SPOKANE, Wash. — Week 11 of the college football season is here!
Washington State is looking to keep its bowl hopes alive, Idaho is looking to ensure a spot in the FCS playoffs and Eastern Washington hopes to pull-off an upset in one of the toughest places to play in the FCS.
Here is a preview on the three Inland Northwest programs games this Saturday.
Washington State
You're probably very happy if you're a WSU football fan after this past weekend's game. Washington State handing Stanford a dominant 52-14 loss.
The offense woke up in a big way after a couple of rough games. The big difference for the Cougs was the return of running back Nakia Watson.
Watson had been out with a lower body injury since the USC game at the start of October. He picked up right where he left off, Watson ran for 166 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries against Stanford.
Now, the Cougs are set to face 3-6 Arizona State who just gave up 402 yards on the ground to UCLA.
Perfect timing to have a healthy Watson back in the mix for this matchup and going forward.
"To have him back there just lifted the spirit and the mindset of everybody, coaches on down, and it didn't take long to feel his impact" said WSU head coach Jake Dickert. "I just think there's a different confidence when he's out there right now."
"I think you see on Saturday what the run does for you, it sets up everything," said Dickert. "I think Arizona State is a talented defense. I think it's rare for them to give up that type of yardage, but I think there are some opportunities that we need to take advantage of in the run game."
Watson and the Cougs will look to keep things going on Saturday hosting Arizona State with a 12:30 p.m. kickoff in Pullman. The game will be broadcasted on the Pac-12 Network.
Idaho
No. 15 Idaho is coming off a big 48-16 win over Eastern Washington clinching a winning season with the Vandals sitting at 6-3.
This week, a big matchup against 5-4 UC Davis. The Aggies are another Big Sky opponent fighting for a spot in the FCS Playoffs.
UC Davis has been on a hot streak winning its last 4 games and scoring over 40 points in all of those wins, just one of which the Aggies didn't score over 55.
The Aggies possess a high-powered offense, leading the Big Sky in passing yards with 2,732 and third in the conference in rushing yards with 1,742.
Head coach Jason Eck said in this week's weekly press conference that the key to slowing down the Aggies offense is slowing down the run.
"They throw it well, but I think their starting point is to try and run the ball and when they do that they have a lot of success," said Eck.
The Vandals goal all season has been making the FCS playoffs, with a win this weekend they all but guarantee that, but a win this weekend is anything but a guarantee.
"This is a big game because seven division I wins is kind of the criteria the selection committee looks at. So, getting to seven, I think is a big goal," said Eck.
"You know, they have a lot to play for," said Eck. "They're playing as good as anybody in the country right now."
Idaho hosts UC Davis this Saturday in the Kibbie Dome with kickoff set for 4 p.m. You can watch the game on ESPN+.
Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington is set to face yet another top ranked FCS opponent this weekend on the road at No. 16 Montana.
This matchup always means a lot to EWU, but this year it might mean a little extra as it offers the Eags a chance at revenge from last seasons loss to the Grizzlies in the FCS Playoffs 57-41.
"It'd probably, honestly, make the season so much better," said redshirt junior wide receiver Anthony Stell Jr. "Cause, yeah, they did put us out of the playoffs last year, but we've got the chance to knock them out of the playoffs this year."
"Tough place to play. They're playing for the playoffs, you know they've got two games left us and Montana State and they're not going to feel sorry for us," said head coach Aaron Best. "I could see them coming out and playing as well as they prepare and they will prepare to play for their playoff lives."
As always, the Grizz like to play physical including establishing the run. Montana has ran for 1,542 yards this season.
Eastern Washington will need a bounce back game from its defense which gave up 308 yards rushing in last week's 48-16 loss to Idaho.