# 2023 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

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.
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 StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ESPN+ | L 10–35 | 22,546 |
| September 9 | 6:00 p.m. | at Fresno State* | | Valley Children's StadiumFresno, CA | UniMás / MW Network | L 31–34 $^{2OT}$ | 41,031 |
| September 16 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 19 Southeastern Louisiana* | | Roos FieldCheney, WA | ESPN+ | W 40–29 | 4,103 |
| September 23 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 15 UC Davis | | UC Davis Health StadiumDavis, CA | ESPN+ | W 27–24 | 14,724 |
| September 30 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 4 Idaho | No. 19 | Roos FieldCheney, WA | ESPN+ | L 36–44 | 8,347 |
| October 14 | 3:00 p.m. | at Idaho State | No. 21 | Holt ArenaPocatello, ID | ESPN+ | L 41–42 | 6,763 |
| October 21 | 4:00 p.m. | Weber State | | Roos FieldCheney, WA | ESPN+ | W 31–23 | 7,514 |
| October 28 | 1:00 p.m. | at Portland State | | Hillsboro StadiumHillsboro, OR (The Dam Cup) | ESPN+ | L 35–47 | 3,189 |
| November 4 | 1:00 p.m. | Cal Poly | | Roos FieldCheney, WA | ESPN+ | W 48–13 | 4,345 |
| November 11 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 5 Montana State | | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | ESPN+ | L 14–57 | 20,897 |
| November 18 | 1:00 p.m. | Northern Arizona | | Roos FieldCheney, WA | ESPN+ | L 42–49 | 4,078 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Pacific time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### North Dakota State

| 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

### At Fresno State

| 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)

### Southeastern Louisiana

| 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, Greg Peach

### At No. 15 UC Davis

| 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:
* TV announcers (KQCA): Scott Marsh, Scott Gordon

### No. 4 Idaho

| 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

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Date: Saturday, October 14, 2023
* Game time: 10:00 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: • Temperature: • Wind:
* TV announcers (KQCA): Scott Marsh, Scott Gordon

### Weber State

| 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:
* TV announcers (SWX NW): Dennis Patchin, Adam Shackleford

### At Portland State

| 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:
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Matt Richert, Scott Hermo

### Cal Poly

| 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:
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Dennis Patchin, Greg Peach

### At Montana State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| 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:
* TV announcers (MTN-CBS): Jay Kohn, Marty Mornhinweg, Kyle Hansen

### Northern Arizona

| 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:
* TV announcers (SWX NW): Austin Getz, Bill Ames