Fresno State Football: First Look At The Eastern Washington Eagles

The Bulldogs will be well tested against a motivated Eastern Washington team. Here’s a first look at the Eagles.

Fresno State Football: First Look at the Eastern Washington Eagles

The Bulldogs will be well tested against a motivated Eastern Washington team. Here’s a first look at the Eagles.

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Both teams will have something to prove.

Fresno State Football: First Look at 2023 Non-conference Opponents

Purdue | Eastern Washington | Arizona State | Kent State

After hitting the road to open 2023, the Fresno State Bulldogs will open their home schedule when they host the Eastern Washington Eagles in Week 2. EWU didn’t live up to expectations last year but could remain a dangerous opponent if the Bulldogs are tempted to look ahead.

Location: Cheney, Washington

Conference: Big Sky

Series History: This will be the first meeting between Fresno State and Eastern Washington.

2022 Record: 3-8 (2-6 Big Sky)

Head Coach: Aaron Best (seventh year, 44-25 overall). The standard at EWU tends to be pretty high, so it may have come as a surprise when the Eagles fell from being a top-ten FCS squad in 2021 to its first losing season since 2006. A lot of that had to do with a defense which struggled often, giving up 52 points to Sacramento State and 63 to Montana, but it may not take much for them to re-establish themselves as a contender in the rough-and-tumble Big Sky.

Key Players

Efton Chism III, WR

A team that’s built its reputation on strong passing games has at least one reliable target in Chism III for 2023. He’s twice earned third-team all-conference recognition and racked up over 1,000 all-purpose yards in 2022. That included 607 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 62 receptions, so after seeing a team-high 82 targets last year, expect that he’ll be a focal point of the EWU offense.

Blake Gobel, TE

If Chism III is likely to be the primary target in the passing game, Gobel could be a very reliable #2 option. A veteran of 35 career games with the Eagles, he was named a preseason all-Big Sky selection earlier this month after a 2022 season in which he caught nine of 11 targets for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, he provides EWU with a big body who could make a difference between the hash marks.

Marlon Jones Jr., CB

Like Chism III, Jones Jr. was a third-team all-Big Sky pick in 2022 after making 52 total tackles, breaking up four passes, and sharing the team lead with three interceptions. That was enough for him to post an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 75.4, which is the best overall among all EWU defenders back for 2023.

Darrien Sampson, CB

One of the most experienced Eagles on the 2023 roster, Sampson has made 27 starts for EWU but had his 2022 campaign cut short by injury. Nonetheless, he managed to make 29 total tackles and make 1.5 tackles for loss and one interception in four games last year. If he can stay healthy, Sampson make a difference.

Brock Harrison, DE

Harrison is one of EWU’s top playmakers in the trenches, starting ten games last year and finishing 2022 with 32 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and two forced fumbles. If the Bulldogs offensive line is slow to come together, he could exploit that.

Overview:

Offense

The Eagles have long boasted of powerful offenses, so while it wasn’t quite elite in 2022, it also wasn’t much of a problem. Despite some quarterback turnover, EWU completed 63.3% of its 395 pass attempts as a team and managed a respectable 7.1 yards per attempt while throwing for 25 total touchdowns against a 2.3% interception rate.

Quarterback also happens to be one of the team’s biggest questions headed into 2023, though. Kekoa Visperas (65.9% completion rate, 322 yards, three touchdowns) spent most of last season as a backup but did get some starting experience late in the year and appears ready to take up the mantle full-time. The Eagles also added two juco signal-callers, Michael Wortham and Jared Taylor, should the need arise to open the competition.

The running game, meanwhile, wasn’t always an emphasis but the trio of Tuna Altahir, Justice Jackson, and Micah Smith acquitted themselves well, combining for 1,068 yards and seven touchdowns on 232 total carries. They’ll also benefit from an offensive line that returns four starters, including multi-year starting guard Wyatt Hansen.

The Eagles also bring back a number of pass catchers beyond Chism and Gobel who could be in line for increased production, like Nolan Ulm (29 catches, 396 yards, four touchdowns), Jakobie James (18-228-1), and Anthony Stell Jr. (14-163-1). If Visperas can find his stride early, many of these athletes could benefit from it.

Defense

If Eastern Washington really wants to turn things around, however, they simply must get better on defense. The Eagles coughed up 6.92 yards per play in 2022, second-most among all FCS teams, and a whopping 42.4 points per game despite finishing around the middle of the pack by some critical measures like third-down conversion rate allowed (39.9%, 61st) and red zone defense (79.7%, 43rd).

Improving a pass rush which had only 14 sacks in 11 games will help, but most of the challenge there will be replacing last year’s sack leader, Mitchell Johnson. Just two players, Harrison and Matthew Brown, return after posting at least two sacks last fall, so lots of new faces could get a crack at stepping up.

The better news is that five different linebackers who played at least 100 snaps also return, a group led by redshirt senior Jaren Banks (66 total tackles, four tackles for loss) and junior Derek Tommasini (64 tackles, 3.5 TFLs). Jones Jr. and Samspon provide a veteran cornerback tandem, but the Eagles might have two new starters at safety. Armani Orange and Kentrell Williams Jr. both saw plenty of spot duty in 2022, however, and might be the longer-term replacements out of the fall camp.

Early Prediction

EWU seems well-positioned to bounce back and be competitive in the Big Sky, but it doesn’t seem likely they’ll face another defense as primed for a big year as the one they’ll face in Fresno. Call this one a comfortable win without a ton of surprises against a solid FCS opponent.

Fresno State 42, Eastern Washington 17

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