2018 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

2018 Eastern Washington Eagles football
2018 Eastern Washington Eagles football
Big Sky co-champion
NCAA Division I Championship Game, L 24–38 vs. North Dakota State
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 2
FCS Coaches	No. 2
Record	12–3 (7–1 Big Sky)
Head coach	Aaron Best (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Bodie Reeder (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Jeff Schmedding (4th season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Roos Field
	Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

Last updated December 24, 2025

2018 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 6 Weber State +^	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 2 Eastern Washington +^	7	–	1	12	–	3
No. 7 UC Davis +^	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 17 Montana State ^	5	–	3	8	–	5
Idaho State	5	–	3	6	–	5
Montana	4	–	4	6	–	5
Cal Poly	4	–	4	5	–	6
Northern Arizona	3	–	4	4	–	6
Portland State	3	–	5	4	–	7
Idaho	3	–	5	4	–	7
Northern Colorado	2	–	6	2	–	9
Southern Utah	1	–	7	1	–	10
Sacramento State	0	–	7	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Although North Dakota was classified as an independent, games against them still counted as Big Sky Conference games. Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2018 Eastern Washington Eagles football team represented Eastern Washington University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was coached by second year head coach Aaron Best. The Eagles played their home games at Roos Field in Cheney, Washington and were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 12–3, 7–1 in Big Sky play to finish in a three-way tie for the Big Sky championship with UC Davis and Weber State. They received an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs, where they defeated Nicholls, UC Davis, and Maine to advance to the National Championship Game, where they lost to North Dakota State.

Preseason

Polls

On July 16, 2018, during the Big Sky Kickoff in Spokane, Washington, the Eagles were predicted to win the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.^[1]

Preseason All-Conference Team

The Eagles had three players selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team.^[2]

Gage Gubrud – Sr. QB

Antoine Custer – Jr. RB

Jay-Tee Tiuli – Sr. DT

Award watch lists

Award	Player	Position	Year
Walter Payton Award ^[3]	Gage Gubrud	QB	SR

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	1:05 p.m.	Central Washington *	No. 9	Roos Field Cheney, WA	SWX	W 58–13	8,658
September 8	3:05 p.m.	at No. 18 Northern Arizona *	No. 6	Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	SWX	W 31–26	8,938
September 15	5:05 p.m.	at Washington State *	No. 6	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	P12N	L 24–59	32,952
September 22	1:05 p.m.	Cal Poly	No. 6	Roos Field Cheney, WA	SWX	W 70–17	9,156
September 29	1:05 p.m.	at Montana State	No. 5	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	RTNW	W 34–17	18,667
October 6	12:05 p.m.	Southern Utah	No. 5	Roos Field Cheney, WA	RTNW	W 55–17	8,887
October 13	3:05 p.m.	at No. 13 Weber State	No. 4	Stewart Stadium Ogden, Utah	ELVN	L 6–14	8,211
October 27	12:05 p.m.	Idaho	No. 5	Roos Field Cheney, WA	RTNW	W 38–14	10,023
November 3	11:05 a.m.	at Northern Colorado	No. 5	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	Pluto TV 241	W 48–13	3,274
November 10	1:05 p.m.	No. 4 UC Davis	No. 5	Roos Field Cheney, WA	SWX	W 59–20	8,789
November 16	7:05 p.m.	at Portland State	No. 4	Hillsboro Stadium Hillsboro, OR (The Dam Cup)	Pluto TV 232	W 74–23	4,205
December 1	2:00 p.m.	No. 14 Nicholls *	No. 4	Roos Field Cheney, WA (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN3	W 42–21	5,250
December 8	1:00 p.m.	No. 7 UC Davis*	No. 4	Roos Field Cheney, WA (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)	ESPN3	W 34–29	5,503
December 15	11:00 a.m.	No. 12 Maine *	No. 4	Roos Field Cheney, WA (NCAA Division I Semifinal)	ESPN2	W 50–19	7,529
January 5	9:00 a.m.	vs. No. 1 North Dakota State *	No. 4	Toyota Stadium Frisco, TX (NCAA Division I Championship Game)	ESPN2	L 24–38	17,802
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

^[4]

Despite also being a member of the Big Sky, the game vs. Northern Arizona was counted as a non-conference game and had no effect on the Big Sky standings.

