Looking Ahead No. 5: Eastern Washington

Because I get bored voting for Montana to win the Big Sky championship in the pre-season polls every year, I always look for a reasonable alternative. Last year I voted for Eastern Washington. The Eagles returned the reigning Big Sky offensive MVP in quarterback Matt Nichols (right), three outstanding receivers and a multi-talented defensive front that featured future Buck Buchanan Award-winner Greg Peach.

But the Eagles proved to be more defined by their weaknesses than their strengths, at least early in the season. Handicapped by an inexperienced secondary, Eastern gave up 199 points in its first five games, an average of nearly 40 points a game. The Eagle defenders hit bottom against Portland State's run-and-shoot, yielding 623 yards passing in a 46-37 thumping. While the defense recovered well enough to hold its next five opponents to 19 or fewer points, Eastern could not overcome a stretch where they dropped three of four Big Sky games to PSU, Montana and Sacramento State. Turnovers were a big culprit -- in their five losses, Eastern was minus-9 in the takeaway department.

Three straight wins to end the season, including a final game victory over Big Sky co-champion Weber State, managed to salvage a winning record at 6-5, but that was far below the expectations that many, including EWU's players and first-year head coach Beau Baldwin, had for the season.

And then the hammer fell. An NCAA review, initiated by self-reported violations from Eastern, resulted in a three-year probation for the EWU program which includes a post-season ban in 2009. Eastern is appealing the ban, but unless the NCAA reverses its course, Nichols and his three outstanding senior receivers will finish their Eagle careers Nov. 21 in their regular-season finale against Northern Arizona.

Under ordinary circumstances, Eastern would again qualify as a "reasonable alternative" to Montana, what with 15 starters back from a team that finished so strong, including 12 who earned at least all-Big Sky honorable mention last year. Talent certainly will not be an issue for the Eagles, even though they lose Peach, who earned a roster spot with the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League this summer, and two other all-league players on their defensive front. The key question, then, will be how the Eagles respond to the post-season ban: will they put a chip on their shoulder and play with extra motivation, or will they subconsciously relax knowing they can't go the playoffs?

The Eagles will take on Idaho State in Holt Arena in the fifth game of the season for both teams. While nobody in the Big Sky will play as difficult a schedule as the Bengals, Eastern's early slate is no picnic. The Eagles open with Division II Western Oregon at home, play at Cal, come home to Northern Colorado and then play at Sacramento State, who beat the Eagles in Cheney last season. With games under their belt against a PAC 10 power and a home and road conference test, the Eagles should have a pretty good sense of their strengths and weaknesses by the time they arrive in Pocatello for an Oct. 3 contest.

Those strengths should include a terrific passing game with Nichols at the helm, and four of the best receivers in the conference: Aaron Boyce, Brynsen Brown, Tony Davis and 6-foot-6 tight end Nathan Overbay, who looks ready to break out this season after catching six passes for 91 yards and a touchdown in Eastern's spring game. The Eagles also return most of their offensive line intact. The issue on that side of the football, then, is whether they can revive a running game that sputtered last season. If so, it will likely require better health for Tyler Hart and converted DB Taiwan Jones, both of whom had their freshmen seasons interrupted by injury last year.

Defensively, Eastern returns three outstanding linebackers in Makai Borden, JC Sherritt and Zach Johnson, an all-conference talent in safety Matt Johnson and a couple of run stuffers in tackles Renard Williams (6-2, 300) and Tyler Jolley (6-3, 275). They'll definitely miss Peach, and second-team all conference linemen Lance Witherspoon and Jason Belford. That great Eastern front four held opponents to just 2.8 yards per carry, and they averaged 3 sacks a game.


Idaho State has been fairly competitive against Eastern in recent years, compiling a 3-4 record over the last even contests, and taking a 31-31 tie into the fourth quarter before losing in Cheney, 45-31, last season. Like most of Eastern's early opponents, Idaho State took advantage of the Eagle secondary, with Russel Hill throwing for over 300 yards and three touchdowns and Jaron Taylor catching six passes for 112 yards and two TDS.

But then Eastern turned up the defensive pressure in the final period and sacked Hill five times in the game. The Eagles also shut down the Idaho State running attack, putting Hill and the offense in second and third and long situations most of the final period. Defensively, Idaho State never laid a glove on Nichols. Not surprisingly, I expect ISU's ability to generate some kind of rushing attack and to create a pass rush to be keys in this year's game -- and to be open questions for most of the season.

