Big Sky showdown: No. 7 Eastern Washington visits No. 4 UC Davis as playoffs loom
.jpeg "Trent Tompkins rushed for two touchdowns to help UC Davis to a 32-3 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday.")
Football is a sport big on numbers, beyond yards after the catch, third-down efficiency and points allowed.
Some of it speaks volumes, and there’s the extra data to digest for the UC Davis Aggies. They are ranked as high as fourth nationally in the NCAA FCS polls, rolling at 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big Sky Conference with visions of winning their second conference crown since 2018 and reaching the 24-team FCS playoffs that start Nov. 27.
The Aggies are 5-1 on the road and 3-0 at home on Jim Sochor Field, where they will close out the Big Sky schedule against No. 7 Eastern Washington on Saturday and No. 12 Sacramento State on Nov. 20 in a Causeway Classic that’s shaping up to be more than just bragging rights.
Eastern Washington comes in having lost two straight, each down to the wire, after reaching as high as No. 2 in the polls. The numbers UCD aims to adjust or halt are what Eastern Washington has done to the Aggies. Eastern Washington is 9-0 all-time against UCD, starting with the first meeting in 2005 and including a 34-29 FCS playoff win in chilly Cheney on the famed red field in 2018. Eastern Washington is 3-0 at UCD during that streak.
Eastern Washington has won 20 of 21 against FCS teams from California, UCD, Cal Poly and Sac State. Sac State in 2019 halted the Eagles’ 17-game winning streak against FCS teams.
“This week is momentous for us for a lot of reasons,” UCD coach Dan Hawkins said Tuesday. “(Eastern Washington) has been the gold standard in our league. They’ve been tough for us to handle.”
UCD returned 22 starters from its spring season, which included a 32-22 setback to Eastern Washington, and the Aggies have looked the part of title contender. UCD has won behind three quarterbacks — Miles Hastings, Hunter Rodrigues and Trent Tompkins. Each has played extensively. UCD has found success on the ground behind the program’s No. 2 all-time career rusher in Ulonzo Gilliam Jr, who has 3,017 yards over four seasons, and it has won games behind stout special teams and defensive stops, and by outsourcing teams 96-13 in the fourth quarter.
The defense will be tested against Eric Barriere, Eastern Washington’s sensational senior dual-threat quarterback who has made it a habit of shattering defenses with his speed or passing touch.
“They have the best player in FCS football and maybe the entire country,” Hawkins said. “Barriere is a super, super talented player.”
Barriere has 12,265 career passing yards and 107 career passing touchdowns, three shy of the Big Sky record. His 13,789 total yards are the most in Big Sky history and the seventh most in FCS history.
Eastern Washington is coming off home Big Sky losses to No. 3 Montana State, 23-20, and 35-34 to Weber State, which snapped the Eagles’ 20-game home winning streak, on the topic of numbers crunching. A UCD win keeps the Aggies in the Big Sky championship hunt. A loss adds to their misery.
“I’m happy with our guys,” Hawkins said. “There aren’t too many teams that have played nine games with six road games. Not a lot of teams in America at any level have eight wins. It’s not easy to win. Our guys continue to show up and work. That’s been fun for me to watch. We still haven’t played our best. Our best football is still out there.”
Kudos to O’Keefe
Hawkins praised Aggies tight end Garren O’Keefe the versatile 6-foot-4, 235-pound sophomore out of Colfax High School who has made plays as a receiver, as a blocker and on special teams.
“Garren can do whatever he wants,” Hawkins said. “He’s a hard worker. He’s talented. He’s been a pleasure. He had a big play against Cal Poly on a fake punt (running it for a first down). He really does a great job.”
O’Keefe was a Bee All-Metro pick at tight end and in basketball at Colfax, where he was a top student.
“It was a big adjustment (coming from small-school ball to the FCS),” the managerial economics major said. “The game’s faster. Guys are bigger. I came in underweight. I try my best to be ready when my number is called, to block or catch the ball or execute a fake on special teams.”
He added, “I always knew I’d come to Davis. This was the first school to reach out to me. I like the culture, the history. It’s life and academics. My parents (Terry and Jodi) are teachers. Academics have always been emphasized.”
O’Keefe listed in his UCD bio that being named Colfax High’s valedictorian was his greatest personal accomplishment. Winning the next two home games might fast become his greatest athletic feat.
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 7:52 AM.