It is time to look ahead to talk about next year. Why not start with National Champion Eastern Washington Eagles.
They get back Bo Levi Mitchell for his senior season. That is good news. The nations leading rusher, Taiwan Jones, is also coming back. Add in the good play of true freshman Mario Brown and you are in good shape rushing although they will lose some O-Line the couple of Juniors on that line will have to help bring the new starters along. Leading receiver Brandon Kaufmann is on his way back for a couple of more years. Kaufmann really impressed in the championship game and 15 TD's cannot be dismissed. They do lose Ashton Gant, but Edwards and Herd ought to be able to fill his void without too much damage. Eastern Washington has everything on offense to think they will be a power next year as well. Jones and Kaufmann particularly look great and Bo Mitchell is now a champion, so it will be a fun time in the Big Sky.
The problem is on defense. Defensive player of the year JC Sherritt will be gone. That is an anchor on that defense, and his presence will not easily be replaced. The two other 100+ tackle guys Zack and Matt Johnson will be back for a senior year, and thus the defense is not completely gone. They are losing multiple starters in the Secondary, but they do appear to be ready with some guys that looked good in their time this year. Jeff Minnerly in particular will have to step in and play as he showed this year with 3 INTs. Jerry Ceja, who had 5 sacks, will have to replace Tyler Jolley's pass rush on the line. He will also have to step up the run defense to replace Jolley's ability.
Overall, the Eastern Washington Eagles look to be in a very nice position to repeat as champs of at least the Big Sky.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Eastern Washington is your Champion!
What a game. I hope everyone got to watch the only real national championship on December 7th. It was one whale of a game that saw Eastern Washington come from behind for the 6th time this season to eek out a win over Delaware.
Delaware dominated the first half shutting out Eastern Washington 12-0. A missed extra point was the problem for Delaware, but the defense was amazing. Andrew Pierce was gaining his normal 5 yards a carry, and Pat Devlin was finding receivers. Nihja White in particular looked pretty good.
Delaware came out of the locker room and hung another TD on Eastern Washington and this time they got the extra point, although it was ugly. 19-0, and it stayed that way for most of the 3rd Quarter. Somewhere the Blue Hens fell back into prevent mode and they stopped rushing. Often it seemed that they rushed only 3, and they got picked a part when that happened. Soon, it was 19-13, and the Blue Hens had the ball trying to run out the clock. A curious round of play calls. They passed on first down, and it was caught, but for short gain. Clock runs. They run the ball with Pierce, who gained 4 or so, but went out of bounds. They then threw the ball again and it was dropped by Mark Schenauer. It hit in the numbers and he had the first down. It was not a good game for Schenauer, who dropped several passes, but none more important than that one. In an attempt to run the clock out the Blue Hens threw twice and ran once when Pierce was not being stopped all game. I would have preferred to see him just run three times. They probably would have gotten a first down, and the clock would have kept going. In the end, that time cost them the game.
Bo Levi Mitchell had a so-so game. But when the pressure was taken off, he ate up the Delaware Defense. He was 29-43 overall with 3 TDs and 1 INT. Delaware's defense dominated this game, and that will be forgotten. Bo Levi Mitchell's Eastern Washington offense punted every possession of the first half, and they got only one first down after their first series. Total they got 42 yards offense in half number one. They came out in the second half and got a first down, but threw an interception on play 3. They then had a great field position after a Delaware INT, but a seven play 25 yard drive ended on a failed 4th down try. They got the ball back with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and the offense had done nothing. I really believe the decision to go conservative on the defensive play calling cost them the game. It allowed Bo Levi Mitchell to find a rhythm, and took their offense out of one.
The Eastern Washington Defense deserves some praise. They recovered after giving up a TD and two field goals on their first three times out on the field. The INT to open the 2nd half probably saved a TD as the Blue Hens were rolling and had already gone 41 yards in 4 plays. The Blue Hens had a few strange play calls and got a little tight, and Eastern Washington's defense did exactly what it had to do. A few huge 3 and outs kept the momentum and they won.
We do need to remember that Eastern Washington was minus their great running back, so this win was a huge upset. Congrats to them. Good game, good season, and I am already looking forward to next year.
Delaware dominated the first half shutting out Eastern Washington 12-0. A missed extra point was the problem for Delaware, but the defense was amazing. Andrew Pierce was gaining his normal 5 yards a carry, and Pat Devlin was finding receivers. Nihja White in particular looked pretty good.
Delaware came out of the locker room and hung another TD on Eastern Washington and this time they got the extra point, although it was ugly. 19-0, and it stayed that way for most of the 3rd Quarter. Somewhere the Blue Hens fell back into prevent mode and they stopped rushing. Often it seemed that they rushed only 3, and they got picked a part when that happened. Soon, it was 19-13, and the Blue Hens had the ball trying to run out the clock. A curious round of play calls. They passed on first down, and it was caught, but for short gain. Clock runs. They run the ball with Pierce, who gained 4 or so, but went out of bounds. They then threw the ball again and it was dropped by Mark Schenauer. It hit in the numbers and he had the first down. It was not a good game for Schenauer, who dropped several passes, but none more important than that one. In an attempt to run the clock out the Blue Hens threw twice and ran once when Pierce was not being stopped all game. I would have preferred to see him just run three times. They probably would have gotten a first down, and the clock would have kept going. In the end, that time cost them the game.
Bo Levi Mitchell had a so-so game. But when the pressure was taken off, he ate up the Delaware Defense. He was 29-43 overall with 3 TDs and 1 INT. Delaware's defense dominated this game, and that will be forgotten. Bo Levi Mitchell's Eastern Washington offense punted every possession of the first half, and they got only one first down after their first series. Total they got 42 yards offense in half number one. They came out in the second half and got a first down, but threw an interception on play 3. They then had a great field position after a Delaware INT, but a seven play 25 yard drive ended on a failed 4th down try. They got the ball back with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and the offense had done nothing. I really believe the decision to go conservative on the defensive play calling cost them the game. It allowed Bo Levi Mitchell to find a rhythm, and took their offense out of one.
The Eastern Washington Defense deserves some praise. They recovered after giving up a TD and two field goals on their first three times out on the field. The INT to open the 2nd half probably saved a TD as the Blue Hens were rolling and had already gone 41 yards in 4 plays. The Blue Hens had a few strange play calls and got a little tight, and Eastern Washington's defense did exactly what it had to do. A few huge 3 and outs kept the momentum and they won.
We do need to remember that Eastern Washington was minus their great running back, so this win was a huge upset. Congrats to them. Good game, good season, and I am already looking forward to next year.
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