Eastern Washington has held a firm grip on the Big Sky it seems for almost the last half decade. The Eagles are one of the teams in the FCS that seem to always be a candidate for a deep run in the playoffs and they also breed quarterbacks for the bigger FBS schools such as Oregon the last few seasons. Now the Eagles have a potential threat to their seat atop the polls with NAU now starting to show signs that they could truly dominate the Big Sky Conference.
Cookus Returning to Form
Case Cookus did a fantastic job against New Mexico Highlands last week with a performance for the ages. With 296 yards and 7 touchdowns without a single interception shows the efficiency that earned him the claim of being last year’s best freshman player in the FCS. Combining all of his games together, Cookus has yet to turn the ball over with a pick and has a computed 191.2 passer rating that leads the FCS in that category. Against a fast EWU defense that efficiency will be tested as the Eagles will have a lot of making up to do after last season’s meeting. Cookus led the Lumberjacks to a 22 point victory on the Eagles on the road that ended up costing the Eagles their shot at the playoffs as they dropped the next two games after that. Look for the Eagles to try and get Cookus off of his game early to keep his surgeon like precision off the field as much as possible.
Cooper Kupp Still Uncertain
As of right now, Eastern Washington’s All-American wide receiver Cooper Kupp is considered a game-time decision with no true word on when the pass catcher is expected to return. Kupp took a nasty shoulder sprain two weeks ago and missed out on last week’s contest against Northern Iowa. If Kupp does miss out on this game, the Lumberjacks will have one less weapon to worry about when manning up on the defensive side of the ball. In the unlikely scenario that he does play however, one would have to wonder just how much of an effective target he would be. Kupp could be severely limited in his ability to play the ball on those tough catches that Eastern Washington likes to utilize his 6′ 2” frame on fade and deep routes. Each of the last two seasons, Kupp has brought in over 100 catches and was looking to do the same this year to continue the streak, but as of right now that goal seems to be leaning towards unlikely. The Eagles are a better team with him on the field, and are a team in trouble when he isn’t out there running routes.
New Face In The Backfield
Coach Jerome Souer started a freshman running back last week in Joe Logan and it looked like the best move of the week for NAU. Logan surprised a lot of people by running for 172 yards and two scores on only nine touches before being pulled from the game. If he can perform to even half that kind of a stat line, the Jacks would have another great weapon for the offense to utilize in the game plan. When you also think of the added depth behind Kendyl Taylor and Corbin Jountti, who ran for 97 and 49 yards respectively, the potential for a deep three headed attack in the backfield is high. The best way for the Lumberjacks to truly build on their conference schedule to get them back into the top ten of the polls would be to include that kind of explosive running game to the efficiency of the passing game. The talent level between New Mexico Highlands and Eastern Washington however is night and day. It will be a tough out for Logan to have even a fraction of the same success he had last week in this week’s contest.
The game will be played this Saturday at 4:00 PM from the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Arizona.