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Idaho Football

Idaho aims to get back on track against improved Northern Colorado team

Idaho wide receiver Ryan Jezioro brings down a pass against Washington State cornerback Colby Humphrey during a nonconference game on Aug. 30 at Gesa Field in Pullman. (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
By Peter Harriman The Spokesman-Review

MOSCOW, Idaho – The Idaho Vandals are heading into homecoming looking to make a hard turn toward qualifying for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the fourth straight year.

Thus far, the season has gotten off to a sputtering start. The last time Idaho (2-3, 0-1 Big Sky) lost two games in a row was 2022, against Washington State and Indiana at the dawn of Jason Eck’s three-year era as the Vandals’ coach. Now the Vandals again are coming off of back-to-back losses against San Jose State and Montana. They hope to get back on track against Northern Colorado on Saturday in the Kibbie Dome.

And Idaho’s homecoming opponent has gone from woeful to interesting after posting a 1-22 mark in coach Ed Lamb’s first two seasons. The Bears have an identical record with the Vandals this year, and they have frustrating losses of their own, 21-17 to Colorado State, 24-17 in overtime to South Dakota (3-3 and 23rd in the Stats Perform poll) and 26-18 to Idaho State (2-4, 1-1).

“We are excited to have a tough Big Sky opponent coming in,” Vandals coach Thomas Ford Jr. said this week.

Lamb, though, acknowledges the challenge of facing the Vandals in a packed Kibbie Dome for homecoming. He was Idaho’s defensive coordinator in 2002-03, and he says the loudest venue in which he ever coached was the dome in 2002 when Idaho beat San Diego State, 48-38.

Players sign with UNC to play in certain venues, said Lamb. The Kibbie Dome is one of them.

Both teams are coming off byes, and both coaches say their team has made good use of the week off. Ford said goals for the bye were getting players healthy and “getting back to competing. Guys who haven’t gotten many reps are getting more reps.”

Having banged up players return to practice was also a benefit for the Bears. Five of seven starters who missed UNC’s most recent game against ISU were practicing again during the bye, and the week off without having to prepare for a specific opponent gave Bears coaches an opportunity to take a deeper dive into their strengths and weaknesses, said Lamb.

Chief among the latter is UNC’s inability to create balance in its offense with a productive running game, according to Lamb. The Bears are averaging just 3.1 yards per carry. Run defense has been a strength for the Vandals. They are giving up 139.4 rushing yards per game. Linebackers Dylan Layne (38 tackles) and Isiah King (36 tackles) are among the top 10 Big Sky hitters.

“We have got to stop the run and limit their explosive plays. They definitely like to take vertical shots,” Ford said.

Yes, they do. Eric Gibson Jr. completed 26 of 39 passes against the Bengals for 394 yards.

UNC has had its troubles stopping opponents on the ground. The Bears gave up nearly 300 yards to the Bengals. It could be good news for Idaho, which expects to have Elisha Cummings back at full strength in the backfield. The senior tailback has just 94 yards on 25 carries so far this season while battling lingering injuries. Last season, however, Cummings averaged 5.4 yards per carry, 523 yards on 97 carries. Ford said Cummings looked impressive at practice during the bye. Quarterback Joshua Wood, a Big Sky player of the week, continues to lead Idaho’s offense, running for 346 yards and six touchdowns while completing 78 of 130 passes for 927 yards with one interception and six touchdowns. Wide receiver Ryan Jezioro is also having a year with 20 receptions for 284 yards and three touchdowns.

With the homecoming, Ford said he expects former Vandals to flock to Moscow. “We will have a lot more visitors at practice this week,” and Idaho, ranked 11th in the Stats Perform poll and 13th in the AFCA poll, is entering a stretch in its schedule where it can bolster its case for a fourth straight playoff invitation. After UNC, the Vandals travel to Eastern Washington (2-4, 1-1), are at home with Portland State (0-2-0-6), take on Northern Arizona (4-2, 1-1) in Flagstaff in an ESPN2 game, meet UC Davis (4-1, 2-0) in the Kibbie Dome, go on the road for the final time to Sacramento State (2-3, 0-1) and finish the regular season at home against Idaho State.

Ford said the Vandals have already moved past the Montana loss and are focused on the future. During the bye week leading up to homecoming “the guys reacted in the best way,” he said.