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Series History: EWU leads 3-1
Last Meeting: EWU won 41-28 in Cedar City in 2009
Interesting Tidbit: In the 4 game series, the winning team hasn't scored less than 41 points.

A pair of teams with five-game winning streaks square off this week at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash., when future Big Sky Conference member Southern Utah visits for a non-conference game. Kickoff at the "Inferno" is 1:05 p.m. Pacific time in the first of two incredibly huge games for the Eagles.

Eastern is coming off a bye week, but on Oct. 30 won their fifth-straight game with a 50-17 thrashing of Portland State in Hillsboro, Ore. The Eagles are now 7-2 overall and are atop the Big Sky Conference standings with a 6-1 record -- a win away from a school's fifth league title (1992, 1997, 2004, 2005).

The Thunderbirds, who will join the Big Sky in the 2012-13 school year, are also on a roll after a 1-4 start. Southern Utah has won its last five games to improve to 6-4, including last week's 52-0 thumping of NCAA Division II Dixie State.

The lone common opponent for the Eagles and Thunderbirds has been Northern Arizona, a team SUU lost to 26-23 on Oct. 2 and EWU defeated Oct. 23 by a 21-14 score. Southern Utah won the Great West Conference title with a 4-0 mark, including a 20-7 victory over nationally-ranked Cal Poly.

The Eagles and Thunderbirds are just two of 13 FCS teams with a current streak of five-straight wins or better. A year ago in Cedar City, Utah, Eastern had 608 yards of total offense as it turned a 28-7 advantage in the third quarter into a 41-28 victory.

Southern Utah, which was 0-11 just three years ago, has out-scored opponents 189-65 during its winning streak. Eastern has out-scored its last five opponents 169-107.

"We're going to approach it like a playoff game," Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin said. "It has huge implications and we know they are a great team. They have played incredibly well this year. Last year we went down there and got off to a fast start, but it turned into a battle in the second half. We know what we are up against and we are going to have to work hard to be prepared for that."

"Southern Utah is extremely good and that is our focus -- you won't catch us talking about Idaho State," said Baldwin. "The bye came at a great time where we could get guys freshened up and rested, and our goal is to certainly play more football than these last two games."

Hey T-Bird fans, you guys have a fan forum?

I've poked around a little but have not been able to find one.

#27. Lol.

CatBlitz22 wrote:#27. Lol.

eaglesfootball wrote:I've poked around a little but have not been able to find one.

My guess is Chris will start one once they come full time into the BSC in 2012.

I think EWU should win this one, but I wouldn't discount SUU. They have been playing pretty well and and have played some brutal schedules in the past so they aren't going to go in scared.

Listening to the EWU coaches show, this one will be tough. Over the last five games, SUU has given up only 13 points per game, and the QB, since throwing a pick in that game against UND has thrown 12 TD's and no picks since. They have a possession receiver in Sitake with 68 catches, and a tall play maker in Poots who apparently catches everything thrown at him at 77 receptions. They also have only turned the ball over 8 times on the season. Christ, how are these guys 6-4?

SDHornet wrote:

eaglesfootball wrote:I've poked around a little but have not been able to find one.

My guess is Chris will start one once they come full time into the BSC in 2012.

Maybe before.

webfan wrote:

CatBlitz22 wrote:#27. Lol.

They're # 22 in my poll.

kalm wrote:Listening to the EWU coaches show, this one will be tough. Over the last five games, SUU has given up only 13 points per game, and the QB, since throwing a pick in that game against UND has thrown 12 TD's and no picks since. They have a possession receiver in Sitake with 68 catches, and a tall play maker in Poots who apparently catches everything thrown at him at 77 receptions. They also have only turned the ball over 8 times on the season. Christ, how are these guys 6-4?

Two losses to FBS teams and early losses to (then ranked) NAU and (then ranked) Texas State. They will sneak up on EWU....in fact, I'm predicting an upset.

My initial thought was EWU. But when I found out that SUU is ranked 27th, I think I have to go with them on this one.

AZGrizFan wrote:

kalm wrote:Listening to the EWU coaches show, this one will be tough. Over the last five games, SUU has given up only 13 points per game, and the QB, since throwing a pick in that game against UND has thrown 12 TD's and no picks since. They have a possession receiver in Sitake with 68 catches, and a tall play maker in Poots who apparently catches everything thrown at him at 77 receptions. They also have only turned the ball over 8 times on the season. Christ, how are these guys 6-4?

Two losses to FBS teams and early losses to (then ranked) NAU and (then ranked) Texas State. They will sneak up on EWU....in fact, I'm predicting an upset.

I'm with you .... I see a tight game but SUU comes away with the upset. SUU is no joke.... They have the talent to be a playoff team. They will see this as their opportunity to prove it.

I'll take EWU in this match-up, but believe (like other people have said) that SUU has a strong chance for the upset.

Sadly, the major factor for EWU will fall completely on TJ. If he goes out for any reason, I would change my pick. Not to play down the rest of EWU but TJ is such a dynamic player, he literally changes the pace of the game in a heartbeat.

