‘We know we should have a bye’: Idaho awaits playoff position after dominant 40-17 win over Idaho State

With a decisive 40-17 win against Idaho State in Pocatello, Idaho made a compelling case for a first-round Football Championship Subdivision bye and a second-round home game. The Vandals concluded their regular season 9-3, 6-2 and tied for third in the Big Sky Conference.

The performance against the Bengals featured a flashy dominance that could impress the playoff selection committee.

The Vandals forced two turnovers on downs, with one being at the 8-yard line. Andrew Marshall broke up a pass in the end zone on the last play of the first half, and he returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to open the second half. Zach Krotzer, Tommy McCormick and Matt Irwin all made interceptions. Nate Thomas rushed for a career best 171 yards. Jack Layne completed 17 of 22 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns. The receivers? Jordan Dwyer, 11 catches for 134 yards, Mark Hamper four catches for 61 yards, and Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar, one catch for 41 yards, all caught scoring strikes from Layne. Linebacker Jaxton Eck led Idaho with 15 tackles to go over 100 for the season, and McCormick added 10 to go with his interception.

“One of my roles as a captain is bringing energy,” McCormick said.

“It was a great defensive effort,” said Vandals coach Jason Eck, and he was confident the Vandals, ranked seventh nationally before the ISU game, earned themselves a bye.

“Now we just see who is coming to the Kibbie Dome,” he said.

“We think that bye is really a necessity,” McCormick said. “We know we should have a bye. We should have that home game.”

At the half, the Vandals led comfortably, but not too comfortably, 17-7, when Marshall got a hand on Kobe Tracy’s pass to Michael Shulikov in the end zone.

Following the break, Marshall grabbed the opening kickoff two yards deep in the end zone. He angled from right to left as Dwayne McDougle sprung him with multiple downfield blocks, and Marshall took it to the house.

“At halftime, we talked about coming out with a spark. My whole mindset was to make a big play for the team,” Marshall said. He added of McDougle “once he got that key block, oh yeah, that was critical.”

Each team was missing noteworthy players. The Bengals’ leading receiver Christian Fredericksen, who has 66 receptions for 915 yards and nine touchdowns, and Idaho’s defensive end Keyshawn James-Newby, with 9.5 sacks, were both out with injuries, as were Vandals’ running backs, Elisha Cummings and Deshaun Buchanan. A third back, Art Williams, was in uniform but would have only played in an emergency, according to Eck.

Thomas shouldered the load on the ground for the Vandals, who had 415 yards of total offense, 181 yards rushing. He did not score, but seldom used Carlos Matheney did, getting Idaho’s final points on a nine-yard run.

“I’m not a really needy guy,” Thomas said matter-of-factly. “When you need me, let’s go.”

For the Bengals, Tracy completed 27 of 44 passes for 249 yards, and he ran for a touchdown. He was responsible for throwing all three interceptions. Hunter Hays hit on two of his three passes for 13 yards and a touchdown.

Dason Brooks led ISU with 56 yards rushing on six carries, and four receivers helped the Bengals compensate for the absence of Fredericksen. Shulikov had six catches for 61 yards and a touchdown, Jeff Weimer had four for 57 yards, Ian Duarte four for 56 and Tsion Nunnally eight for 44.

The Vandals opened scoring when Cortez-Menjivar turned a screen pass into his 41-yard reception. Cameron Pope added a 35-yard field goal before ISU got on the scoreboard when Hays, and Shulikov connected on an eight-yard pass.

Marshall took the following kickoff back 63 yards to set up a three-play drive that ended with Hamper scoring on a 15-yard pass from Layne, who beat a blitz to complete the throw and set the halftime lead at 17-7.

Marshall’s 100-yard return gave Idaho a 24-7 advantage. But Gabe Panikowski’s 27-yard field goal shortened that to 24-10. Dwyer’s nine-yard touchdown pass from Layne put the Vandals ahead, 30-10. Cameron’s extra point, though, was blocked. In the fourth quarter, he also missed a 25-yard field goal that hit the right upright.

Tracy got the Bengals back within two scores, 30-17, when he capped a 45-yard eight-play drive with a three-yard touchdown run on fourth down. But Pope rallied from his kicking troubles to contribute a 34-yard field goal for the Vandals, and he added the extra point following Matheney’s touchdown.

As the Vandals now turn their attention to a playoff run, Thomas said “the playoffs are like a whole new season,” and the senior safety, McCormick, acknowledged anticipating a playoff run has pushed from his mind any musing about the end of his own college football career after this season.

“I haven’t even thought about it,” he said. “I am not planning on losing soon.”