Football Notes - Quarterfinal Edition

12/9/2013 6:47:55 PM

PDF of Notes

Third-seeded Eastern Washington guns for its third trip to the national semifinals in four years when it plays host to Jacksonville State on Saturday at Roos Field. Kickoff is 1 p.m. Pacific. The game will be available on ESPN Gameplan and ESPN3. The Eagles are 11-2 overall, and are coming off a 41-17 win over South Dakota State in the second round of the playoffs. Jacksonville State of the Ohio Valley Conference is 11-3. The Gamecocks upset No. 6 seed McNeese State last week in the second round. JSU is in the quarterfinals for the first time in school history. The winner advanced to the semifinals, and will face the winner of the Friday night quarterfinal between No. 2 Eastern Illinois and No. 7 Towson.
Saturday, Dec. 14   
Jacksonville State (11-3) at E. Washington (11-2)    1:05 PST
Location: Cheney, Wash. (Roos Field)
Series: First Meeting
EWU vs. the Ohio Valley: EWU is 1-1 all-time against current members of the Ohio Valley. The Eagles beat Southeast Missouri State 37-17 in a 2010 second-round game. In 1991, EWU lost to Eastern Illinois 30-12. At the time, Eastern Illinois was a member of the Gateway Football Conference.
Internet: ESPN3
TV: ESPN3
Talent: Trey Bender, Kevin O’Connell.

EAGLES TOPS IN TDS: Eastern Washington has scored 74 touchdowns this season, a Big Sky single-season record. The previous record was 72 set by Idaho in 1993. EWU has 54 passing TDs, 18 rushing TDs, and two interception returns for touchdowns.
 
EAGLES 11 SHY OF SCORING RECORD: EWU enters Saturday’s game against Jacksonville State with 526 points. The Big Sky single-season record is 537 by Montana in 2009. Montana went to the FCS national title game in 2009, losing to Villanova.  
 
EWU THREE SKY OF EXTRA POINTS RECORD: EWU enters the game Saturday with 65 extra points. The Big Sky single-season record is 68 by Idaho in 1993.
 
EWU TOPS IN TOTAL YARDS: Eastern Washington has amassed 6,877 yards of total offense this season, a Big Sky single-season record. Portland State closed the regular season with 6,486 yards of offense, which was the record. Prior to this season, the record was 6,416 by the 2004 Montana Grizzlies.
 
EWU TOPS IN AVERAGE PER PLAY: EWU is on pace to set the Big Sky single-season record for average yards per offensive play. EWU is currently averaging 7.7 yards per play. The record is 7.4 yards per play by Idaho in 1993.
 
EWU NO. 1 IN PASSING TDS: The Eagles’ offense has thrown 54 total touchdown passes, a Big Sky single-season record. The previous record was 43 by Montana in 1996.
 
KUPP BREAKS TD MARK: Eastern Washington freshman Cooper Kupp caught two TD passes in last week’s win over South Dakota State. Kupp has 20 TD catches this season. He broke the FCS freshman record of 19 set by Randy Moss in 1996. Kupp also tied the single-season Big Sky record of 20 TD catches by Idaho State’s Ed Bell in 1969. The 20 TD catches rank fifth in FCS single-season history. Jerry Rice holds the record with 27 in 1984. His 20 catches are an EWU single-season school record. He can move into a tie for fourth place in single-season FCS history with San Diego’s John Mathews, who caught 21 in 2008.
 
KUPP TIED CATCHES RECORD: Kupp caught four passes in last week’s win, hiking his season total to 81. Kupp is tied with Appalachian State’s Sean Price for the most catches by a freshman in FCS history. Kupp has already set the single-season FCS freshman record for receiving yards. He enters Saturday’s game with 1,468 receiving yards. Kupp has caught a TD pass in 13 straight games, an FCS and Big Sky record. Kupp has caught two TD passes in seven of his 13 games.
 
ADAMS TIED FOR PASSING TD LEAD: Vernon Adams enters Saturday’s playoff game tied with Eastern Illinois Jimmy Garoppolo for the national lead in TD passes with 51. The two are tied for third all-time in FCS history in touchdown passes. Willie Totten of Mississippi Valley State threw 56 TD passes in 1984. Grambling’s Bruce Eugene threw 56 TD passes in 2005. Adams has already thrown 71 touchdown passes in his career, which is just 25 games old. The Big Sky record for career passing touchdowns is 98 by Weber State’s Cameron Higgins.
 
