good year. We have always been able to score points but when our defense gets worn down it is not fun for the Eagle faithful.

On another note there has been a change at Roos Field and that is where the student section is located. It was on the west side behind the Eagle bench but now it is on the east side behind the visitor’s bench. Not only that but on a day when temperatures were in the high 80s the students were bearing the brunt of the sun and heat. At halftime many of those students departed for their dorm rooms. A bunch more came over to the west side and plopped down in seats that they thought were abandoned. The couple sitting two rows in front of us had to move one row back rather than try to pry these big young guys out of their seats.

I’ve always felt that the college experience is one to be enjoyed. I’m not sure if people complained about the students last year where they would be banished to the other side of the field this season or what the reasoning behind the move really is. These kids are paying some good money to attend a great university and should be able to sit behind the football team and be entertained by the cheerleaders that are also on the west side.

What started out to be a couple hundred students on the sun side would diminish to about 25 by the end of the game. Give them credit for sticking it out. I’m not sure if the powers that be think that the students will intimidate the opposition by sitting behind them or what the thought behind it is. I know that the football team is looking for the students’ support and they aren’t easy to hear when they sit on the opposite side of Roos Field.

They need to rethink this seating arrangement before the Idaho Vandals come to town and also sit in this same area. This team needs the Eagle Nation support and bringing the students back west would be a good start. Go Eags!

— Dale Anderson is a sports columnist from Ritzville. To contact him, email [email protected].