1985 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

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.

1985 Eastern Washington Eagles football
NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs, Quarterfinals, L 14–17 at Northern Iowa
Conference	Independent
Record	9–3
Head coach	Dick Zornes (7th season)
Home stadium	Woodward Field Joe Albi Stadium (Spokane)
Seasons ← 1984 1986 →

1985 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings

v t e	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

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

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result
August 31	Chico State		Woodward Field Cheney, WA	W 28–3
September 7	at Weber State		Wildcat Stadium Ogden, UT	W 31–19
September 14	at Montana State		Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 28–23
September 28	Northern Arizona		Woodward Field Cheney, WA	W 33–0
October 5	Fort Lewis		Woodward Field Cheney, WA	W 35–24
October 12	at No. 11 Nevada	No. 10	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV	L 25–31
October 19	Long Beach State	No. 17	Woodward Field Cheney, WA	W 30–23
November 2	at No. 8 Idaho	No. T–9	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	L 21–42
November 16	Montana	No. T–13	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA (EWU–UM Governors Cup)	W 52–19
November 23	Idaho State	No. 11	Woodward Field Cheney, WA	W 42–21
November 30	at No. 5 Idaho	No. 11	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	W 42–38
December 7	at No. 4 Northern Iowa	No. 11	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	L 14–17
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

^[6]

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. "Eastern Washington Eagles -- College Football (NCAA)". college-football-results.com. Retrieved December 21, 2019.