Game summaries

Central Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	13	0	0	13
No. 9 Eagles	20	14	10	14	58

At Northern Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 Eagles	14	7	7	3	31
No. 18 Lumberjacks	0	10	3	13	26

At Washington State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 Eagles	0	10	14	0	24
Cougars	14	14	7	24	59

Cal Poly

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	3	7	7	0	17
No. 6 Eagles	14	21	14	21	70

At Montana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Eagles	14	10	3	7	34
Bobcats	10	0	0	7	17

Southern Utah

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thunderbirds	3	7	7	0	17
No. 5 Eagles	14	20	21	0	55

At Weber State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Eagles	0	3	3	0	6
No. 13 Wildcats	14	0	0	0	14

Idaho

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vandals	0	0	7	7	14
No. 5 Eagles	14	17	7	0	38

At Northern Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Eagles	13	7	14	14	48
Bears	0	0	13	0	13

UC Davis

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Aggies	10	7	3	0	20
No. 5 Eagles	7	14	14	24	59

At Portland State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Eagles	14	13	27	20	74
Vikings	0	14	7	2	23

FCS Playoffs

Nicholls–Second Round

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 14 Colonels	7	7	0	7	21
No. 4 Eagles	3	7	10	22	42

UC Davis–Quarterfinals

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 7 Aggies	0	14	7	8	29
No. 4 Eagles	7	7	0	20	34

Maine–Semifinals

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 12 Black Bears	0	0	19	0	19
No. 4 Eagles	21	7	15	7	50

North Dakota State–Championship

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Eagles	0	10	7	7	24
No. 1 Bison	10	7	14	7	38

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
**Legend:**██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS	9	6	6	6	5	5	4	9	5	5	5	4	4	2
Coaches	7	5	5	6–T	5	4–T	3	8	4	4	3	3	3	2

References

↑ "Eastern Washington Picked to Win the Big Sky".
↑ "Doss, Buss Headline Big Sky Football Preseason All-Conference Team".
↑ "FCS football: 2018 Walter Payton Award watch list". August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
↑ 2018 Football Schedule

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[1] "Eastern Washington Picked to Win the Big Sky".

[2] "Doss, Buss Headline Big Sky Football Preseason All-Conference Team".

[3] "FCS football: 2018 Walter Payton Award watch list". August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.

[4] 2018 Football Schedule

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Eastern Washington Eagles football
Venues	Roos Field (1967–present) Joe Albi Stadium (alternate)
Bowls & rivalries	Montana: EWU–UM Governors Cup Portland State: The Dam Cup
Culture & lore	Swoop The Inferno "Go, Eagles, Go"
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910–1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917–1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Big Sky Conference football champions
College Division / Division II	Idaho State (1963) Montana State (1964) Weber State & Idaho (1965) Montana State (1966) Montana State (1967) Idaho, Montana State, & Weber State (1968) Montana (1969) Montana (1970) Idaho (1971) Montana State (1972) Boise State (1973) Boise State (1974) Boise State (1975) Montana State (1976) Boise State (1977)
I-AA/FCS	Northern Arizona (1978) Montana State (1979) Boise State (1980) Idaho State (1981) Montana, Idaho, & Montana State (1982) Nevada (1983) Montana State (1984) Idaho (1985) Nevada (1986) Idaho (1987) Idaho (1988) Idaho (1989) Nevada (1990) Nevada (1991) Idaho & Eastern Washington (1992) Montana (1993) Boise State (1994) Montana (1995) Montana (1996) Eastern Washington (1997) Montana (1998) Montana (1999) Montana (2000) Montana (2001) Montana, Montana State, & Idaho State (2002) Montana State, Montana, & Northern Arizona (2003) Montana & Eastern Washington (2004) Eastern Washington, Montana State, & Montana (2005) Montana (2006) Montana (2007) Weber State & Montana (2008) Montana (2009) Montana State & Eastern Washington (2010) Montana State & Montana (2011) Eastern Washington, Montana State, & Cal Poly (2012) Eastern Washington (2013) Eastern Washington (2014) Southern Utah (2015) Eastern Washington & North Dakota (2016) Southern Utah & Weber State (2017) Eastern Washington, UC Davis, & Weber State (2018) Sacramento State & Weber State (2019) Weber State (2020) Sacramento State (2021) Montana State & Sacramento State (2022) Montana (2023) Montana State (2024) Montana State (2025)
National championships in bold