Northwest Notes August 11, 2014
Eastern Washington tabbed top team in Sports Network Poll
They'll have to prove it on the field, but for now, the Eastern Washington football team is No. 1 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.
The Eagles, led by a trio of national awards candidates, have been selected No. 1 by The Sports Network in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision preseason poll of sportswriters, broadcasters and sports information directors.
It is the fourth time in five seasons Eastern has earned a No. 1 ranking by The Sports Network.
Eastern finished the 2010 season No. 1, and as NCAA Division I champion. Eastern was also ranked No. 1 during the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
Three-time defending national champion North Dakota State was ranked No. 2, while four Eagle opponents this season are ranked in the Top 25. Sam Houston State, Eastern's season-opening opponent on Aug. 23, is ranked 17th.
A trio of Big Sky Conference foes are also ranked - Montana is No. 5, Montana State is 18th and Northern Arizona is 23rd. EWU's three playoff opponents from a year ago are also ranked in the Top 13 - Jacksonville State (No. 6), South Dakota State (No. 10), Towson (No. 13). Northern Iowa, a team Eastern will face in 2015 and 2016, is ranked ninth.
Junior quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. and sophomore wide receiver Cooper Kupp have been selected as preseason first team All-America selections, and both are candidates for the Walter Payton Award given to the top player in FCS. Senior linebacker Ronnie Hamlin is a second team preseason All-American and is on the watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award given to the top defensive player.
Also earning preseason All-America honors are senior running back Quincy Forte (third team) and junior offensive tackle Clay DeBord (third team).
Eastern, North Dakota State to play home-and-home series starting in 2016
The dream matchup that hasn't taken place the last three years will occur in 2016 and 2017.
Eastern Washington and North Dakota State - the only NCAA Football Championship Subdivision teams to win a national title since 2009 - will play a home-and-home series with each other starting in 2016, the two schools announced.
The Bison and Eagles will play each other in Fargo on Sept. 10, 2016, then play at "The Inferno" in Cheney on Sept. 16, 2017. Eastern won the 2010 title, including an overtime victory over the Bison in the quarterfinals, but North Dakota State has won every playoff game since en route to titles in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
"We are extremely excited to schedule a home and home with North Dakota State," Eastern Washington athletic director Bill Chaves said. "We have such tremendous respect for what the Bison have accomplished over the past several seasons. By playing a series like this, we hope that it can help to continue to elevate the FCS brand throughout the country."
North Dakota State's last playoff loss came in 2010 at the hands of the Eagles by a 38-31 score in overtime.
North Dakota State, a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, were a perfect 15-0 in 2013.