FCS Roundtable: What’s Plaguing Eastern Washington?

Eastern Washington’s offense was grounded in a 17-14 loss at Montana. While the Grizzlies are seemingly back to their old form, the reigning Championship Subdivision champion is 0-3. EWU’s postseason fate is on thin ice, needing at least a 7-1 finish just to make the Playoffs. The Eagles’ struggles are among the topics of the FCS Rountable.

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Russell Varner, SouthernPigskin.com

My week three highlights include Chattanooga going into Eastern Kentucky and dominating the second half on the road, solidifying themselves as one of the better teams in the nation in my opinion and the game Elon wide receiver Aaron Mellette had. In case you haven’t heard, Mellette finished his game against NC Central with 16 catches for a career-high 237 yards – the most by an Elon receiver since the program moved up to Division I play in 1999 – and a touchdown.

It’s hard to say it’s not a surprise that Eastern Washington started the year 0-3. Yes, they have played every game on the road and have played some good competition in Washington and Montana, but the team does return a majority of their key players from last year’s squad if my memory serves me correctly and the loss at South Dakota was a real shocker to say the least. It doesn’t get much easier for the Eagles, either, as they host Montana St. and Weber St. in the next two weeks.

That being said, the Eagles can absolutely rebound and make the playoffs, but they will have to win Saturday against Montana St. Getting that win would be huge for the team’s confidence and their playoff resume. A loss and they will be even deeper in the hole.

Maybe it’s just me, but the SoCon season, to this part, has gone about how I expected it to. But, if I had to pick one pleasant and one disappointing surprise, it would be the following:

Surprising – Western Carolina’s offense
For a team that has struggled to score for the most part over the past few seasons, it seems they have finally found something that works for them in the new pistol offense with quarterback Brandon Pechloff. This year, they are tops in the conference in total yards and third in scoring offense and have put up good numbers in every game, including against Georgia Tech – 21 points and 300+ yards, respectable numbers against a FBS team.

Disappointing – App’s news of looking to move up

Anyone could see it coming from a mile away and I have gone on record as saying it is the right move for Appalachian State, but it still is sad to think that the Mountaineers could leave the SoCon in the near future. App has done so much for not just the conference, but the FCS in general with their victory over Michigan, arguably the greatest upset in college sports history. There is nothing like seeing a game on at the Rock, one of the most unique and electric atmospheres in the nation.

I was fortunate enough to go late in the season a few years ago, when it snowed in Boone, and I remember thinking to myself, ‘This just seems right.’ Will the conference be alright without the Mountaineers? Yes, I do think so. Will they miss them? Absolutely.

Kyle Roth, Bison Illustrated and Bison Sports Blog

After a week off, plenty of very exciting developments in the FCS world. Week 3 was highlighted by a pair of games, in my mind – firstly, a very sloppy victory for Montana over defending champion Eastern Washington, and a shellacking of Western Kentucky by Indiana State. Regarding the latter, this is a team that broke the initial contract between these two schools to schedule a cupcake in the hopes of breaking a then-insurmountable losing streak that ended up at over thirty games, and just half a decade later we’re talking about a thirty-point victory over an FBS school.

Granted, the Hilltoppers certainly haven’t lived up to expectations as they’ve been the doormant of a bad Sun Belt since moving up, but you can’t undervalue the advantage 22 extra scholarships provides to a team. This is a victory that really shows how dangerous Indiana State can be, and that they did it with the dual attack of Shakir Bell on the ground and my man Ronnie Fouch through the air speaks volumes about what this team can do. Don’t be surprised in the least if the Sycamores finish in the top 3 of the Missouri Valley; Head Coach Trent Miles is building this team into something competitive, and if you’re a fan of a Valley school, something almost scary.

Week 4 has a shopping list of top-ballot games to keep an eye on, particularly between ranked FCS teams; Old Dominion at Delaware, Liberty at Lehigh, Youngstown State at Indiana State, New Hampshire at Richmond, Chattanooga at Appalachian State, James Madison at William & Mary, and Montana at (a rapidly falling) Sacramento State all have the potential to be some very exciting matchups and should shake the rankings down a bit, giving us a much clearer view of just who some of the top teams in the subdivision really are.

