After taking on two Power Five teams on the road, the Vandal football team returns to the Kibbie Dome to take on Drake.
Idaho fought hard and played well in both their losses, but moral victories don’t equal a number in the win column. They’re facing a team that put up more points against defending FCS champions North Dakota State than Montana State did in the championship game last season. If the Vandals hope to win this game, they’re going to have to continue to win the turnover battle, capitalize on those turnovers and lower the sack numbers even more.
They also need to hold on to their lead when they’re up 10-0. Washington State was able to bring it to 10-10 at the half, whereas Indiana turned their 10-0 halftime deficit to a 23-10 lead after the third.
“(Indiana) has their long drive and then we have a safety, so things got away from us in the third quarter,” head coach Jason Eck said.
In their overtime loss against Missouri S&T last week, Drake had a very solid rushing game, ending with 145 rushing yards, 53 of which came from their quarterback. That total would have been 85, but senior QB Ian Corwin was sacked four times and lost 32 yards. The run game at Indiana was also solid with them netting 239 yards.
“We have to stop the run better,” Eck said.
The Vandals also wanted their run game to improve in order to take pressure of the passing game. They showed a large amount of improvement from WSU to Indiana, doubling their rushing yards. Although, this did allow for less pressure on redshirt freshman QB Gevani McCoy, he only had eight fewer yards and added two more touchdowns.
On top of improving on the field week-to-week, coach Eck hopes to improve the fan atmosphere in the Dome.
“I’d love to get the Dome rockin,” Eck said. “I’d love to see 10,000 people in there making it loud as heck. Indiana and Washington State both had great student sections. They got there early, were loud and were involved in the game, and I expect nothing less out of you Vandals.”
On top of the excitement from coach Eck around the home opener, President Scott Green has added an incentive for students to fill up the 4,500 seat student section. He will be giving away a $1,000 scholarship to one student in the student section.
The home opener will be Eck’s first time as a head coach in the Kibbie Dome. The tailgate starts at 10 a.m. and kickoff is at noon.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jamesaldrich25