Eastern Washington at Idaho--This matchup is a game between the FBS squad Idaho and the FCS squad Eastern Washington. The Idaho Vandals went 2-10 last fall while being outscored by 13 points per game. It was a tough season for the Vandals with their only wins coming versus San Jose State and FCS squad North Dakota. The Eastern Washington Eagles are an FCS program that went 6-5 in 2011 after winning the FCS National Championship in 2010. The Eagles are a perennial power in the FCS division and pose a threat for any opponent they face.
Offense: The Vandals were a mess in 2011 on offense with a total of 301 yards per game of total offense. The rushing game was inept as Idaho ran for 113 yards per game with a horrible 3.5 yards per carry and 12 touchdowns on the ground. The passing game was not very good for 188 yards per game with only 11 touchdowns but a confidence killing 16 interceptions. The Vandals could only manage 20.2 points per game and were held to 15 or fewer points in 7 of their 12 games. Eastern Washington had a good offense in 2011 with 32.4 points scored per game last fall. The rushing attack was almost non-existent with only 79 yard rushing per game, 3.0 yards per carry, and only 9 rushing touchdowns. As a result of the inability to run the football, the Eagles were a high flying passing attack in 2011. The Eagles threw for 368 yards per game last fall with 34 passing touchdowns on the season. This passing attack was the best in the country in the FCS. EDGE: Eastern Washington
Defe
nse: The Idaho defense was unable to stop pretty much anyone as evidenced by their 33.2 points allowed per game on the season. The Vandals gave up 158 yards on the ground per game with a with a 4.2 yards per carry and 18 touchdowns allowed on the ground. The passing defense was equally inept with 278 yard allowed per game with 28 touchdowns. The Vandals were only able to force 19 turnovers on the season. Eastern Washington scored over 30 points per game in 2011 but every point was needed as the defense gave up 30.2 points per game last fall. The Eagles were particularly bad at stopping the run with 213 yards allowed per game and 4.8 yards per carry. Opponents also scored 21 rushing touchdowns versus the Eagle defense. The Eagles were more solid at defending the pass with 198 yards allowed in the air per game. The Eagles gave up 17 touchdowns passing but were able to pick off opponents 7 times on the season. EDGE: Push
Coaching: Beau Baldwin is the head coach of the Eastern Washington Eagles and is in his 5th season in charge of the football program. Baldwin started coaching in 1994 with Central Washington as an assistant. In 2003, Baldwin came back to coaching with Eastern Washington as an assistant. Then in 2007, Central Washington came calling for Baldwin and gave the coach his first head coaching job. In his single year as the CWU head coach, Baldwin went 10-3 with a trip to the D-II quarterfinals. After that performance, EWU hired Baldwin to coach the Eagles. Baldwin has gone 33-16 in his 4 seasons so far, including a 13-2 season in which the Eagles won the FCS national championship. Robb Akey is the head coach at Idaho and is in his 6th season as the coach of the Vandals. Akey started coaching in 1988 with Weber State before moving to Northern Arizona, and Washington State. Akey took the head coaching job at Idaho in 2007 and has gone 19-43 in his six seasons at the helm. Akey has 1 winning season in 2009 that ended with a win in the Humanitarian Bowl. Akey also has two 2-10 seasons and a 1-11 season with Idaho. EDGE: Eastern Washington
Idaho struggled to a 2-10 season last fall but handled their only FCS opponent of the season in an easy win over North Dakota. Eastern Washington is a step up in competition from North Dakota and should provide a stern test for the Vandal in the season opener. For Coach Akey to keep his job after this season, the Vandals must show significant improvement this fall. Look for Idaho to struggle throughout the game but pull out a win giving the Vandals hope for a better 2012.
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