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#1 Eastern Washington Eagles (0-0, 0-0 BSC) vs. #17 Sam Houston State Bearkats (0-0, 0-0 SLC)

Saturday, Aug. 23, 2014 • 12:35 p.m. PST
Roos Field (8,600) • Cheney, WA

(Nationwide)

ESPN will broadcast the first college football game of the season this Saturday (Aug. 23) when Eastern Washington University hosts Sam Houston State in the inaugural FCS Showcase at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash. Kickoff on the red Sprinturf surface at "The Inferno" is 12:35 p.m. Pacific time.

The game will also be broadcast live on internet-based ESPN3. A special live pre-game show will be broadcast on SWX TV in Eastern Washington, as well as online via ESPN3, starting at 11 a.m. Pacific time. In addition, SWX will air at noon a pre-produced 1/2 hour show similar to the HBO "Hard Knocks" series.
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"It's an amazing opportunity to play one of the top programs at our level to kick off the 2014 football season," said Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin. "We're very appreciative of ESPN and the commitment they have made to FCS Football, both in the past and in the future. We truly believe it will be a great game for football fans not just at our level, but also for others who aren't as familiar with FCS football."

Ranked as the No. 1 team in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision entering the season, the Eagles finished third in the final Sports Network FCS Top 25 poll of the 2013 season after losing to Towson 35-31 in the semifinals of the playoffs. Eastern was 12-3 on the season and 8-0 in the Big Sky Conference.

The Bearkats finished 14th with a final record of 9-5, having defeated Southern Utah from the Big Sky 51-20 in the first round of the playoffs, then falling 30-29 to Southeastern Louisiana. Sam Houston State's new head coach is K.C. Keeler, who was the head coach at Delaware when Eastern beat the Blue Hens 20-19 for the 2010 NCAA Division I Championship.

OL FU wrote:Go Sam Houston. That southern hating kalm sucks

kalm wrote:

OL FU wrote:Go Sam Houston. That southern hating kalm sucks

I'm sorry...

We need all the fans we can get!

Baby…please come back!

OL FU wrote:

kalm wrote:
I'm sorry...

We need all the fans we can get!

Baby…please come back!

Are you singing Dixie
Do you know the words

Screamin_Eagle174 wrote: red Sprinturf surface

93henfan wrote:

Screamin_Eagle174 wrote: red Sprinturf surface

Oof. That novelty hasn't worn out yet?

Ivytalk wrote:And Keeler goes 0-2 on The Big Tampon!

93henfan wrote:

Ivytalk wrote:And Keeler goes 0-2 on The Big Tampon!

I believe this is his first trip there.

93henfan wrote:

Ivytalk wrote:And Keeler goes 0-2 on The Big Tampon!

I believe this is his first trip there.

Ivytalk wrote:

93henfan wrote:
I believe this is his first trip there.

Oh, I thought he lost the playoff game. My bad.

93henfan wrote:

Ivytalk wrote:
Oh, I thought he lost the playoff game. My bad.

Neutral site (Frisco, TX). Nothing better than watching your team blow a three score lead, get jived by the refs, and have the pleasure of waiting 45 minutes for Joe Biden's motorcade to clear before you can leave.

93henfan wrote:

Ivytalk wrote:
Oh, I thought he lost the playoff game. My bad.

Neutral site (Frisco, TX). Nothing better than watching your team blow a three score lead, get jived by the refs, and have the pleasure of waiting 45 minutes for Joe Biden's motorcade to clear before you can leave.

93henfan wrote:

Screamin_Eagle174 wrote: red Sprinturf surface

Oof. That novelty hasn't worn out yet?

"It's an amazing opportunity to play one of the top programs at our level...

JohnStOnge wrote:

"It's an amazing opportunity to play one of the top programs at our level...

It's amazing to me that people are calling Sam Houston State one of the top programs at the FCS level because they had two playoff runs to the championship game with one nucleus of players.

Do you know how many times Sam Houston State has won the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the I-AA/FCS playoffs during 27 years in the league?

Once. That was in 2011. So you're saying a program that got the Southland automatic bid ONCE in 27 years in the conference is one of the top programs at the I-AA/FCS level?

McNeese State has gotten the Southland automatic bid eight times. Stephen F. Austin and Northwestern State have each won it three times. So Sam Houston State is tied for #4 on the list in terms of the number of Southland Conference automatic bids earned among other current Southland members with Central Arkansas, Nichols State and Southeastern Louisiana. And you're calling that one of the top programs at the I-AA/FCS level.

The way in which people fail to maintain historical perspective amazes me.

kalm wrote:

93henfan wrote:

Oof. That novelty hasn't worn out yet?

Shit no! Rumor has it they're laying red turf down for the soccer field too. The "Tub" will be floored in yellow someday. Don't get all jelly on us.

JohnStOnge wrote:

"It's an amazing opportunity to play one of the top programs at our level...

It's amazing to me that people are calling Sam Houston State one of the top programs at the FCS level because they had two playoff runs to the championship game with one nucleus of players.

Do you know how many times Sam Houston State has won the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the I-AA/FCS playoffs during 27 years in the league?

Once. That was in 2011. So you're saying a program that got the Southland automatic bid ONCE in 27 years in the conference is one of the top programs at the I-AA/FCS level?

McNeese State has gotten the Southland automatic bid eight times. Stephen F. Austin and Northwestern State have each won it three times. So Sam Houston State is tied for #4 on the list in terms of the number of Southland Conference automatic bids earned among other current Southland members with Central Arkansas, Nichols State and Southeastern Louisiana. And you're calling that one of the top programs at the I-AA/FCS level.

The way in which people fail to maintain historical perspective amazes me.

SuperHornet wrote:

kalm wrote:
Shit no! Rumor has it they're laying red turf down for the soccer field too. The "Tub" will be floored in yellow someday. Don't get all jelly on us.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXottBGAQp8[/youtube]