The 2018 FCS finals are set. Eastern Washington will play North Dakota State for the national championship in Frisco, Texas after beating Maine by a score of 50-19.
The national championship game will be played at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019 on ESPN2.
MORE: Interactive 2018 FCS Playoffs bracket | Buy tickets | Championship Info
Eastern Washington jumped out to a 28-0 lead and never looked back. Quarterback Eric Barriere threw for a whopping 352 yards and seven touchdowns while adding 53 yards with his legs. The Eagles ran for 216 yards as a team.
Catch up with anything you may have missed with our play-by-play recap below. You can find the final box score here.
FCS semifinal recap
Maine-Eastern Washington: Preview
The semifinals have been an arduous task for Eastern Washington since 2010.
For the fourth time since winning the 2010 NCAA Division I championship, the Eagles will get another chance to return to the title game when they host Maine in the semifinals of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.
Third-seeded Eastern (11-2) is the lone Big Sky Conference team remaining in the tournament after rallying in the fourth quarter to beat UC Davis 34-29 last week. No. 2 seed Weber State was upset by the seventh-seeded Black Bears 23-18 in another quarterfinal game on Friday. Maine is now 10-3 and were the outright champions in the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association).
MORE: FCS Playoffs: Bracket, scores, schedule, how to watch
Maine brings a defense to Cheney which leads FCS in rushing defense and ranks ninth overall. The Black Bears allowed just 68.7 yards on the ground this season, and are allowing just 2.11 yards per carry to lead FCS, while EWU is averaging 6.78 per carry to rank second in FCS offensively and 266.6 rushing (10th in FCS). Maine is also second in FCS in sacks, with three players with at least nine (Sterling Sheffield, Kayon Whitaker, Deshawn Stevens). The Black Bears also feature the FCS leader in passes Broken up (Manny Patterson with 22).
2018 FCS Playoffs: Teams
FCS CHAMPIONSHIP: Championship info | Road to Frisco | Buy 2019 tickets
Of the 24 teams to make the FCS Playoffs, 10 qualify automatically.
Here are the automatic qualifiers:
- Ohio Valley: Jacksonville State
- Patriot: Colgate
- Missouri Valley: North Dakota State
- Pioneer: San Diego
- Big South: Kennesaw State
- Big Sky: Weber State
- CAA: Maine
- Northeast: Duquesne
- Southern: Wofford
- Southland: Nicholls
Here are the Top 8 seeds:
- North Dakota State: 11-0
- Weber State: 9-2
- Eastern Washington: 9-2
- Kennesaw State: 10-1
- South Dakota State: 8-2
- UC Davis: 9-2
- Maine: 8-3
- Colgate: 9-1
