With two straight victories of more than two scores, the Vandals hope to continue their winning streak as they march into the Kibbie Dome on Saturday to take on the Northern Colorado Bears.
The Bears are also 2-2, losing to Houston Baptist and Wyoming. Their wins came against Lamar and Idaho State.
Unlike Idaho, Northern Colorado has a lot of experience in the backfield. Graduate student quarterback Dylan McCaffery led the offense against Idaho State, going 23/28 on passes for 234 yards. This was the first time McCaffery started this season as junior QB Jacob Sirmon was the starter in their first three games. It was uncertain who the starter would be in the game against ISU, and it’s uncertain who the starter will be this weekend.
“Their offense changes a bit from week to week,” coach Jason Eck said.
Starting at running back will likely be graduate student Elijah Dotson. He had 102 rushing yards on 24 carries and one touchdown against the Bengals. That sole touchdown came on an 82-yard punt return. He also had 24 yards receiving on five receptions.
The receiving core for NOCO is graduate student wide receiver Trevis Graham and redshirt sophomore tight end Alec Pell. Graham had 55 yards on five receptions against ISU while Pell had 86 yards on six receptions. Graham has totaled 240 yards on 14 receptions this season, averaging 17.1 yards per catch. Pell has totaled 195 yards on 20 receptions, averaging 9.8 yards per catch.
In the backfield for Idaho, it will be redshirt sophomore QB Gevani McCoy slinging the ball. McCoy has had a great season so far, totaling 775 passing yards on 98 total passes. He was almost perfect against Northern Arizona as he went 18/20 for 184 yards. He’s also done a great job at getting out of the pocket and avoiding pressure.
“Gevani did a great job of extending plays, making guys miss and scrambling or extending time in the pocket,” Eck said.
The running back position has been a huge asset for the Vandals as they’ve been able to run multiple players in rotation. Senior Roshaun Johnson and freshman Anthony Woods have been the main two. Johnson had 85 yards on 25 carries against NAU while Woods had 84 yards on 18 carries. Having them in rotation gives the Vandals the perfect combination of overwhelming strength and speed, allowing for the coaching staff to call for a run without worrying about not gaining yards.
On top of a solid backfield, the Vandal wideouts have also proven to be a huge asset. The main damage to defenses has been the speedy redshirt junior WR Jermaine Jackson. He totaled 96 yards on five receptions against the Lumberjacks. Redshirt sophomore WR Hayden Hatten has also started to look explosive in the last couple games, putting up 49 yards on five receptions against NAU and 68 yards on four receptions against Drake. Senior TE Connor Whitney has also played well, scoring the lone receiving touchdown against NAU.
On defense, the most important thing to know is that after giving up their games against Washington State and Indiana due to second half falters, the Vandals have shut out their last two opponents in the second half.
This is a huge game for the Vandals as it’s not only their homecoming, but also an opportunity to prove to the Big Sky Conference that they aren’t messing around.
“It’s been since 2009 that the Vandals have started 2-0 in conference play,” Eck said.
The tailgate officially starts at 3 p.m. and kickoff starts at 6 p.m. Eck wanted to go door-to-door, but since he couldn’t, here’s your official invite from him to the game.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jamesaldrich25