Back at home, Idaho is ‘ready to go’ after tough loss to UC Davis

If Idaho had to suffer a bad beat in a frustrating 28-26 loss at University of California Davis a week ago, conditions could not be much better for the Vandals (3-2, 0-1 in the Big Sky Conference) to get well this week.

They are in Moscow for only the second game this season to face Northern Arizona (3-2, 1-0) for homecoming. The Lumberjacks made the Football Championship Subdivision rankings at number 24 after stifling Sacramento State’s offense in handing the 10th-ranked Hornets a 34-16 defeat, and Idaho has drifted down the rankings from fourth to 10th after losing to the Aggies. But in his weekly media conference, Idaho coach Jason Eck was confident the Vandals will rally from that setback, even though they are dealing with injuries.

Eck says the players have come back from California with lessons learned.

“It is huge to be back at home,” Eck said.

While the players don’t practice on Mondays, conditioning is ongoing, and “we had an outstanding lift this morning,” he added.

After bolting to a 14-0 lead in the first three series against the Aggies, the Vandals lost focus, allowed themselves to have their defensive substitutions disrupted by the UCD up-tempo offense, and they got down by 11 points in the third quarter before rallying behind backup quarterback Nick Josifek in the final period with a field goal and a touchdown before a two-point conversion pass that would have tied the game sailed long. An onside kick attempt failed and after gaining possession, the Aggies were able to run out the clock.

“We even responded well when we were down by 11,” Eck said. “We’ll be ready to go” against NAU .

The coach also took some responsibility for the loss.

“There is a lot to learn,” he said. “There is a lot I can learn. I can certainly coach better than I did last week.”

Vandals running backs Elisha Cummings and Nate Thomas ran for 72 and 41 yards with a touchdown, respectively. Eck acknowledged he got away from that productive ground game.

Idaho also saw drives end on three interceptions, including one by freshman wide receiver Tony Harste, who threw a pick in the end zone on a gadget play when the Vandals could have at least kicked a field goal.

“Harste was in a tough position with that pass,” Eck admitted. “That was a bad call by me to put him in that position in the red zone.”

Against UCD, Idaho lost tight end Jake Cox for the season with a knee injury, and sophomore safety Hayden John has had surgery to repair a lingering shoulder injury and will sit out the remainder of the season after playing only four games to preserve his redshirt status.

The dominant forces on Idaho’s defensive line, Keyshawn James-Newby and Dallas Afalava, played with injuries of their own that limited them, and after starting quarterback Jack Wagner aggravated a shoulder injury he first suffered in Idaho’s 17-13 win against Wyoming Sept. 7, Josifek came on in relief despite playing through an ankle injury himself.

“He’s a warrior,” Eck said.

However, Eck was hopeful Wagner will be available against NAU, noting he anticipates the Lumberjacks will challenge whoever is Idaho’s quarterback.

“Their defense is very aggressive. They have a creative scheme not quite like anybody else in the Big Sky. They play multiple fronts, with a lot of pressure.

“They are not afraid to put seven guys on the line of scrimmage and play O coverage (man-to-man in the secondary).”

The Lumberjacks’ offense is based around the run-pass option, triggered by sophomore quarterback Ty Pennington. Against Sacramento State, Pennington was a pinpoint passer, completing 21 of 25 attempts for 240 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, NAU averaged an impressive 5 yards per carry.

“They run the ball solid,” Eck said. However, “we do a pretty good job of stopping the run.”

Having seen Oregon, Abilene Christian and now UC Davis having had some success slowing down Idaho’s defensive substitutions with up-tempo offense, Eck says NAU might copy the trend.

Although the Lumberjacks typically don’t play that quickly, “we have got to have that in the back of our mind,” said Eck.