#4 Eastern Washington Eagles (4-2, 2-0 BSC) vs. Southern Utah Thunderbirds (5-2, 2-1 BSC)
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013 • 5:05 p.m. Pacific
Roos Field (8,600) • Cheney, Wash.
Radio: http://spokaneradio.com/player/kxlxam.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Webcast: http://bigskyconf.com/index.aspx?path=football" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Series: EWU leads 4-2.
Last Meeting: SUU won 30-27 in Cedar City in 2012.
http://goeags.com/sports/m-footbl/2013- ... SUUPreview" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;The scenario is much the same, but the Eastern Washington University football team is hoping the results are much different when it plays in front of what is anticipated to be a sold-out Homecoming crowd.
Facing the team that knocked them out of the top spot in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision rankings a year ago, the fourth-ranked Eagles host Southern Utah Saturday (Oct. 19) in a Big Sky Conference game. Kickoff at Roos Field in Eastern’s 87th Homecoming game is 5:05 p.m. Pacific time in a game televised live regionally by SWX.
As of Monday morning (Oct. 14), no tickets remain for sale for the game, which will feature a crowd of upwards of 10,000 at the Inferno. However, the release of tickets from group holds is possible later in the week and availability will be announced via EWU’s social media outlets.
Eastern is currently tied atop the Big Sky standings at 2-0 with Montana State and Cal Poly, and EWU is 4-2 overall. The Thunderbirds are 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference and are fully capable of upsetting EWU like they did a year ago in Cedar City, Utah.
“It’s going to be a slugfest – it is,” said Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin. “We are going to get their best punch. We were a pretty good team last year finishing in the top four in the country, but along the way Southern Utah beat us. We know how good they are and what a great job coach Ed Lamb and his staff do there.”
In last year’s game, senior quarterback Brad Sorenson passed for 392 yards and SUU kicked a field goal with three seconds left to pull off the upset over No. 1 ranked EWU. Eastern had entered the game 6-1 and 5-0 in the Big Sky, and SUU entered just 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the league.
In fact, Eastern sophomore quarterback and Walter Payton Award candidate Vernon Adams has had an incredible start to his career and is now 12-3 as a starter. But one of those three losses came against Southern Utah, as well as games earlier this year versus Toledo and Sam Houston State.
Southern Utah is coming off a 17-7 thumping of Portland State in which SUU won the turnover battle 5-1. The Thunderbirds lost at Washington State (48-10) and UC Davis (21-3), but beat NCAA Football Bowl Division member South Alabama (22-21) to open the year.
“I think solid is the best word I can use to describe them,” said Baldwin of the Thunderbirds. “They are very workmanlike and they play together as a team so well. They do what they do really well, and they all know their assignments. And they are very strong – that is something they hang their hat on. We saw their strength and their physicality last week against Portland State when they held the top offense in the Big Sky to seven points. Their mindset is that they are going to be tougher than their opponent, and it shows up because they continually win the turnover battle and ultimately games.”
I would love to get a live preview of EWU before we play them but Cheyney is a long drive from here.
, I will have my youngest daughters with me and my wife will be here in Utah. Sucks being a responsible parent! 
If I wasn't kid watching, I'd be all over it. I won't be up until late on Friday night but will be at the tailgate as early as possible saturday.
to 93henfan
Oh, you're serious?
