Why Eastern Washington is expecting Cal Poly game to go down to the wire

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Sep. 24—Since the start of the 2020 season, what has been nearly an annual matchup between Eastern Washington and Cal Poly has served as a coaching reunion.

Beau Baldwin and Paul Wulff, both of whom first became head coaches when they were with the Eagles, each took a turn as head coach of the Mustangs this decade. Baldwin's stint came first, from 2020 to 2022, followed by Wulff the next three years.

Wulff's term at Cal Poly ended with a 4-8 record, the program's best since Tim Walsh's 5-6 season in 2018. But it wasn't enough for Wulff to keep his job, even after a 43-34 season-ending victory over his former program, Eastern Washington, last season.

Now it's Tim Skipper at the head of the Mustangs program, and at 4 p.m. Saturday at Roos Field in Cheney he will be trying to lead Cal Poly to a feat it has never accomplished — back-to-back victories over Eastern Washington.

The Eagles have every intention of preventing that from happening. Indeed, their playoff hopes can hardly afford otherwise.

"They have playmakers at the skill positions all over the place," EWU head coach Aaron Best said Tuesday during media availability. "They've been down to the wire in all four games. They're a little more battle tested for 60 minutes than our team has."

The Eagles (1-3, 0-1 Big Sky) have faced stiffer competition than the Mustangs (2-2, 1-0) have, but their last two games — losses at South Dakota (41-23) and Washington (48-16) — were decidedly lopsided heading into the fourth quarter.

Not so for the Mustangs. Last week they lost to San Diego 38-35 on a field goal with two seconds left. The week before that they tied San Jose State early in the fourth quarter of an eventual 30-20 loss.

Central Washington drew within a touchdown in the final two minutes of Cal Poly's 24-17 victory on Sept. 5, and in their opener the Mustangs defeated the Idaho Vandals 38-34 on a last-second touchdown.

"It was a fun game as a fan to watch," Best said of that Idaho game. "It went back and forth. That's what this conference is all about."

The Eagles may still have their entire playoff fate in front of them, but at 1-3 overall, and already with a Big Sky Conference loss to Northern Arizona, their path toward the FCS playoffs affords little meandering.

"The Big Sky is probably the best in the FCS, so at that point, if we go 8-0, if you have one loss in Big Sky, you're going to the playoffs," EWU grad senior running back Malik Dotson said. "If you have two (losses), you're going to the playoffs."

And, Dotson pointed out, the Big Sky champion each of the last three seasons has reached the FCS national championship game.

But a Big Sky championship would be harder to fathom after an 0-2 start to league play.

Cal Poly, too, is better than last year, Dotson said, specifically on a defense he said is faster. Dotson pointed specifically to senior linebackers Mikey D'Amato and Kenny Olson.

"Those two dudes in the middle of that defense are their heart and soul," he said. "They run through them, and they are on the field 10 times out of 10. If you search up the definition of middle linebacker, they will pop up."

Eastern would like to run the ball more effectively than it has, specifically with its running backs. Dotson leads the Eagles' backfield in rushing yards with 159 on 47 carries.

"We don't knock people off at the ball as much as I'd like to see," Best said. "We need to see more than we're getting. We need more of a running back ground game. I do not anticipate the quarterback (redshirt junior Nate Bell) to be the No. 1 rusher in this offense."

That, though, has yet to be the case, as Bell leads the team in carries (57) and rushing yards (209). Just two Big Sky teams have faced more running plays than Cal Poly has: Its defense has allowed 805 rushing yards on 166 carries through four games.

Eastern's passing game has been uneven this year in part due to injuries at wide receiver. The Eagles will be without Jaxon Branch and Wesley Garrett this week but are expected to welcome back Drew Carlson and David Cabrera.

Carlson, a redshirt sophomore, is second on the team with 14 receptions. He is listed as a starter alongside redshirt senior Jamai East (eight catches, 87 yards) and sophomore Rylin Lang (10 catches, 120 yards).

After playing away from Cheney in three of its first four games, Eastern has just one road game over its next five, a stretch that will give the Eagles an opportunity to build some momentum where they generally play better. Last year the Eagles went 4-1 at home.

"Getting those tougher opponents early in the year helps us build for the rest of the year," redshirt sophomore guard Mark Johnson said. "We understand the level we have to be at to get where we want to go."

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