SPOKANE, Wash. — We have reached the midway point of the college football season.
Teams' postseason aspirations are starting to take shape while others look to turn things around and get back in postseason talk.
Both Washington State and Idaho are on the road this weekend as underdogs and Eastern Washington looks to bounce back from its 1-4 start to the season.
Here is a preview on all three programs games this Saturday.
Washington State
Perhaps what hurts more than the loss was losing two key players for the foreseeable future in redshirt junior running back Nakia Watson, who sustained an unspecified lower-body injury and redshirt senior wide receiver Renard Bell, who left the game with his arm in a sling.
"We're gonna be without Renard and Nakia for some time," said WSU head coach Jake Dickert. "Both guys will return at some point, but it won't be until a little bit later."
Poor timing for a Cougs team set to face a fellow 4-2 squad in Oregon State on the road where WSU is a 3.5 point underdog.
Oregon State's offense is built around the run game, the Beavers have averaged 181 yards on the ground per game. For WSU, this week is all about winning in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
"Who's going to win the line of scrimmage, number one, first and foremost and I think that's what they hang their hat on and we need to make sure we're proud about that too. I think it's on both sides of the ball. I don't say that just from a defensive to offensive perspective," said Dickert. "When we sit here next week or whenever we get back together, whoever wins that line of scrimmage will have a big advantage to winning this football game."
Washington State at Oregon State will kickoff at 6 p.m. on Saturday and can be watched on the Pac-12 Network.
Idaho
The Idaho Vandals will head out to Missoula to face the Montana Grizzlies in an old rivalry matchup. The Vandals haven't won in this rivalry since way back in 1999.
"Rivalries are not rivalries when one team always wins," said Idaho head coach Jason Eck at this week's press conference ahead of the matchup.
Vandals everywhere are hoping the new Eck era can change that.
Montana is arguably the best team in the FCS. The Griz can do it all. Which is why they are ranked 3rd in the country.
The Vandals' plan this week? Keep the ball out of Montana's hands.
"We have to find a way to run the ball and to maintain possession. They like to run the ball as well, so I think that will be a big challenge in this game. They only give up about 2.2 yards per rush which is outstanding. If they win the rushing battle and run for a lot more yards than we do, it will be tough to win this game," Eck said.
Idaho at Montana will kickoff at noon on Saturday. The matchup will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington is 1-4 thus far this season. Can you believe that!?
To be fair, that's in large part due to the gauntlet of a schedule the Eags have played.
This week, it doesn't get any easier. EWU is welcoming No. 5 Sacramento State on the red of Roos Field.
The Hornets have averaged 47 points per game this season. This matchup will likely be an offensive shootout, one the Eagles are hoping to jump out to an early lead.
"I read somewhere that they're the only FBS or FCS team that has not been behind the entire season, that's 150-250 plus teams and they haven't trailed from behind," said Eastern Washington head coach Aaron Best. "So, let's get up 3-0 and see how they play! When you haven't done something, it's kinda nice to see how someone reacts to something."
Eastern Washington hosting Sacramento State will kickoff at 4 p.m. at Roos Field. The game can be watched on ESPN+.
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