If Idaho’s lofty goals of playing beyond the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs – a round the Vandals have reached the past two seasons – are to be realized, the time is never better to show they are that team.
MOSCOW, Idaho – If all goes well, the buzz over a helmet decal will be the biggest feature of Idaho’s home opener Saturday against St. Thomas, from St. Paul, Minnesota.
MOSCOW, Idaho – In the 131 years that encompass the University of Idaho and Washington State University’s Battle of the Palouse in football, the arc of history has bent relentlessly toward the Cougars. They own a 73-17-3 edge in the series.
MOSCOW, Idaho – Any Idaho fans younger than 60 years old remember the high-water mark in its iconic Battle of the Palouse with Washington State coming in 1999-2000, when the Vandals won back-to-back games in the 94-game series dating to 1894.
Widely accepted preseason prognosticating would suggest the Idaho Vandals – with a new coach, a new quarterback and a bunch of new starters – are due for a step back in 2025.
Talk about not being afraid to break the mold. New University of Idaho football coach Thomas Ford Jr. returned three quarterbacks from 2024 with meaningful game experience who helped the Vandals to a 10-4 record and the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs. This fall, none of the three is on the two-deep roster.
Following are debut seasons from several notable Idaho quarterbacks over the past quarter century. (Note: Numbers reflect the first year each began the season as the team's starting QB.)
It was telling, perhaps, that when the Big Sky Conference sent out its preseason all-conference nominees, the quarterback group was hardly a who’s who of familiar names.
Considering the degree to which turnover has become the norm in college football, especially at the FCS level, the Big Sky Conference can be considered wide open once again this season.
