With a thrilling 41-31 victory in the semifinals, Eastern Washington University dethroned reigning NCAA Football Championship Subdivision champion Villanova Friday (Dec. 17) at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash. The game was televised live on ESPN2 to nearly 100 million homes on the new red Sprinturf surface at the "Inferno," where Eastern finished the season 8-0.
Eastern meets either Georgia Southern or Delaware on Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas, in the FCS Championship game televised live from Pizza Hut Park on ESPN2 and www.espn3.com beginning at 4:05 p.m. Pacific time.
The Eagles, ranked No.1 to end the regular season in The Sports Network/Fathead.com Top 25 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision poll, will enter that game with a 12-2 record and riding a 10-game winning streak. Villanova, ranked 10th to end the regular season, finished 9-5 and knocked off Montana in last year's FCS title game.
The other semifinal pits Georgia Southern (10-4) at third-seeded Delaware (11-2) on Saturday (Dec. 18) at 9 a.m. Pacific time on ESPNU. The Georgia Southern Eagles ended the regular season ranked 20th and have won three-straight playoff games. The Blue Hens, who received a first-round bye, were ranked fifth to end the regular season.
The Eagles held Villanova to just 230 yards of total offense and had 404 themselves. Eastern also forced six turnovers and had just two itself as EWU is now 14-0 in the last two years when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents. Eastern now has 46 takeaways to lead FCS, including a FCS-leading 25 interceptions.
Junior Bo Levi Mitchell, who is from Katy, Texas, completed 27-of-38 passes for 292 yards and four touchdowns, giving him 34 for the season to tie the school record. True freshman Mario Brown rushed for 104 yards on 26 carries as he filled in for All-America running back Taiwan Jones, who missed the game with a foot injury. Nicholas Edwards had nine catches for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Brandon Kaufman had eight grabs for 135 yards and a 76-yard touchdown after going without a catch a week earlier.
Matt Johnson and Tyler Jolley paced Eastern's defense with nine tackles each, and All-American and Buck Buchanan Award candidate J.C. Sherritt added eight. Johnson also had an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Jerry Ceja had a pair of sacks and a quarterback hurry. Jeff Minnerly chipped in an interception and broke up one of the two passes broken up the Eagles had, giving them 61 for the season to equal the school record.
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