ADAMS ONE OF THREE FINALISTS FOR PAYTON: Vernon Adams has been invited to Philadelphia to attend The Sports Network FCS Awards banquet on Dec. 16. Adams is one of three finalists for the Walter Payton Award. Eastern Illinois Jimmy Garappolo and Towson running back Terrance West are the two other finalists.
 
ADAMS SECOND IN PASSING: Vernon Adams enters Saturday’s game with 4,276 passing yards this season. Adams ranks second in Big Sky single-season history. He needs 201 to tie and 202 to break the single-season record of 4,477 yards set by Weber State’s Cameron Higgins in 2008. Higgins played 14 games that season.
 
ADAMS TOPS IN TOTAL OFFENSE: Vernon Adams has amassed 4,794 yards of total offense this season, a Big Sky single-season record. His total ranks fifth in single-season FCS history.
 
AMAZING RATIO: Vernon Adams has appeared in three playoff games in his young career. He’s completed 27 passes, but 11 of those have gone for touchdowns. Adams threw six in the second half of a 45-42 loss to Sam Houston State in last year’s semifinal. Adams completed 14 passes in the game. He added five more on just 12 completions last week. Adams completed one pass against Wagner in last year’s second round.
 
HOT IN THE RED ZONE: Eastern Washington has converted on 87.5 of its red zone chances this season. The Eagles have 37 touchdowns and five field goals in 48 trips inside the red zone.
 
HOT WHEN IT’S COLD: In November and beyond, Eastern is now 18-1 since 2010 and 27-4 since 2007. Since 2010, EWU is 34-3 after Oct. 1, including an 11-0 mark two years ago, 6-1 in 2011, 8-2 in 2012 and 9-0 thus far in 2013. The lone losses were a 43-26 home loss in 2011 versus Portland State, a 30-27 road setback at Southern Utah on Oct. 27, 2012 and a 45-42 playoff loss to Sam Houston State.
 
FOUR SKY PLAYERS EARN ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA HONORS: Four Big Sky Players were named to the prestigious Capital One Academic All-America Football team. The squad includes players from the FBS and the FBC level. Montana State wide receiver Tanner Bleskin and Northern Arizona linebacker Austin Hasquet earned First Team honors. Southern Utah kicker Colton Cook, and Thunderbird defensive end James Cowser were selected to the second team. Hasquet, a junior from Peoria, Ariz., maintains a 3.95 grade point average in biomedical sciene. Bleskin, a senior from Great Falls, Mont., had a 3.85 GPA in microbiology. Bleskin was named to the team for the second straight season. Cowser, a sophomore from Fruit Heights, Utah, has a 3.99 GPA is psychology. Cook, a graduate student from Centerville, Utah, has a 3.66 GPA in business administration.
 
DALY A FINALIST FOR HENDRICKS AWARD: Montana State senior Brad Daly was tapped as one of six finalists for the 2013 Hendricks Award, presented to college football’s top defensive end. Daly is the only finalist from an FCS school, and in fact is the first FCS player to make it this far in the process in at least the past three seasons. He joins Vic Beasley from Clemson, Shilique Calhoun from Michigan State, Jackson Jeffcoat from Texas, Michael Sam from Missouri, and Marchus Smith from Louisville. A 6-1, 240 lb senior from Helena, Daly currently leads all of NCAA Division I football with 14 sacks. His 1.2 per game is tied for the most in the FCS, and his 20.5 tackles-for-loss this season is tied for the most in the FCS. Daly was named Big Sky Defensive Co-Player of the Year last week, along with First Team All-Big Sky. He finished his career with 45.5 tackles-for-loss, tied for eighth in Bobcat history, and 34 sacks, the fourth-best total by a Bobcat.
 
LAMB’S CONTRACT EXTENDED: Southern Utah announced on Monday, Dec. 9, that head coach Ed Lamb had signed a contract extension. Lamb’s extension takes him through the 2020 season. Lamb just completed his sixth season in Cedar City. He led SUU to the postseason for the first time in school history, and tied the school record for wins in a season with eight. He has an overall record of 34-34.