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LDopaPDX wrote:I'm very nervous about Sam Houston State. I hope the version that played Cal Poly comes to Cheney next week, not the version that just beat down Montana State.

SeattleGriz wrote:

LDopaPDX wrote:I'm very nervous about Sam Houston State. I hope the version that played Cal Poly comes to Cheney next week, not the version that just beat down Montana State.

It was the same team. MSU did the piss down the leg routine right on cue.

EWU opens up the passing attack and I think it will be a great game.

LDopaPDX wrote:I'm very nervous about Sam Houston State. I hope the version that played Cal Poly comes to Cheney next week, not the version that just beat down Montana State.

SeattleGriz wrote:EWU opens up the passing attack and I think it will be a great game.

EWURanger wrote:

SeattleGriz wrote:EWU opens up the passing attack and I think it will be a great game.

I think this is the best chance to beat these guys. Tonight the pass was opening up the run some as well. But bottom line EWU is going to have to play to its strengths offensively and hope to get some breaks on defense.

Mvemjsunpx wrote:

EWURanger wrote:
I think this is the best chance to beat these guys. Tonight the pass was opening up the run some as well. But bottom line EWU is going to have to play to its strengths offensively and hope to get some breaks on defense.

Opening up the passing helped the Griz get back in it against them last year. Sam Houston will see it coming, though, because Eastern's running game is nothing to fear.

Kaufman will have to do what he did tonight for the Eags to win.

grizzaholic wrote:Here you go SE, do your thing.

putter wrote:Padron has a great arm and is very accurate. EWU will handle the pressure much better than MSU. Kaufmann has another big night. EWU by 7

SeattleGriz wrote:

Mvemjsunpx wrote:
Opening up the passing helped the Griz get back in it against them last year. Sam Houston will see it coming, though, because Eastern's running game is nothing to fear.

Kaufman will have to do what he did tonight for the Eags to win.

Sam Houston will get called for a ton of fouls. They mug everyone and get the southland call. That won't happen against EWU. Might take a half, but the refs will eventually notice.

LDopaPDX wrote:

SeattleGriz wrote:
It was the same team. MSU did the piss down the leg routine right on cue.

EWU opens up the passing attack and I think it will be a great game.

No kidding about MSU. The trend of bad offensive performances just kept right on rolling at the worst time of the year to slump. I couldn't believe how tentative McGee was when faced with a blitz. Rather than just deliver the ball, he didn't want to take the risk and got dropped or threw a nowhere ball.

It sucks to have such a good year and close out the season with a dismal loss... but that's sort of par for the course.

LDopaPDX wrote:

SeattleGriz wrote:
It was the same team. MSU did the piss down the leg routine right on cue.

EWU opens up the passing attack and I think it will be a great game.

No kidding about MSU. The trend of bad offensive performances just kept right on rolling at the worst time of the year to slump. I couldn't believe how tentative McGee was when faced with a blitz. Rather than just deliver the ball, he didn't want to take the risk and got dropped or threw a nowhere ball.

It sucks to have such a good year and close out the season with a dismal loss... but that's sort of par for the course.

JohnStOnge wrote:Study the Sam Houston State/SFA game video. Go in deciding your strategy is to make them pay for putting their cornerbacks on islands and forcing the line of scrimmage. They want to stop the run, make you pass, and get after the quarterback. Oblige them. They have very good cornerbacks but EWU has at least one receiver they may have a hard time matching up with in man on man coverage just because of his size. Should be that if the ball is thrown correctly there's no way Sam's corners can stop him even if they're right on him. Also, SFA's receivers beat their secondary all night. SFA has an excellent receiving corps. But they showed it can be done. Sam Houston's corners did make some plays like that 92 yard pick six against SFA. But they also got royally burned on a number of occasions.

Sam Houston's starting corners are 6'0" and 5'11". Their backups are 5'10" and 5'11". Eastern Washington's got one 6'5" wide receiver and another that's 6'3". That's a matchup advantage if the ball is thrown properly. If it's thrown properly Sam Houston's corners should have problems handling wideouts that big. Doesn't matter if they're on them. If it's thrown in the right spot a 6'5" guy is going to get it over a 6'0" or 5'11" guy most of the time. Not easy but doable.

On the other side of the ball I don't know if Eastern Washington's going to be able to come up with something to slow down Sam Houston State's offense. But Central Arkansas was able to control it pretty well in their Southland matchup. Maybe that's another video to review.

#2 Eastern Washington Eagles (11-2) vs. Sam Houston State Bearkats (10-3)

Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012 • 1:00 p.m. Pacific
Roos Field (8,600) • Cheney, Wash.

While three Big Sky Conference schools would like to forget about the Bearkats, the Eastern Washington University football team is about to become quite familiar with Sam Houston State.

The Eagles will host the Bearkats at Roos Field Saturday (Dec. 15) at 1:05 p.m. Pacific time in the semifinals of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs, with a berth in the championship game on the line. This week’s meeting, a rematch of an epic battle between the two schools in the 2004 quarterfinals in Cheney, will be televised on ESPNU.

The winner of this week’s game punches its ticket to a repeat trip to Texas to play for the NCAA Division I title. The championship game is Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas, at 10 a.m. Pacific time on ESPN2. Eastern played and won in the game in 2010; Sam Houston State played and lost in last year’s title tilt.

Second-seeded Eastern, which ranked fourth in the final regular season Sports Network Top-25 poll, advanced to the semifinals with a wild 51-35 victory over Illinois State on Dec. 8, and will enter this week’s game 11-2. The Eagles, who have won five games in a row, defeated Wagner 29-19 in the second round on Dec. 1.

The 10-3 Bearkats ended the regular season ranked fifth and are unseeded in the playoffs, but have knocked off Big Sky foes Cal Poly (18-16) and Montana State (34-16) in consecutive weeks. A year ago, the Bearkats eliminated MSU in the quarterfinals (49-13) and Montana in the semifinals (31-28).

Both teams have advanced to the national championship game in the past two years, with EWU defeating Delaware 20-19 for the 2010 title and Sam Houston State falling to North Dakota State 17-16 in 2011.

“They are a great football team and they’ve done well against a lot of teams, not just against the Big Sky,” said Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin. “They’ve played well in big ballgames and you have to give them a ton of credit for that.”

The triple-option attack of the Bearkats helped them out-gain Montana State 458-292 in total offense in the easy quarterfinal victory. For the season, SHSU ranks in the top 12 in FCS in both total offense and total defense, and has out-scored opponents by an average score of 41-18.

They were 1-2 after road losses to Baylor and Central Arkansas, but their only loss since then was a 47-28 setback at nationally-ranked FBS opponent Texas A&M on Nov. 17.

“They have talent, speed and athleticism throughout their team,” said Baldwin, who is in his fifth season as head coach at Eastern and ninth overall at EWU. “They are right up there as one of the fastest teams we’ve seen since I’ve been here. You have to play assignment-sound defense against their offense, and they throw the ball better than most teams out of that style. On defense, they are well-coached, talented and athletic enough to be very aggressive and good.”