CHENEY, Wash. — Following back to back wins over ranked opponents, the Eastern Washington football team has cracked the top 25 for the first time this year.
However, the schedule does not get easier as the Eags will welcome No. 4 Idaho to Roos Field on Saturday.
"Idaho has a scary ball club, a scary coaching staff. They do what they do and do it well and stick to what they intend to do and not get too far from it. I do not know what weaknesses they have on their team, this is a very tall task," EWU head coach Aaron Best said.
Saturday's game is already 90 percent sold out and it is a grand opportunity for Eastern to cement their return to prominence.
"Getting this win this week is big for us to show the world what we are capable of in beating a top five team. (It would show) that we are back from that 3-8 record last year," EWU senior wide receiver Anthony Stell Jr. said.
Despite obtaining a ranking, the Eags are not getting complacent and believe there is plenty more to improve on moving forward.
"So far, it has been a decent turnaround, but we are not satisfied with two wins, two wins is not the goal for anybody. I believe we are in a good spot with some momentum going and hopefully we can carry that into Saturday," EWU senior defensive back Marlon Jones Jr. said.
"I really will not be truly satisfied until we are ranked in the top two in January," Stell said.
"We are still loading and have a ton to clean up, but we are excited with where we are at right now," Best said.
After letting up 255 yards on the ground to Lan Larison last week, the Eags will face dual threat quarterback Gevani McCoy and preseason all-Big Sky running back Anthony Woods.
"It is back to back weeks with guys in the backfield who do not only run it, but get the ball in their hands in different ways whether it is screens or the Wildcat formation. He is preseason all conference for a reason. They have a dynamic quarterback who was the freshman of the year in the country last year and playmakers on both sides of the ball. They are playing and jelling together really well right now, so we need to mix it up," Best said.
"Just because we won with the effort we put in last week does not guarantee a win this week, so we are trying to all do a little bit more in our position groups this week to help us come away with a win on Saturday," Jones said.
The Eags and Vandals will kick it off at 1 p.m. on Saturday at what will surely be a sold out Roos Field with extra stands behind the end zone for the big game.
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