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LA GRANDE, Ore. -- The No. 21 Eastern Oregon University football team travels to Rocky Mountain College Saturday in the final game of the regular season. The weekly notes are now available.
* Game 11: No. 21 Eastern Oregon (7-3, 7-2 Frontier) at Rocky Mountain College (5-5, 4-5)
* When: Saturday, Nov. 12, 12 p.m. MT
* Where: Herb Klindt Field, Billings, Mont.
* Forecast: Mostly Cloudy, Lows 40's, 10 percent chance of snow
* Live Stats: No live stats
* Live Video: EOUSports.com
* Live Radio: 99.9 FM The River
* Series: Eastern has won nine of the 14 meetings all-time over the Battlin' Bears.
GAME TIME
Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. Mountain Time at Herb Klindt Field with a live video stream on EOUSports.com. A live radio broadcast will also be available on KCMB 104.7 FM in La Grande and Baker City.
THE SERIES
* Eastern leads the all-time series 9-5, including three the past five five meetings.
* The Mountaineers have won the last two meetings at Rocky Mountain, including last season's 55-45 decision.
* EOU has won five the seven meetings in Billings.
* The last six matchups have totaled a combined 606 points.
* In those last seven meetings the teams have combined for 7,300 yards of offense, an average of 1,042 offensive yards per game.
* The 800-mile trek, 13-hour bus ride from Billings, Mont. to La Grande is the longest trip for RMC this season.
* Rocky Mountain College's school enrollment of 800 is the smallest in the conference.
QUICK HITS
* Eastern is one-win shy of equaling the most wins in a single season in school history.
* EOU reached eight wins only once in 1981 when the Mountaineers went 8-1.
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Kevin Sampson broke Tim Sicocan's 11-year Eastern Oregon career rushing record last week at Montana Western.
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Chris Ware has thrown 141 straight passes without an interception. His last interception came 17 passes into the Southern Oregon game.
* The Mountaineers won their seventh game this season. EOU has won seven games in a single season only three times in the program's 82 years.
* The current four-year EOU players have surpassed the most wins in school history over a four-year span. Eastern has won 24 games the past four seasons.
* Eastern Oregon is first in the nation in third down conversions (49.6 percent) and eighth in the NAIA in first downs per game (22.2).
* Ware is sixth in NAIA history in career total offensive yards, 381 yards from fifth, 445 yards from fifth. He is 231 passing yards from eighth in NAIA history in career passing yards.
MAKE THAT LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN
The Mountaineers won their seventh game of the season last Saturday. EOU has won seven games in a single season only three times in the program's 82-year existence. The last seven-win season came in 2009 when Eastern finished 7-4. The Mountaineers' sixth win of the season guarantees them of a winning season for the 22nd time in school history. Eastern Oregon still has an outside shot at qualifying for the school's first ever postseason appearance in football. However, it will take another win to finish the regular season at the very least.
WOULDN'T EIGHT BE GREAT
Eastern Oregon can match the most wins in school history with a win Saturday. The Mountaineers went 8-1 in 1981, the best record in 82 years of football. That was the only year EOU reached eight wins in a single season. That Mountaineer team began the season 6-0 before falling to Oregon Tech in the seventh game.
SAMPSON BREAKS RECORD
Eastern running back,
Kevin Sampson, needed nine yards to break the school's rushing yards in a career record last week. The senior ran for 59 yards on his first carry of the game at Montana Western. Sampson has rushed for 2,737 yards in just three seasons. The Seattle native became only the second Mountaineer to rush for 2,000 yards in a career. Tim Sicocan set the current school mark from 1997 to 2000. He ran for 2,585 yards on 535 carries. Sampson has made his mark in 521 carries.
THIRD DOWN AND BOUND
The Mountaineers climbed to first in the NAIA in third down conversions after making eight of their 12 third down attempts last week. Eastern has converted 49 percent of the time on third down this season.The Mountaineers have made 69 of their 139 third down attempts in 2011. The EOU defense has held opponents to 42 percent on third down. Last week, Eastern held Montana Western to 4 of 14 on third down. Eastern Oregon is eighth in the country in first downs per game averaging 22.2 per outing.
SENIORITY RULES
The 13 Eastern Oregon student-athletes that were honored at Senior Day this season have seen plenty of success while at EOU. The Mountaineers accomplished quite a feat on Senior Day. EOU won its 23rd game over the past four seasons, equaling the best four-year span in school history. From 1978 to 1981, EOU totaled 23 wins and 15 losses. Eastern passed that four-year win total last Saturday with a win in Dillon. Eastern Oregon is 24-19 over the past four years.
A FRONTIER FIRST FOR EASTERN
For the first time in school history, the Mountaineers had two student-athletes named Frontier Conference Players of the Week in the same week.
Nick Magrone was named Defensive Player of the Week and
Kevin Sampson was named Offensive Player of the Week. Sampson, who only played in the first, ran for 160 yards on nine carries. He ran for a score and caught one touchdown pass. Magrone intercepted his third pass of the season and returned it for a touchdown. The sophomore finished with five tackles, with 0.5 a tackle for a loss.
COMPUTER LOVE
The Mountaineers are getting some respect from a non-human ranking system this season. Eastern Oregon is currently No. 18 in the Massey Ratings system. EOU spent quite a bit of the season at No. 2 in the poll, but got as high as the No. 1 spot after beating Carroll on the road. The Frontier Conference was previously listed as the toughest conference by the ratings in the NAIA. Carroll is No. 5 in the poll.
EOU STAYS PUT IN POLL
Eastern remained No. 21 in the latest NAIA poll that was released Monday. despite routing Montana Western on the road last Saturday, 54-13. EOU led 47-0 at halftime and rested key players after the first half. Eastern has outscored its last two opponents, 95-27, and outgained them 1,010 to 596 in offensive yards. Eastern Oregon received 68 points in this week's poll, three more than last week. The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents.
BREAKING IT ALL DOWN
Victory Sports Network recently broke down teams in the poll and where they should be ranked. The Mountaineers are slighted in this week's poll by VSN's reasoning. When combining Eastern's Massey Rating of 18, Power Rating of 17, and BCS Rating of 12, the Mountaineers have an average rating of 15.7. Yet, EOU remained No. 21 in the NAIA poll following its 54-13 win at Montana Western, after leading 47-0 at halftime. By this reasoning, Eastern Oregon is 5.3 spots underrated from where they should be in this week's NAIA poll.