Eastern Washington's offense hogs all the headlines, but it was the defense that stifled Central Arkansas last Saturday, helping the Eagles advance to the round of eight in the Football Subdivision Championship playoffs versus Richmond at Roos Field.
For the second time in as many weeks in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, Eastern Washington faces a team that had to scratch and claw their way from behind to advance.
This week's opponent in a 1:05 p.m. Saturday kickoff at Roos Field in Cheney are the Richmond Spiders from faraway Virginia and the Colonial Athletic Association's fourth-place finishers.
Richmond, 10-3, outscored the University of North Dakota - the co-Big Sky Conference champions with Eastern - 20-7 in the second half, kicking the winning 18-yard field goal as time expired to earn a 27-24 win in Grand Forks last Saturday.
Third-ranked and No. 2 seed Eastern, 11-1, sent Central Arkansas home with a 31-14 loss. The Bears rallied to beat Illinois State 31-24 in round one, Nov. 26.
"I'm excited, and now when there are only eight teams left in the country, you know your team is grinding and has done a great job during the year to earn this," Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin said.
The Spiders play with a patchwork lineup, having lost 18 players for the season including second team All-CAA quarterback Kyle Lauletta. Sophomore Kevin Johnson replaced him and completed 12 of 19 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns against the Fighting Hawks.
Saturday's game will be a match-up of Eastern's FCS-leading passing offense (411 yards per game) against the nation's second-best defense against the pass (156.3 per game).
Eastern sophomore quarterback Gage Gubrud completed 47 of 64 passes for 449 yards and a pair of touchdowns versus Central Arkansas, so it ought to be another interesting showdown to see which stats win in the first meeting between the schools.
Down 14-0 in the second quarter to Central Arkansas, the Eagles used a 12-play, 95-yard drive to score its first points with 4 minutes, 47 seconds left in the half with Gubrud scoring from a yard out.
On the ensuing kickoff, redshirt freshman Sam Inos forced a fumble that was recovered by fellow redshirt Tysen Prunty. Eastern tied the game three plays and 1:01 later on the first of two Gubrud to Cooper Kupp touchdown passes in the quarter. Kupp's 6-yard TD pass with 14 seconds to play in the first half gave Eastern a 21-14 edge, the lead - and momentum shift - with three scores in just over four and a half minutes
While the offense has been putting up monster numbers, it's been Eastern's defense that flies below the radar on many occasions. After spotting Central Arkansas the lead and 163 yards of total offense, the Eagles shut out the Bears for the final 35:11.
Eastern allowed just 35 yards in the third quarter and 40 in the final 15 minutes to finish with a season-best defensive effort of just 244 yards allowed.
Richmond traveled 1,526 miles to knock off North Dakota. Now, the Spiders will go 2,605 miles to face the Eagles.
FCS No. 3 Eastern Washington will play its quarterfinal playoff game on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 1:05 p.m. at Roos Field versus Richmond. TV: ESPN3 (www.watchespn.com). Radio:700-AM ESPN in Spokane. Larry Weir calling the play-by-play, with analysis handled by Paul Sorensen. Broadcasts begin one hour prior to kickoff. Cheney watch parties: Wild Bill’s Long Bar.
Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.
See a photo gallery from the game against Central Arkansas here.
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