2023 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

2023 Eastern Washington Eagles football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	4–7 (3–5 Big Sky)
Head coach	Aaron Best (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jim Chapin (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Jeff Copp (2nd season)
Home stadium	Roos Field
Seasons ←  2022 2024  →

2023 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 2 Montana $^		7	–	1					13	–	2
No. 8 Idaho ^		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 9 Montana State ^		6	–	2					8	–	4
Northern Arizona		5	–	3					5	–	6
No. 24 UC Davis		5	–	3					7	–	4
No. 13 Sacramento State ^		4	–	4					8	–	5
Portland State		4	–	4					5	–	6
Weber State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Eastern Washington		3	–	5					4	–	7
Idaho State		3	–	5					3	–	8
Cal Poly		1	–	7					3	–	8
Northern Colorado		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2023 Eastern Washington Eagles football team represented Eastern Washington University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Aaron Best, the Eagles played their home games at Roos Field in Cheney, Washington.

Preseason

Polls

On July 23, 2023, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Eagles were predicted to finish seventh in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media. ^[1]

Coaches poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Montana State	120 (10)
2	UC Davis	96 (1)
3	Sacramento State	94 (1)
4	Weber State	91
5	Idaho	89
6	Montana	84
7	Eastern Washington	52
8	Portland State	45
9	Northern Arizona	44
10	Northern Colorado	37
11	Cal Poly	25
12	Idaho State	15

Media poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Montana State	447 (26)
2	Idaho	410 (8)
3	Montana	359 (2)
4	Sacramento State	334 (3)
5	UC Davis	330
6	Weber State	320
7	Eastern Washington	216
8	Northern Arizona	178
9	Portland State	167
10	Northern Colorado	109
11	Cal Poly	103
12	Idaho State	69

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	12:30 p.m.	vs. No. 2 North Dakota State *		U.S. Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	ESPN+	L 10–35	22,546
September 9	6:00 p.m.	at Fresno State *		Valley Children's Stadium Fresno, CA	UniMás / MW Network	L 31–34 2OT	41,031
September 16	1:00 p.m.	No. 19 Southeastern Louisiana *		Roos Field Cheney, WA	ESPN+	W 40–29	4,103
September 23	7:00 p.m.	at No. 15 UC Davis		UC Davis Health Stadium Davis, CA	ESPN+	W 27–24	14,724
September 30	1:00 p.m.	No. 4 Idaho	No. 19	Roos Field Cheney, WA	ESPN+	L 36–44	8,347
October 14	3:00 p.m.	at Idaho State	No. 21	Holt Arena Pocatello, ID	ESPN+	L 41–42	6,763
October 21	4:00 p.m.	Weber State		Roos Field Cheney, WA	ESPN+	W 31–23	7,514
October 28	1:00 p.m.	at Portland State		Hillsboro Stadium Hillsboro, OR (The Dam Cup)	ESPN+	L 35–47	3,189
November 4	1:00 p.m.	Cal Poly		Roos Field Cheney, WA	ESPN+	W 48–13	4,345
November 11	12:00 p.m.	at No. 5 Montana State		Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	ESPN+	L 14–57	20,897
November 18	1:00 p.m.	Northern Arizona		Roos Field Cheney, WA	ESPN+	L 42–49	4,078
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

^[2]

Game summaries

North Dakota State

See also: 2023 North Dakota State Bison football team

Eastern Washington Eagles (0–0) vs North Dakota State Bison (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	0	0	3	10
No. 2 Bison	14	7	7	7	35

at U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN

• Date: September 2, 2023
• Game time: 12:30 p.m. (PT)
• Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
• Game attendance: 22,546
• Referee: Jason Berg
• TV announcers (ABC ND/ESPN+): Dom Izzo, Kyle Emanuel, Logan Campbell

Game information

First quarter (9:23) NDSU – Joe Stoffel 7-yard pass from Cam Miller, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 3:12; North Dakota State 7–0) (7:02) NDSU – TaMerik Williams 54-yard run, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 3 plays, 72 yards, 0:46; North Dakota State 14–0) (4:55) EWU – Nolan Ulm 34-yard pass from Kekoa Visperas, Soren McKee kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:07; North Dakota State 14–7) Second quarter (10:10) NDSU – Cole Payton 70-yard run, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 4 plays, 92 yards, 2:10; North Dakota State 21–7) Third quarter (2:56) NDSU – Cam Miller 14-yard run, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 9 plays, 70 yards, 4:42; North Dakota State 28–7) Fourth quarter (8:30) NDSU – Joe Stoffel 3-yard pass from Cam Miller, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 13 plays, 86 yards, 7:16; North Dakota State 35–7) (4:01) EWU – Soren McKee 36-yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 61 yards, 4:23; North Dakota State 35–10)