This year, the Bengals will be looking at the Eastern game as the chance to build some momentum. They will be playing their second straight home game after that brutal three-game road trip to start the season, and they hope to be coming off a win over Division II Central Washington -- although that is certainly no given. But if there is a window of opportunity in Idaho State's early season schedule, this is it.

--Brad B.

And thanks for being a Bengal fan -- it ain't always easy, but it's always fun.

Critical Period for ISU Basketball Begins

Idaho State will turn over more than half its men's basketball roster next year, and the grunt work for finding new players kicked into high gear this week, with the beginning of the first July "evaluation period. " That's NCAA speak for the period of July 6-15, when coaches can watch potential recruits at the various AAU tournaments scattered across the country.

Idaho State head coach Joe O'Brien (above) and his two assistants, Tim Walsh and Geoff Alexander, are heading off to places like Tulsa and Memphis to watch loose-knit collections of high school kids playing for AAU clubs under volunteer coaches with teammates they may have just met. It's a very difficult environment in which to evaluate how a 17-year-old's talents and temperment will translate to a much more structured and competitive team environment at the collegiate level. Nonetheless, the summer AAU tournaments have become much more important in the recruiting process over the years, and college coaches have no choice but to dive in and take part.

ISU coaches will also evalute players at events set up to showcase junior college players. Then, after a "dead period" from July 16-21, the three Bengal coaches will gather in Las Vegas and Southern California for more AAU action. Throughout the period, they will be comparing notes on players each has seen at their various stops, and making decisions about which potential recruits to focus on.

The Bengals have to be particularly precise in their evaluations this year, because they are looking to bring in as many as eight players and they are limited by NCAA regulations to just 13 on-campus visits. That means the coaches have to really hone in early on players they believe will fit ISU's needs -- and who are really serious about possibly committing to the Idaho State program. The critical on-campus visits can begin Sept. 5, with the early signing period running from Nov. 11 to Nov. 18.

O'Brien has said he hopes to fill about half of those open scholarships during the early signing period, and the other half in the spring. There also remains the possibility he will add another player for the upcoming season. He's still evaluating a couple of potential late recruits, but says he won't take another player just to add a body.

Rolando Little Update

Little, an athletic 6-9 forward who sat out last season as a walk-on at Idaho State, is still progressing toward getting eligible for next season. The Memphis native needs to complete two correspondence courses this summer in order to be eligible for next season, after passing an incredible academic load this past year. Because he walked on without scholarship aid, his family has had to pay a lot of money in out-of-state tuition during that time period.

Little, who has just one year of eligibility left, offers a skill set somewhat reminiscient of former Bengal Slim Millien: he is a big time leaper who can rebound and block shots. He probably doesn't offer the same offensive capabilities as Slim, who was a consistent double-figure scorer. In his last year in junior college, Little averaged about 18 minutes a game, made 65 percent of his field goals, 48 percent of his free throws and attempted only one three-pointer, which he missed. He grabbed five rebounds a game, blocked 36 shots and averaged 7.3 points per game. His assist-to-turnover ratio was a none-too-shiny 12 to 36.

So Little would be a decidely mixed bag if he succeeds in getting eligible, but he definitely offers an athleticism that will be exciting for Bengal fans. What remains to be seen is if he's more disciplined defensively than Slim was. ISU fans will recall the pained look on former Bengal coach Doug Oliver's face brought about by Millien's occasional "matador" approach on the defensive end of the floor.

Speaking of Recruiting

Eastern Washington recently announced the addition of five new men's basketball recruits -- which is noteworthy only because they had already announced the signing of four new players earlier -- but only one of those four managed to get academically eligible. Most Big Sky programs have to take occasional chances on players with risky academic profiles, but losing three-fourths of your commitments indicates EWU's Kirk Earlywine may be in desperation mode.

Congrats to Former Bengal Wrestler

Four-time Big Sky champion John Berry recently earned a spot in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame after receiving the Lifetime Service Award from the Idaho Chapter. Berry coached Idaho high school wrestling for 33 years, including 30 at Sugar-Salem, where he won 10 state championships. Berry, who grew up in Driggs, wrestled at Idaho State from 1969 to 1973, and was elected to the Idaho State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984.

