1985 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

1985 Eastern Washington Eagles football
NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs,
Quarterfinals, L 14–17 at Northern Iowa
ConferenceIndependent
Record9–3
Head coach
Home stadiumWoodward Field
Joe Albi Stadium (Spokane)
Seasons
← 1984
1986 →
1985 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 Georgia Southern ^   –   13 – 2 – 0
No. 11 Eastern Washington ^   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 18 Richmond   –   8 – 3 – 0
Colgate   –   7 – 3 – 1
Delaware   –   7 – 4 – 0
Tennessee State   –   7 – 4 – 0
No. 16 William & Mary   –   7 – 4 – 0
Lafayette   –   6 – 5 – 0
James Madison   –   5 – 6 – 0
Lehigh   –   5 – 6 – 0
Holy Cross   –   4 – 6 – 1
Florida A&M   –   4 – 7 – 0
Western Kentucky   –   4 – 7 – 0
Bucknell   –   3 – 7 – 0
Northeastern   –   2 – 8 – 0
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1985 Eastern Washington Eagles football team represented Eastern Washington University in the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season. This was the Eagles' second season in Division I-AA, having moved up from Division II after 1983,[1][2] and participated as an independent until joining the Big Sky Conference in 1987. They played their home games on campus at Woodward Field in Cheney, Washington, and one at Joe Albi Stadium in nearby Spokane.

Led by seventh-year head coach Dick Zornes, the Eagles went 8–2 in the regular season and earned the program's first Division I-AA playoff bid. They traveled and defeated Big Sky champion Idaho in the first round,[3][4] avenging a 21-point loss four weeks earlier, then lost by three points in the quarterfinals at Northern Iowa.[5]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
August 31Chico State
W 28–32,122[6]
September 7at Weber State
W 31–19
September 14at Montana State
W 28–23
September 28Northern Arizona
  • Woodward Field
  • Cheney, WA
W 33–0
October 5Fort Lewis
  • Woodward Field
  • Cheney, WA
W 35–24
October 12at No. 11 NevadaNo. 10
L 25–319,650
October 19Long Beach StateNo. 17
  • Woodward Field
  • Cheney, WA
W 30–239,605
November 2at No. 8 IdahoNo. T–9
L 21–4215,500
November 16MontanaNo. T–13
W 52–19
November 23Idaho StateNo. 11
  • Woodward Field
  • Cheney, WA
W 42–21
November 30at No. 5 IdahoNo. 11
W 42–386,500
December 7at No. 4 Northern IowaNo. 11
L 14–176,220

[7]

References

  1. ^ "1985 Team Football (2005) - Eastern Washington University Athletics Hall of Fame - Eastern Washington University Athletics". goeags.com. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  2. ^ Stewart, Chuck (November 16, 1984). "EWU's Zornes is ready for the second season". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 27.
  3. ^ Barrows, Bob (December 1, 1985). "Vandalized!: Late score helps Eastern turn Idaho upside down, 42-38". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  4. ^ "Idaho ousted in Division I-AA". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 1, 1985. p. 7C.
  5. ^ "College football playoffs". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 8, 1985. p. 6C.
  6. ^ "Final 1985 Division II Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  7. ^ "2023 Eastern Washington Football Record Book" (PDF). Eastern Washington University Athletic Department. p. 65. Retrieved March 13, 2024.