Statistics	Eastern Washington	North Dakota State
First downs	16	22
Plays–yards	67–339	67–513
Rushes–yards	28–72	39–337
Passing yards	267	176
Passing: comp–att–int	23–39–1	19–28–0
Time of possession	26:13	30:35

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Eastern Washington	Passing	Kekoa Visperas	23/39, 266 yds, TD, INT
	Rushing	Michael Wortham	5 car, 41 yds
	Receiving	Efton Chism III	7 rec, 74 yds
North Dakota State	Passing	Cam Miller	18/25, 174 yds, 2 TD
	Rushing	Cole Payton	6 car, 104 yds, TD
	Receiving	Zach Mathis	4 rec, 53 yds

At Fresno State

See also: 2023 Fresno State Bulldogs football team

Eastern Washington Eagles (0–1) vs Fresno State Bulldogs (1–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	Total
Eagles	3	0	14	7	7	0	31
Bulldogs	7	7	7	3	7	3	34

at Valley Children's Stadium • Fresno, California

• Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
• Game time: 6:00 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 95 °F (35 °C) • Wind: NW 6mph
• Game attendance: 41,031
• Referee: Patrick Foy
• TV announcers (UniMás / MW Network / KTFF / MWDN): Jessi Losada (play-by-play), Jaime Motta (analyst), & Alejandro Luna (sideline)/Paul Loeffler (play-by-play), Pat Hill (analyst), & Cam Worrell (sideline)
• Pregame line: Fresno State −31.5

Game information

First quarter (11:34) FRES – Elijah Gilliam 5-yard run, Dylan Lynch kick (Drive: 3 plays, 42 yards, 1:14; Fresno State 7–0) (2:40) EWU – Soren McKee 24-yard field goal (Drive: 21 plays, 85 yards, 8:51; Fresno State 7–3) Second quarter (13:31) FRES – Jake Boust 6-yard pass from Mikey Keene, Dylan Lynch kick (Drive: 4 plays, 20 yards, 1:24; Fresno State 14–3) Third quarter (11:15) EWU – Michael Wortham 12-yard run, Soren McKee kick (Drive: 7 plays, 62 yards, 2:21; Fresno State 14–10) (8:01) FRES – Erik Brooks 29-yard pass from Mikey Keene, Dylan Lynch kick (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:14; Fresno State 21–10) (3:06) EWU – Efton Chism III 2-yard pass from Michael Wortham, Soren McKee kick (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:55; Fresno State 21–17) Fourth quarter (10:01) EWU – Justice Jackson 33-yard run, Soren McKee kick (Drive: 10 plays, 74 yards, 3:28; Eastern Washington 24–21) (6:44) FRES – Dylan Lynch 44-yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 44 yards, 3:17; Tied 24–24) First overtime (0:00) EWU – Anthony Stell, Jr. 1-yard pass from Kekoa Visperas, Soren Mckee kick (Drive: 4 plays, 25 yards; Eastern Washington 31–24) (0:00) FRES – Elijah Gilliam 1-yard run, Abraham Montano kick (Drive: 4 plays, 25 yards; Tied 31–31) Second overtime (0:00) FRES – Dylan Lynch 25-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 18 yards; Fresno State 34–31)

Statistics	EWU	FRES
First downs	22	21
Plays–yards	84–336	73–364
Rushes–yards	38–133	34–141
Passing yards	233	223
Passing: comp–att–int	27–46–1	23–39–1
Time of possession	32:09	29:03

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Eastern Washington	Passing	Kekoa Visperas	23/41, 198 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Justice Jackson	11 rushes, 79 yards, TD
	Receiving	Anthony Stell, Jr.	7 receptions, 77 yards, TD
Fresno State	Passing	Mikey Keene	23/39, 223 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Elijah Gilliam	20 rushes, 86 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Erik Brooks	8 receptions, 95 yards, TD

