Northwest Notes October 12, 2010

WAC honors players of week

DENVER - Nevada running back Vai Taua, New Mexico State defensive end Donte Savage and New Mexico State placekicker Tyler Stampler were named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference offensive, defensive and special teams players of the week, respectively.

Taua, a senior from Lompoc, Calif. (Cabrillo HS), rushed for 196 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries in a 35-13 win over San Jose State. He scored his first touchdown on a one-yard run in the second quarter to give Nevada a 21-10 lead. He then ripped off a 73-yard run in the third and added a four-yard scoring run to close out the scoring in the fourth. It was his fifth straight game of rushing for at least 100 yards and the 22nd in his career. He also caught two passes for 18 yards in the game.

Savage, a junior from Portland, Ore. (Fork Union Prep), led New Mexico State with nine tackles, including four for a loss of 33 yards (2 sacks), forced two fumbles and broke up two passes in a 16-14 win over rival New Mexico. His second forced fumble came late in the game with New Mexico holding a 14-13 lead and was recovered by the Aggies leading to the eventual game-winning field goal.

Stampler, a sophomore from Davie, Fla. (Ventura College), hit three field goals in the win over New Mexico that snapped an 11-game losing streak for the Aggies. He made a 39- and 34-yarder in the first quarter and then hit the game-winner with 1:56 left from 22 yards out to become the first New Mexico State kicker to make three field goals in a game since Nov. 6, 2004.

Eastern ranked 12th in FCS poll

The Eastern Washington Eagles are coming off a 21-14 Big Sky Conference victory over Northern Arizona, giving them a 4-2 record overall and 3-1 league mark. The Eagles are ranked 12th in this week's Sports Network/Fathead.com top 25 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision poll, up one spot from last week.

Having already played the top four picks in the league's preseason predictions besides itself, all six of EWU's opponents thus far have been nationally ranked in their respective divisions. But last week's narrow loss showed that the Eagles still have a ways to go to become a contender for the Big Sky title and for the school's fifth berth in the FCS Playoffs in the seven seasons.

"We have to clean some things up," said Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin, whose team had five turnovers against NAU. "There are a lot of little things we have to improve if we want to make a run to the championship."

Northern Colorado is coming off a 42-7 loss at Sacramento State, and has been out-scored 117-21 in its last three outings, including games against nationally-ranked juggernauts Michigan State (45-7) and Montana (30-7). The Bears are 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the league, and won their first two home games of the season versus Adams State (54-0) and Idaho State (35-21), and suffered a four-overtime loss on the road at Weber State (50-47).

"This conference - top to bottom - has gotten so much stronger that anyone can beat anyone on any given day," said Baldwin, whose team knocked off UNC 16-0 in Cheney last season. "I know that is cliche to say, but it's the truth. You have to look no further than Northern Colorado's game against Weber State a few weeks back. And you can look at our game against them last year - it was a defensive battle and we had to scrap our way to a win. They are a tough opponent for us to play and it's a tough road trip, so it will take us playing well to win."

Again, Baldwin is most concerned with his team's own production rather than the opponent. The Eagles have been out-gained in most statistical categories, including total offense (419.2 per game to 407.8) and scoring (29.3 to 26.3), and are averaging three turnovers per game.