If I ever win the Powerball drawing, I'm going to give Idaho State a million bucks to restart its wrestling program. You could easily fill a roster with outstanding Idaho high school wrestlers and be immediately competitive with the few western schools that are still sponsoring the sport. I understand and appreciate what Title IX has done for the growth of women's athletics at Idaho State and around the country, but one of the true tragedies has been its impact on collegiate wrestling programs.

--Brad B.

And thanks for being a Bengal fan -- it ain't always easy, but it's always fun.

Why Baseball Absolutely Rocks

Most folks around here know that I'm a pretty big baseball geek...I subscribe here for goodness sake, and I went highbrow with the HD package (it's a great way to work....a little day baseball love in the office is always fun). Anyways, what I love about baseball is the fact that you can see things that just boggle the mind. I mean this is a sport where the Philadelphia Phillies won the 2009 World Series on October 29, but officially, they won it on October 27 because that's when the game started and was suspended due to rain.

So I present to you the Washington Nationals, who have had some slight problems this year, and that doesn't count how bad they play. They apparently don't have a good seamstress, a good spellchecker or two even, and they can't even tell which way is up, whether it be a letter (upside down N), or a number (upside-down 8, note the beveling). Usually by the way, it's a 9 flipped to a 6 or vice-versa, so credit the Nats with a bonus of goofing up the 8.

Anyways, ,why I love baseball. On May 5, the Houston Astros visited the Washington Nationals, and in the game was tied at 10 after 10 innings. Washington's Joel Hanrahan got Houston out in the top of the 11th, and in the bottom half, Houston's LaTroy Hawkins got an out before Elijah Dukes walked. Then the rains came....and came, and came, and never stopped. So they suspended the game, but since Houston doesn't visit Washington anymore, it was decided they will finish the game in Houston on July 9.

Here is where the fun starts. They resumed the game yesterday in Houston, but Washington traded Joel Hanrahan (and Lastings Milledge) to Pittsburgh for Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett. And what of Elijah Dukes, who was at first base when the game was suspended? Well....Mr. Dukes is currently in Syracuse in Triple-A. So, when play resumed yesterday, Morgan, who was in Pittsburgh and went 1-for-5 against Milwaukee on May 5, pinch ran at first base, thereby getting credited with playing for two different teams in two different cities in the same day, ala Joel Youngblood back in 1982, who actually did play in two games in two different cities for two different teams in the same day.

Anyways, Morgan ended up scoring in the 11th of the resumed game, finishing that in just seven minutes. The winning pitcher was Joel Hanrahan, who at the time he got the win, was taking a nap.....as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates...in a hotel.....in Philadelphia. Hanrahan's Pirates you see didn't play yesterday, and he was tired from the travel to Philly, so he was napping when he got the win, and didn't find out about it until some of his ex-National teammates texted him afterwards.

To sum up: the Nationals defeated Astros in a game started in Washington, ended in Houston, with the winning run scored by someone who started the game for Pittsburgh, and was won by someone sleeping in Philadelphia. Of course, it's justice for the Nationals, who started the week by losing 5-4 to the Colorado Rockies, allowing Rockies pitcher Alan Embree to earn the win without ever throwing a pitch, and no, I didn't make that up.

All of this to say, ladies and gentlemen, your 2009 Washington Nationals! To think, we aren't at the all-star break yet.

Here is the box score for all that wackiness.

Speaking of baseball
My Marlins woke up just in time to take down Arizona.

Almost as good as Ivory Soap.
Ivory soap is boasted as being 99 44/100% pure. That's almost the season ticket retention rate at Oklahoma. At least it will have cooled down by then in that state....geez....115 degrees? Seriously....

Kudos
For those paying attention, Brad Bugger's series on ISU's football opponents are must reads...great stuff.exactly the type of stuff that can't really go on ISU's official website, but is perfect for the blog. Well, well, well done Bradley!

News coming down the pike
I'm going camping next week (and looking forward to no computer doncha know), so I won't be around. However, once I get back, it should be very fun with some good announcements, probably starting the Monday I get back, and of the two, one is a direct boon to a major sport, and one is a direct boon to you the fans. I'm giddy....more around the week of July 20th or so. Sorry I can't say more yet.