Southeastern Louisiana

See also: 2023 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team

Southeastern Louisiana Lions (0–2) vs Eastern Washington Eagles (0–2)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 19 Lions	7	7	7	8	29
Eagles	7	10	3	20	40

at Roos Field • Cheney, Washington

• Date: Saturday, September 16, 2023
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 82 °F (28 °C) • Wind: N 4 mph
• Game attendance: 4,103
• Referee: Spencer Mumford
• TV announcers (SWX NW/ESPN+): Dennis Patchin (play-by-play) and Greg Peach (analyst)

Game information

First quarter (13:28) SLU – Zachary Clement 7-yard run, Riley Callaghan kick (Drive: 4 plays, 44 yards, 1:22; Southeastern Louisiana 7–0) (7:35) EWU – Efton Chism III 3-yard pass from Kekoa Visperas, Soren McKee kick (Drive: 15 plays, 75 yards, 5:53; Tied 7–7) Second quarter (7:35) SLU – Bauer Sharp 3-yard pass from Eli Sawyer, Riley Callaghan kick (Drive: 6 plays, 76 yards, 2:54; Southeastern Louisiana 14–7) (7:35) EWU – Soren McKee 26-yard field goal (Drive: 14 plays, 70 yards, 4:58; Southeastern Louisiana 14–10) (7:35) EWU – Nolan Ulm 5-yard pass from Kekoa Visperas, Soren McKee kick (Drive: 7 plays, 59 yards, 0:51; Eastern Washington 17–14) Third quarter (6:17) EWU – Soren McKee 39-yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 19 yards, 1:42; Eastern Washington 20–14) (0:05) SLU – Bauer Sharp 1-yard pass from Zachary Clement, Riley Callaghan kick (Drive: 9 plays, 30 yards, 4:02; Southeastern Louisiana 21–20) Fourth quarter (11:22) EWU – Justice Jackson 7-yard run (Drive: 10 plays, 85 yards, 3:38; Eastern Washington 26–21) (5:39) SLU – Jacob Logan 19-yard pass from Zachary Clement, Darius Lewis kick (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 5:43; Southeastern Louisiana 29–26) (1:34) EWU – Tuna Altahir 1-yard run, Soren McKee kick (Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 4:05; Eastern Washington 33–29) (1:26) EWU – Marlon Jones Jr. 34-yard interception, Soren McKee kick (Drive: Eastern Washington 40–29)

Statistics	SELA	EWU
First downs	14	37
Plays–yards	293	530
Rushes–yards	11	11
Passing yards	3	23
Passing: comp–att–int	13–23–1	34–48–1
Time of possession	25:42	34:18

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing	Zachary Clement	10/19, 80 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Harlan Dixon	18 carries, 71 yards
	Receiving	Darius Lewis	4 receptions, 75 yards
Eastern Washington	Passing	Kekoa Visperas	33/47, 349 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Justice Jackson	12 carries, 91 yards, TD
	Receiving	Efton Chism III	9 receptions, 103 yards, TD

At No. 15 UC Davis

See also: 2023 UC Davis Aggies football team

UC Davis Aggies (0–0) vs Eastern Washington Eagles (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	0	0	0	0	0
Eagles	0	0	0	0	0

• Date: Saturday, September 23, 2023
• Game time: 10:00 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: • Temperature: • Wind:
• Game attendance: 14,724
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Scott Marsh, Scott Gordon

No. 4 Idaho

See also: 2023 Idaho Vandals football team

No. 4 Idaho Vandals (3–1) at No. 19 Eastern Washington (2–2) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Vandals	7	14	10	13	44
No. 19 Eagles	7	14	7	8	36

at Roos Field • Cheney, WA

• Date: September 30, 2023
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
• Game attendance: 8,347
• TV announcers (SWX NW/ESPN+): Dennis Patchin, Greg Peach

At Idaho State

See also: 2023 Idaho State Bengals football team

No. 21 Eastern Washington Eagles (2–3) vs Idaho State Bengals (1–4)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 21 Eagles	14	21	6	0	41
Bengals	0	14	7	21	42

at Holt Arena • Pocatello, Idaho

• Date: Saturday, October 14, 2023
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
• Game attendance: 6,763
• Referee: Scott Root
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Dylan Carder (play-by-play) and Kody Graves (analyst)