Absolutely, positively do not count out Southern Utah. They are a much better team then their record shows. An upset over EWU is not out of the realm of possibility. Look forward to seeing em in the Big Sky Conference soon.

While I agree that TJ will be an important key to a potential EWU win, I don't think EWU's quite the one man show that a lot of you want them to be. I think the biggest factor will be how our defense plays. In the close games we have played this season, it's been our defense that has kept us in the game by making critical stops or creating turnovers and the opportunity for the offense to get back on the field to win the game. It's all going to hinge upon how well they play.

I wouldn't count EWU out just yet.

I think these idiots who claim suu will upset EWU, are mixing EMOTION with logic. Basically you (ESPECIALLY um fans) want the Eagles to lose so bad... that it manifests itself in the form of bad predicts. EWU is #5 for a reason u fvckin jacknerds.

Check that sig...

BlackFalkin wrote:I think these idiots who claim suu will upset EWU, are mixing EMOTION with logic. Basically you (ESPECIALLY um fans) want the Eagles to lose so bad... that it manifests itself in the form of bad predicts. EWU is #5 for a reason u fvckin jacknerds.

Check that sig...

What would UM have to gain by EWU losing?...It would just fuel all the "weak BSC" talk. That being said, an SUU upset is definitely not out of the realm of possibility...SUU is a pretty solid team.

Good points. Still, your using logic. Further logical reasoning would tell you that #27 (whatever THAT is) wont beat #5.

BlackFalkin wrote:Good points. Still, your using logic. Further logical reasoning would tell you that #27 wont beat #5.

Personally, I want EWU to win...It's better for the Sky BUT, look what happened to App St last week...#1 loses to an unranked GSU team...Not saying it's gonna happen...but it's certainly possible.

Falkin if you even listen to Coach Baldwin even he knows that we here in SUU have a darn good team this season and he is preparing accordingly. Last year if you take away some untimely turnovers it would have been a battle the entire game, not to mention that our defense is playing spectacular right now and with Sorenson at the helm our offense really is clicking. This season unfortunately we scheduled ourselves out of the playoffs thanks to playing 2 (though beatable) FCS teams and catching NAU and TX. State when they were playing very well and both ranked. Dont count us out Falkin as we have the talent to possibly upset you guys this week.

However besides that i do think it will be a very tough game, especially for our defense as we will be playing one of (if not) the most prolific offense this season. The gameplan, we HAVE to stop TJ and to be honest i do like our chances in that regard as we held a very good (then ranked #13) Cal Poly team to only 7 points and shut down their run game. If we can shut down TJ (which will be a huge challenge) we will have a shot. Looking forward to a great game against a future Big Sky opponent .

SUUTbird wrote:Mr. Falkin, if you even listen to Coach Baldwin even he knows that we here in SUU have a darn good team this season

BlackFalkin's daily advice #471: Never EVER take player/coach interviews seriously. Ive given at last 20 tv & radio interviews and their all fiction. Trust me guy. They teach you how to give an interview, they pretty much tell you what not to say for your own good. "Yea (fill in the blank) University has a great football program this season, (fill in the blank impact player) is gonna be hard to stop, but coach(fill in you position coach, [also off/def co]) really has prepared us for this game. "

Basically, suu is gonna get spanked. Taiwan Jones is gonna eat that snotty-nose defense ALIVE.

See ya in Frisco.

BlackFalkin wrote:
Check that sig...

Now that my team is officially in crapsville... again... I'm riding this bandwagon bus all the way! Good thing I got on preseason.

JMU DJ wrote:

BlackFalkin wrote:
Check that sig...

Now that my team is officially in crapsville... again... I'm riding this bandwagon bus all the way! Good thing I got on preseason.

AZGrizFan wrote:

kalm wrote:Listening to the EWU coaches show, this one will be tough. Over the last five games, SUU has given up only 13 points per game, and the QB, since throwing a pick in that game against UND has thrown 12 TD's and no picks since. They have a possession receiver in Sitake with 68 catches, and a tall play maker in Poots who apparently catches everything thrown at him at 77 receptions. They also have only turned the ball over 8 times on the season. Christ, how are these guys 6-4?

Two losses to FBS teams and early losses to (then ranked) NAU and (then ranked) Texas State. They will sneak up on EWU....in fact, I'm predicting an upset.

Three of those losses were decided in the final minute:

Sat, Sept 4 @ Wyoming L 28-20
Sat, Sept 11 vs San Diego W 32-3
Sat, Sept 18 @ San Jose State L 16-11
Sat, Sept 25 @ Texas State L 42-28
Sat, Oct 2 vs Northern Arizona L 26-23
Sat, Oct 9 @ North Dakota W 31-21
Sat, Oct 16 vs Cal Poly W 20-7
Sat, Oct 23 vs South Dakota W 31-13
Sat, Oct 30 @ UC Davis W 55-24
Sat, Nov 6 vs Dixie State W 52-0

I confess. I turned off the audio feed on the Utah debacle and alternated listening to Weber State at Montana State and Dixie State at Southern Utah.