CHENEY, Wash. — The Eastern Washington Eagles are riding a new wave of confidence following a 35-28 upset victory over then No. 18 Sacramento State on the road this past Saturday.
"I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you it was special. Results in the world drive believability and to get the result that we got last week in a tough environment against a tough team, is really satisfying for those kids and those coaches who have put in the same work as the other team on the other side of the scoreboard," EWU head coach Aaron Best said.
The win marked Best's 50th as the head coach of the Eagles, but the road does not get any easier for EWU this week as the Eags face the daunting challenge of sixth-ranked UC Davis on Saturday.
"Boy, they have firepower on offense. (Quarterback Miles) Hastings is throwing the ball around the yard, Lan (Larison) we all know about, he is not getting as many touches out of the backfield as he was last year, they are getting the ball to him in different ways. They run plays faster than anybody in America at our level and they want it that way. They are a handful," Best said.
Despite the fearsome test looming, Coach Best and his team are confident in the latest results in the last two second halves the Eags have played.
"The last two halves of the last two games, we have played pretty good football. If we could put those together, we could have a lot of smiles throughout the course of the game," Best said.
"We had little flaws early on, but that is not the Eastern team that we know that we are, so setting it straight and getting another big win would show you who the true Eags are," EWU redshirt junior tight end Jett Carpenter said.
The Eags and Aggies will kick it off just after 4 p.m. on Saturday at Roos Field.