Eagles face prolific Stephen F. Austin

Comparisons can sometimes be a bit unsettling.

Take, for instance, those made by Eastern Washington's coaches and players when asked about Stephen F. Austin, today's first-round foe in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

"They're very similar to Texas Tech," EWU defensive coordinator John Graham said of the Lumberjacks (9-2), who will provide the opposition for the Eagles (8-3) when the two teams kick it off at noon at Homer Bryce Stadium in Nacogdoches, Texas.

"They remind me a lot of Northern Arizona," added linebacker Makai Borden.

Neither comparison probably sits comfortably with EWU fans — especially those who remember Tech rolling up 639 yards and posting a 49-24 win over the Eagles in last year's season opener, and NAU amassing a remarkable 747 yards in a hard-to-fathom 49-45 home loss to Eastern last weekend.

But Graham insists both are well-founded, noting SAF uses the same kind of spread passing game as Texas Tech, while trying to keep its attack as balanced Northern Arizona's.

"They use a lot of shotgun, four-receiver sets to spread you out, and then they throw it to different spots on the field, get the ball to their athletes in space and simply let them work," Graham said of the 'Jacks, who rank No. 1 nationally in passing yardage (346.1 yards) and No. 3 in total offense (477.6), while also leading the country in scoring with an average of 37.2 points.

The Lumberjacks, who shared this year's Southland Conference title with McNeese State, are paced offensively by quarterback Jeremy Moses, a 6-foot, 200-pound junior who has thrown for 3,488 yards and 36 touchdowns.

Moses' favorite target has been senior wideout Duane Brooks, who has caught 95 passes for 898 yards and six touchdowns. But three other SAF receivers — senior Aaron Rhea, senior Contrevious Parks and freshman Graylyn Crawford — have combined for 142 receptions and 23 touchdowns, and are all averaging more than 10 yards per catch.

The Eagles are led by senior quarterback Matt Nichols, the Big Sky Conference's offensive MVP, and running back Taiwan Jones, another first-team all-league performer who rushed for 1,095 yards and 14 touchdowns during the regular season.