Game information

First quarter (4:58) EWU – Efton Chism III 13-yard pass from Kekoa Visperas, Soren McKee kick (Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 2:27; Eastern Washington 7–0) (1:08) EWU – Tuna Altahir 8-yard run, Soren McKee kick (Drive: 4 plays, 57 yards, 1:13; Eastern Washington 14–0) Second quarter (14:30) EWU – Michael Wortham 23-yard run, Soren McKee kick (Drive: 4 plays, 69 yards, 1:30; Eastern Washington 21–0) (12:53) IDST – Soujah Gasu 38-yard run, Yoann Kinanga kick (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:37; Eastern Washington 21–7) (8:35) EWU – Efton Chism III 10-yard pass from Kekoa Visperas, Soren McKee kick (Drive: 12 plays, 72 yards, 4:10; Eastern Washington 28–7) (1:15) EWU – Miles Williams 32-yard pass from Kekoa Visperas, Soren McKee kick (Drive: 2 plays, 41 yards, 0:27; Eastern Washington 35–7) (0:04) IDST – Chedon James 2-yard pass from Hunter Hays, Thomas Kopcho kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 1:11; Eastern Washington 35–14) Third quarter (5:11) EWU – Soren McKee 32-yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 61 yards, 6:14; Eastern Washington 38–14) (1:48) EWU – Soren McKee 30-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, -5 yards, 1:00; Eastern Washington 41–14) (0:46) IDST – Cyrus Wallace 15-yard pass from Jordan Cooke, Thomas Kopcho kick (Drive: 2 plays, 75 yards, 1:02; Eastern Washington 41–21) Fourth quarter (10:06) IDST – Soujah Gasu 1-yard run, Thomas Kopcho kick (Drive: 6 plays, 90 yards, 2:04; Eastern Washington 41–28) (3:28) IDST – Aaron Blancas 25-yard pass from Jordan Cooke kick (Drive: 7 plays, 68 yards, 2:23; Eastern Washington 41–35) (0:52) IDST – Hunter Hays 1-yard run, Thomas Kopcho kick (Drive: 7 plays, 36 yards, 2:31; Idaho State 42–41)

Statistics	EWU	IDST
First downs	32	29
Plays–yards	79–553	75–572
Rushes–yards	32–150	20–49
Passing yards	403	523
Passing: comp–att–int	33–47–0	38–55–2
Time of possession	33:29	26:31

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Eastern Washington	Passing	Kekoa Visperas	33/47, 403 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Michael Wortham	6 carries, 69 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Efton Chism III	13 receptions, 161 yards, 2 TD
Idaho State	Passing	Jordan Cooke	25/39, 389 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Soujah Gasu	8 carries, 72 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Chedon James	15 receptions, 206 yards, 1 TD

Weber State

See also: 2023 Weber State Wildcats football team

Weber State Wildcats (0–0) vs Eastern Washington Eagles (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	0	0	0	0
Eagles	0	0	0	0	0

• Date: Saturday, October 21, 2023
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: • Temperature: • Wind:
• Game attendance: 7,514
• TV announcers (SWX NW): Dennis Patchin, Adam Shackleford

At Portland State

See also: 2023 Portland State Vikings football team

Portland State Vikings (0–0) vs Eastern Washington Eagles (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	0	0	0	0	0
Eagles	0	0	0	0	0

• Date: Saturday, October 28, 2023
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: • Temperature: • Wind:
• Game attendance: 3,189
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Matt Richert, Scott Hermo

Cal Poly

See also: 2023 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

Cal Poly Mustangs (0–0) vs Eastern Washington Eagles (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	0	0	0	0	0
Eagles	0	0	0	0	0

• Date: Saturday, November 4, 2023
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: • Temperature: • Wind:
• Game attendance: 4,345
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Dennis Patchin, Greg Peach

At No. 5 Montana State

See also: 2023 Montana State Bobcats football team

No. 5 Montana State Bobcats (0–0) vs Eastern Washington Eagles (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Bobcats	0	0	0	0	0
Eagles	0	0	0	0	0

• Date: Saturday, November 11, 2023
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: • Temperature: • Wind:
• Game attendance: 20,897
• TV announcers (MTN-CBS): Jay Kohn, Marty Mornhinweg, Kyle Hansen

Northern Arizona

See also: 2023 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (0–0) vs Eastern Washington Eagles (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Lumberjacks	0	0	0	0	0
Eagles	0	0	0	0	0

• Date: Saturday, November 18, 2023
• Game time: 10:00 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: • Temperature: • Wind:
• Game attendance: 4,078
• TV announcers (SWX NW): Austin Getz, Bill Ames

References

1. "Montana State Tabbed Preseason Football Favorites". July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
2. "2023 Eastern Washington Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved March 4, 2023.