Football | 09/17/22 | 9:40 AM

HELENA, Mont. - The Carroll College Football team is well rested, and ready for a battle with the Mountaineers of Eastern Oregon University at 2 p.m. in La Grande, Ore.

It has been a long two weeks without football for Saints fans, but that ends today at 2 p.m. when Carroll looks to rebound from a loss at Montana Tech in week two.

The bye week came at a very opportune time for the Saints, allowing the team some time to reflect on what went wrong in their first loss of the year, refocus on what needs to be addressed, and perhaps most importantly and extra week to get healthy. 

Most teams in the Frontier Conference did not play during week three, the exceptions being Montana Western who secured a win over Dickinson State, and this week's foe, Eastern Oregon, who fell at the hands of NCAA Division III Whitworth.

Eastern Oregon (0-3) enters the game having allowed 30-plus points in each of their first three games of the year. This appears to be a terrific opportunity for the Carroll offense, who has struggled at points, to gain some momentum and find a rhythm. The Saints have been inconsistent early in the year offensively. At times, they have moved the ball down the field at will, and at other times have been unable to move the ball at all. Carroll will focus on trying to stack positive plays, sustain drives, keep their defense off the field, and light up the scoreboard this afternoon.

Defensively the Saints are prepared to try to stop two different Mountaineer Quarterbacks. Luke Ross is EOU's primary passer so far in the season, throwing for 266 yards and the Mountaineers only two passing touchdowns. Andrew James has shown more of a dual-threat look under center with 65 rushing yards on top of 115 yards passing so far this year. James was the main option for EOU last week against Whitworth, and is listed on top of the two deep entering today's game, however Carroll expects to see both QB's at some point in the game.

Today's game is the first of two match-ups between the Fighting Saints and the Mountaineers this season, as EOU will make the trip to Helena at the end of October.

The two teams split their pair of games last season, with the road team being victorious in each of those contests. EOU won in Helena, 10-7, before Carroll won in La Grande, 34-27. 

Carroll is sitting just outside of the NAIA Coaches' Poll Top-25, in the receiving votes section, and hope that a win in today's game can help springboard them into the rankings as they look to return to the NAIA Playoffs.

This afternoon's game will be streamed online HERE, and live stats will be available HERE. John Kemper will be on the call live on Rewind 94.9 FM locally in Helena and online HERE.

Be sure to visit www.carrollathletics.com for a complete recap of the action this evening.