Eastern Washington Set for FCS Championship National Title Game
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OGDEN, Utah (January 1, 2019) - The Big Sky Conference returns to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game for the first time since 2010, when No. 3 Eastern Washington (12-2) plays No. 1 North Dakota State (14-0) on Saturday, Jan. 5. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:04 a.m. CT at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
Saturday’s game will feature two of the three winningest programs in the FCS in the past 10 years. Neither team has lost in the championship game, as the Eagles and Bison will play each other for the first time since 2017. The MVFC leads the all-time postseason series history, 17-13, with both leagues tied at 1-1 in the 2018 postseason.
The Big Sky is 6-7 all-time in title games. Eastern Washington looks to join Montana as the only Big Sky school to win multiple FCS Championship titles at two titles.
The game will be televised on ESPN2 and may be viewed via ESPN3/ESPN+ (
http://watchespn.com).
EWU Radio:Fans can also listen to the game on 700-AM ESPN, 105.3-FM, via the web at tunein.com and via mobile phone app in the Spokane/Cheney area, as well as KTEL 1490-AM & 99.7-FM in Walla Walla. Larry Weir returns for his 28th season calling the play-by-play, with analysis handled by Paul Sorensen for the 16th year. Broadcasts begin one hour prior to kickoff and include an expanded post-game show.
Scouting the Eagles:The Eagles are playing in their second-ever FCS Championship title game. Eastern Washington won the national championship in 2010, 20-19 over Delaware. EWU captured its 10th Big Sky Conference title and made their 13
thappearance in the FCS Playoffs in 2018. This is the 12th-straight season the Eagles will have finished 5-3 or better in the Big Sky, with a 12th-straight winning season and 21st in the last 23 years. The Eagles had home field advantage throughout the playoffs and earned a first-round bye. Eastern Washington rides a six-game win streak into the championship title game.
Eagles 2018 Postseason Wins
Dec. 1 – W, 52-10 vs. #23/24 Montana State
Dec. 8 – W, 35-0 vs. #9/7 Colgate
Dec. 14 – W, 44-21 vs. #5 South Dakota State
Scouting the Bison:North Dakota State won its 14th football national championship in 2017. NDSU claimed three College Division national championships via the polls in 1965, 1968 and 1969, five Division II titles through the playoff format in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1990, and was the first team in college football history to win five straight national championships with FCS titles in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017. The Bison, who have participated in their ninth straight postseason, enter Saturday’s game on a 20-game win streak with its last loss coming on Nov. 4, 2017 to South Dakota State, 33-21 on the road.
North Dakota State Postseason Wins
Dec. 1 – W, 52-10 vs. #23/24 Montana State
Dec. 8 – W, 35-0 vs. #9/7 Colgate
Dec. 14 – W, 44-21 vs. #5 South Dakota State
Eagles vs. Bison Series History: North Dakota State leads the all-time series, 2-1. The last time the two teams competed against each other was in 2017, when the Bison topped the Eagles, 40-13 in Cheney. Prior to that, NDSU was victorious in a 50-44 overtime victory in Fargo over Eastern Washington. The Eagles lone win over North Dakota State came in 2010 – the year the Eagles won the national championship – as EWU beat NDSU, 38-31 in overtime of the playoff quarterfinals.
Big Sky-Missouri Valley Challenge Series: In an effort to publicize current match-ups and promote future non-conference scheduling between two of the premier FCS conferences, the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the Big Sky Conference announced a Challenge Series between the two leagues in 2017. MVFC took the series over the Big Sky, 5-3 in 2017 and 2018.
Big Sky National Champions:The Big Sky Conference has won Boise State (1980), Idaho State (1981), Montana State (1984), Montana (1995, 2001), Eastern Washington (2010).
Going Through the Best of the Best: The Eagles have faced conference champions in each of their postseason contests in 2018. Eastern Washington opened the playoffs with a 42-21 victory over Southland Conference champion Nicholls in the second round, then rallied in the fourth quarter to beat fellow Big Sky Conference co-champion UC Davis 34-29 on Dec. 8 in the quarterfinals. Maine was the outright champion in the Colonial Athletic Association, as the Eagles bested the Black Bears 50-19 in the semifinals.
Gubrud to Barriere: Senior All-American quarterback Gage Gubrud began the season for Eastern Washington in the starting spot. After Gubrud suffered a season-ending foot injury, sophomore Eric Barriere took over at the QB spot. Barriere has steadily been climbing the national rankings despite playing in three of EWU's first five games of the season as a backup to Gubrud. He's 10th in FCS in passing efficiency (150.8), 39th for passing yards overall (2,252) and 13th in touchdown passes with 24 after setting school and FCS Playoff records with seven versus Maine on Dec. 15.
Tiuli Named Defensive Player of the Year: Defensive tackle Jay-Tee Tiuli was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year. Tiuli had 29 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss of 36 yards, 4.0 sacks for a loss of 30 yards, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery during the regular season. Tiuli was the first Eastern Washington player to earn DPOTY honors since J.C. Sherritt in 2010.
Eastern Washington All-Conference Players: Eastern Washington tied Weber State with the most all-conference honorees with 18. The Eagles had a total of five first team accolades – Jay-Tee Tiuli (DT), Nsimba Webster (WR), Roldan Alcobendas (PK) & (P), and Keenan Williams (DE).
Best of the Best: Second-year Eastern Washington Head Coach Aaron Best was named the Big Sky co-Coach of the Year and the HERO Sports FCS Coach of the Year, after leading his team to a share of the Big Sky team title and a FCS Championship appearance as the third seed. The Eagles went 7-1 in conference play.
Alcobendas Leads All-American Honors for EWU: Senior kicker Roldan Alcobendas was honored on five NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America teams as a first team selection, leading a list of six Eagles to earn All-America honors in 2018. Alcobendas was honored by the AFCA, the FCS ADA, Associated Press, STATS and HERO Sports. In being honored for his perfect season kicking field goals, he was one of just 11 players nationwide to be honored on the FCS ADA All-America squad. He was also the winner of the Fred Mitchell Award as the top place-kicker among FCS, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and NJCAA schools.
Senior nose tackle Jay-Tee Tiuli was as second team All-America selection by both STATS and Associated Press, and senior center Spencer Blackburn was on the AP second team and the STATS third squad. Redshirt freshman defensive end Mitchell Johnson (first team) and redshirt freshman wide receiver Andrew Boston (honorable mention) were both selected to the HERO Sports Freshman All-America team, and quarterback Eric Barriere was named to the HERO Sports Sophomore All-America team as an honorable mention pick.
Players of the Week: Roldan Alcobendas led Eastern Washington with three Big Sky Player of the Week accolades in 2018. The senior placekicker/punter tied for the most special teams honors this season. Quarterbacks Gage Gubrud and Eric Barriere, along with defensive back Nzuzi Webster also earned player of the week honors.
FCS Leaders: Eastern Washington and North Dakota State are two of the top three winningest programs in the FCS since 2010. NDSU's 120 wins this decade are more than any other program in college football. NDSU is 111-8 since the beginning of 2011, the first of six national championship seasons for the Bison.
FCS Winningest Teams, 2010s (by wins)
120 - North Dakota State
92 - Sam Houston State
90 - Eastern Washington
85 - Jacksonville State
82 - James Madison
79 – Kennesaw State