The early stumble by Eastern Washington is something of a surprise, but I think it speaks more of the ability that former RB Taiwon Jones brought to the team. The fact that QB Bo Levi Mitchell has thrown the ball a staggering 178 times in three games has to be a disturbing statistic for Eagles fans, and adhering to that formula without the benefit of a productive running game isn’t a good gameplan if their sole remaining option is to win the conference if they expect a return to the playoffs. That they’ve averaged just under 60 yards on the ground per game is a mind-bending statistic, but the ramp-up in production to 139 yards against Montana has to be a glimmer of hope in the eyes of program supporters. Still, it’s difficult to place Eastern Washington in a playoff picture already down a game to Montana.

Finally, I have to give my compliments to the Youngstown State program in their victory over Illinois State. I’d tentatively penciled the Redbirds in as a top-3 offense in the MVFC, but they’ve yet to have a defense to really complement that. That Youngstown was able to secure a win in Ohio goes to show that their influx of almost fifty new players to the program this season is paying early dividends, and while it still might take a while for that volume of new faces to really gel, you have to love an offensive backfield that contains Kurt Hess (who threw for 293 and 4 TDs on Saturday), Jermaine Cook and Adaris Bellamy.

Also, I have to give a lot of respect to Murray State QB who broke three of his own records this weekend with a 45/67 passing effort that garnered a staggering 600 yards and 6 TDs in a 58-27 win over Tennessee Tech. Those numbers are absolutely mind-blowing and shows that Murray State might be the single most underrated program in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Ben Moore, PantherTalk.com & SBNation Atlanta

-Indiana State throttling Western Kentucky on the road. The Sun Belt had a good two week stretch when Florida International dropped Louisville and UCF in consecutive weeks. The Fightin’ Larry Birds went into Bowling Green and ripped WKU 44-16. Unreal.

-Old Dominion – I got to see the Monarchs up close and personal dismantle my Georgia State Panthers at the Georgia Dome. They hosted and beat a decent Hampton team to start 3-0 vs. FCS teams. We will learn just how far they’ve come when they face #7 ranked Delaware on the road this Saturday.

-Chattanooga’s win on the road vs. Eastern Kentucky. The Mocs could have gotten fat and happy after they dismantled Jacksonville State at home but they shut down EKU in the second half to seal the win.

What I’m watching in Week 4:

-South Alabama vs. Kent State – Could it be another Indiana State vs. Western Kentucky scenario? South Alabama proved some things to me in their 35-13 loss at NC State last Saturday.

-Appalachian State hosting Chattanooga. This should be a very entertaining ball game and one that could shape both teams’ Playoff race.

Regarding EWU’s 0-3 start, I’m truly suprised by both Eastern Washington and Villanova starting the season 0-3. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Both may have to win out to make the Playoffs. Both teams have been tremendous disappointments through the first quarter of the 2011 season.

Joe Suhoski, VBR Productions

The star of the weekend in the CAA is Jonathan Hernandez of UMass. The senior running back had more than 200 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the Minutemen’s 36-27 victory over Rhode Island. In only two games he’s gained 379 yards from scrimmage through two games (Week Two was a bye for UMass). Conversely, CAA Preseason Co-Offensive POY Jonathan Grimes has 235 yards from scrimmage in three games, though he’s added 143 yards on seven kickoff returns. Hernandez has carried Massachusetts on his back with the lack of experienced quarterbacks this season.

The highlight of Week Three had to be James Madison’s thrilling victory over Liberty. Dukes’ kicker Cameron Starke kicked a 40-yard field goal as time expired to give JMU a 27-24 victory over the Flames. Liberty has an explosive offense with stars at all skill-positions, so for James Madison to get a victory on the road against a quality non-conference foe will help them for playoff positioning. As for Week Four, I am keeping my eye on the Big Sky. Eastern Washington, off to a surprising 0-3 start, hosts DeNarius McGhee and the Montana State Bobcats. The Eagles have lost their only conference game while this will be the Bobcats’ first; EWU will have no margin for error going forward if it is winless after four weeks.

While Eastern Washington is the most disappointing team in the first third of the season, the most pleasant surprise is Towson University. More than the 2-0 record, which already doubles their win total from last season, Coach Rob Ambrose has generated excitement on campus for the team. This week’s homecoming game against Colgate will be a barometer of whether this team is legitimate.