E Wash. to play Portland St. in Seattle
SEATTLE (AP) - Not only is Eastern Washington set to face Portland State this weekend at Qwest Field, home of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, the Eagles have a new incentive in their football season.
Postseason play is once again a possibility for them.
The Eagles (5-3, 4-2 Big Sky) face the Portland State Vikings (1-4, 2-6 Big Sky) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Eastern Washington had been banned by the NCAA from postseason eligibility after a slew of secondary rules infractions over the course of four seasons led to a major infractions case under previous head coach Paul Wulff, who is now the head coach at Washington State. The NCAA ruled in February that Eastern would be ineligible to play in the postseason in 2009 and put the school on probation for three seasons. However, the school appealed the ban and had the decision overturned on Oct. 27.
"What it does do is give you that hope that every team has at the start of the year and at this point in the year some teams still have," head coach Beau Baldwin said. "For us, we never really knew what was going on. Now at least you have a little bit of that carrot dangling there that if you do things right, take care of business, you have a shot at it."
Baldwin is in his second season as head coach of the Eagles. He was previously the offensive coordinator from 2003 to 2006 before leaving to take the head coaching position at Division II Central Washington. Baldwin attended Central Washington and played quarterback for the Wildcats, graduating in 1996.
In his only season with the Wildcats, he led them to an 8-2 record and a trip to the national quarterfinals before losing to Grand Valley State.
When Wulff left for Pullman, the opportunity arose for Baldwin to return to Cheney and it was a chance he couldn't pass up.
"I never thought about it, never expected it. Sometimes that's when things happen when you don't expect them to happen," Baldwin said.
Baldwin has coached at Qwest Field before and knows what a thrill it is to walk the same sidelines as Mike Holmgren and Jim Mora. Baldwin led Central Washington to a 24-7 victory over Western Washington in the stadium in 2007.
"It's going to be a blast," Baldwin said. "Obviously, any time you can coach in an NFL stadium, a place like that, it's fun. I'm looking forward to it. I know our kids are really looking forward to it and a lot of these guys, they aren't in an NFL stadium very often, so it's pretty fun."
Eastern Washington has struggled against Portland State, losing its last three games against the Vikings. Last season, Portland State quarterback Drew Hubel passed for 623 yards and five touchdowns in a 47-36 victory over the Eagles. Hubel hasn't played in two games, however, with a subluxation of his left knee cap that has left him questionable for this week's game.
The Eagles will likely have to win all four of their remaining games, starting with Portland State, to have a chance of being selected to the postseason, but at least the opportunity is there.
Postseason play is once again a possibility for them.
The Eagles (5-3, 4-2 Big Sky) face the Portland State Vikings (1-4, 2-6 Big Sky) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Eastern Washington had been banned by the NCAA from postseason eligibility after a slew of secondary rules infractions over the course of four seasons led to a major infractions case under previous head coach Paul Wulff, who is now the head coach at Washington State. The NCAA ruled in February that Eastern would be ineligible to play in the postseason in 2009 and put the school on probation for three seasons. However, the school appealed the ban and had the decision overturned on Oct. 27.
"What it does do is give you that hope that every team has at the start of the year and at this point in the year some teams still have," head coach Beau Baldwin said. "For us, we never really knew what was going on. Now at least you have a little bit of that carrot dangling there that if you do things right, take care of business, you have a shot at it."
Baldwin is in his second season as head coach of the Eagles. He was previously the offensive coordinator from 2003 to 2006 before leaving to take the head coaching position at Division II Central Washington. Baldwin attended Central Washington and played quarterback for the Wildcats, graduating in 1996.
In his only season with the Wildcats, he led them to an 8-2 record and a trip to the national quarterfinals before losing to Grand Valley State.
When Wulff left for Pullman, the opportunity arose for Baldwin to return to Cheney and it was a chance he couldn't pass up.
"I never thought about it, never expected it. Sometimes that's when things happen when you don't expect them to happen," Baldwin said.
Baldwin has coached at Qwest Field before and knows what a thrill it is to walk the same sidelines as Mike Holmgren and Jim Mora. Baldwin led Central Washington to a 24-7 victory over Western Washington in the stadium in 2007.
"It's going to be a blast," Baldwin said. "Obviously, any time you can coach in an NFL stadium, a place like that, it's fun. I'm looking forward to it. I know our kids are really looking forward to it and a lot of these guys, they aren't in an NFL stadium very often, so it's pretty fun."
Eastern Washington has struggled against Portland State, losing its last three games against the Vikings. Last season, Portland State quarterback Drew Hubel passed for 623 yards and five touchdowns in a 47-36 victory over the Eagles. Hubel hasn't played in two games, however, with a subluxation of his left knee cap that has left him questionable for this week's game.
The Eagles will likely have to win all four of their remaining games, starting with Portland State, to have a chance of being selected to the postseason, but at least the opportunity is there.