EOU hosts Carroll with playoffs on the line

If fans need to know the severity of Saturday's clash between No. 2  Carroll College and No. 23 Eastern Oregon University, Mountaineers  head coach Tim Camp called the match-up, “The biggest game in EOU football history.”

The Saints enter the game having already clinched the Frontier  Conference title for the 10th straight season after beating Montana  Western last week. But, Eastern still has a chance to grab an at-large position in the national championship tournament.

Carroll needs little introduction. The Saints have won 32 consecutive conference games. The last league opponent to defeat CC was Montana State-Northern on Oct. 28, 2006, 10-3.

The Saints made their 61st consecutive appearance in the national top  five, 112th straight appearance in the top 25, this week at No. 2. 

The Saints have sat at No. 2 since falling to the current No. 1 Sioux Falls University in last year’s national championship game. Carroll  has appeared in six of the last seven national title games, winning five.

Carroll has been dominant over Eastern this decade. The Saints are 11-0 against EOU since 2000 and 5-0 at Community Stadium. The Saints  are a phenomenal 70-3 in their last 73 games.

The national tournament invites 16 teams, not necessarily the top 16  teams in the country, up to 11 automatic conference champions and the rest go to at-large berths. If Eastern Oregon wins Saturday, the  Mountaineers can only then wait and see what happens around the country after the game. The national tournament pairings are not  released until Sunday, Nov. 15, one week after the Frontier Conference schedule comes to an end.

Last Saturday the Mountaineers rallied from down 20-0 just into the  second quarter to win for the first time in school history at Montana State-Northern, 37-20. The win moved EOU from No. 23 to No. 22. 

Carroll had little trouble on the road at Montana Western defeating  the Bulldogs, 26-10. The Saints were led by Gary Wagner’s 215 passing yards. Wagner completed  21 of his 31 throws and was named the Frontier Conference Offensive  Player of the Week.

The last time Carroll and Eastern Oregon met on Oct. 3, the game was  dubbed the NAIA Game of the Week. The No. 19 Mountaineers struggled  to stop the No. 2 Saints’ ground attack that finished with 327 rushing yards. John Camino carried the ball 20 times for 190 yards with two touchdowns, and Gabe Le had 85 yards on 14 carries with a  pair of scores.

Carroll won the game  37-17.

Eastern Oregon’s last win in Helena came in 1998, 26-7.Carroll has an 11-6 all-time advantage over Eastern with the series beginning in 1952. EOU last defeated the Saints in 1999 with a 28-21 win in La Grande.

Senior Day festivities will begin at 11:45 a.m. inside  Community Stadium. The game will be video streamed live on  EOUSports.com.