FROM NEWS SERVICE REPORTS
The memory of Montana’s 57-16 rout of Eastern Washington in the next-to-last game of 2015 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula has not faded away.
So the third-ranked Eagles are out for retribution when they host 16th-ranked Montana in a Big Sky Conference showdown this Saturday, Oct. 29 at Roos Field. It will be Ag Day/Black Out Day, with Eagle fans asked to wear black to the game.
“I won’t talk about the revenge factor, but we’re human – we want a chance to come back after the way they got after us last year,” EWU head coach Beau Baldwin said.
Six turnovers spelled doom for Eastern in last year’s trouncing. That game marked the quarterbacking debut of Gage Gubrud, who completed just 7 of 13 passes for 66 yards and an interception, and also had 18 net rushing yards and a touchdown.
As a sophomore, Gubrud already has 3,243 yards of total offense and enters the UM rematch with a string of 140 passes without an interception.
Both the Eagles and Grizzlies as a team boast notable stats in 2016.
Eastern leads the Football Championship Subdivision in passing offense churning out 445.6 yards per game. They are second in scoring at 46.6 points per game and total offense of nearly 570 yards per contest.
The Grizzlies, however, are nearly as productive. Montana is third in scoring (44.9), fourth in passing (348.7) and fifth in total offense (495.3).
Montana has a defense that has held opponents to 25.5 percent on third down to rank second in FCS, while EWU is fourth in converting them at 52.9 percent. Montana’s defense is 21st overall in FCS (319.3 yards per game), and is No. 3 in red zone defense and No. 4 in red zone offense.
Eastern scored 27 unanswered points to roll past Montana State 41-17 in Bozeman last week, giving them a 5-1 record and 4-0 in the Big Sky Conference.
Montana is playing its second-straight league road game, having dropped a 45-34 decision at Northern Arizona last week. The Grizzlies are now 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the Big Sky.
“The bottom line is it’s the 2016 season for both teams,” Baldwin said. “I think we’ll have the perfect level of having that chip on our shoulder and a little bit of grit from what happened last year, but ultimately, we’re focused on what we are doing right now.”
As he said in last Monday’s coaches show the goal for Baldwin, his staff and players is to “Work to peak at 12:40 (p.m.) Saturday.”
Montana has won eight times in the previous 15, but EWU has won five of the last nine meetings since 2008.
Eagles vs. Grizzlies
FCS No. 3 Eastern Washington University versus Montana, Saturday, Oct. 29, 12:40 p.m. 12:42 p.m. Roos Field (8,600). TV: Live regionally on ROOT Sports Northwest. Radio: 700-AM ESPN in Spokane. Larry Weir returns for his 26th season calling the play-by-play, with analysis handled by Paul Sorensen. Broadcasts begin one hour prior to kickoff and include an expanded post-game show. Cheney watch parties: Wild Bills Long Bar.
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