NDSU vs E. Washington - in Frisco

[EC8CH]

From twitter. Sad...

Eag Nation, we’ve got a limited number of @NCAA_FCS Championship Tickets on sale now exclusively at GoEags.com/Frisco

Limits to only 99, but it let me put that many in my cart.

[StL Bison Fan]

EWU has been very generous with their allotment to NDSU and fans. Even today were still answering phone calls and making accomodations. Seriously. Heard nothing but positive feedback about their ticket office staff too (as long as tickets show up in Frisco - or that would be one of the ultimate troll jobs ever). Didn’t gouge, judge or deny anyone (looking at you SDSU). Honestly, props to them.

I have heard only positive things.
It’s a shame that they didn’t sell more to their fans. It’s more fun

[Christopher Moen]

I recently watched all of EWU's playoff games along with their regular season game against Weber State. Clearly, the only team they resemble that NDSU has played before is SDSU, and not to be mean, they are not a better version of the Jackrabbits. If the Eagles have any advantages over the Jackrabbits, it is that their QB is more mobile and "maybe" a better overall receiving corp.

If anything, I still feel they play too much playground/sandlot football on offense while their defense is only slightly improved since last year. In the playoffs, they have been extremely opportunistic. They have scored 35 points off of 10 turnovers and one blocked field goal (they also gave up 14 points on four turnovers). The points off of turnovers were only scored against Nicholls State and Maine.

Their QB is gamer, but is his best when scrambling. I notice he will stare down an oncoming opponent for a second and spin off his back right foot and take off for a large gain while making the defender look silly. I suggest any defender to either dive right to catch him mid spin or just try to run to him and hold on till back up shows up. His pocket awareness since the Weber State game has improved tremendously. In regards to throwing, he's pretty accurate throwing to his left and over the middle. Throwing to his right is mostly accurate when he's on the move. If he throws right flat-footed, the deeper passes sail high while the short passes to the flats are close to the ground. Also, I notice he likes to get the ball snapped quickly. The play-clock is usually around the 18 to 21 second mark when the ball is snapped.

Their main RB reminds me a lot of UNI's Weymiller in that he's not overly athletic or quick, but runs with a lot of power and determination. I expect the Bison DL and LBs to shut the Eagles run-game down quickly.

The receivers are fast, but nothing special that NDSU hasn't seen this season. Like the 2016 game, expect them to run around when Barriere is in trouble and scrambling around. The NDSU DBs and Safeties will have their hands full with them all game. This match-up will determine whether EWU can keep up with NDSU's offense.

Speaking of NDSU's offense, the EWU DC must be having a hard time sleeping. The Eagles' defense isn't terrible, but it's far from great and is extremely weak in areas that NDSU is strong on offense. In the first two playoff games against Nicholls State and UC Davis, their DL barely stopped an A-Gap run. I'm not sure why Maine didn't try running the ball up the middle, especially early in the game when they were in it still (then again, they looked flat and ill-prepared the whole game), but I'm guessing it would helped. As far as stopping the run, EWU is good at shutting down anything on the perimeter/outside. My guess, not a whole lot of jet sweeps, but tons of power. I expect at least 300 yards on the ground, probably closer to 400.

In regards to EWU's defensive backfield, Darrius Shepherd is going to have fun running slants and posts as they are weak stopping passes over the middle. Like their run-defense, they're strong protecting the outside.

Overall, I expect NDSU to win big, but everything depends on how disciplined and focused the Bison are to break a hungry team.

[bajadanny]

Good report, thanks man

[scottietohottie]

I hope our p5 coaching staff and future NFL players take the gloves off and open it up a little bit. For old times sake. One last final last FCS beat down.

[GreenfieldBison]

early in the game he had his bones rattled by J Cox that may have tempered his ambition about running with the ball

I’m hoping Barriere will react similarly.

[NDSU92]

I’m hoping Barriere will react similarly.

Like they say, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth

[Vet70]

Their QB is gamer, but is his best when scrambling. I notice he will stare down an oncoming opponent for a second and spin off his back right foot and take off for a large gain while making the defender look silly.

Two words: Mr. Jabril Cox.

[Hammerhead]

It let me put up to 391 in my cart. Any higher amount said the request exceeded the amount of available tickets.

[KilldeerBison]

Haven't watched many EWU games. Based on what other teams have tried this season, thinking they'll try a play action deep ball early.