Another week, another top-25 game for the University of Idaho as they take on Eastern Washington University.
Idaho enters this game at #4 while Eastern comes it at #19 after knocking off UC Davis 27-24. The Vandals have shifted between #4 and #8 since the beginning of the season. They landed at #4 after a thrilling 36-27 win over Sacramento State on Sept. 23.
Coming into the season, Eastern wasn’t expected to do well. They landed at #7 in both the media and coaches Big Sky preseason poll. However, they now sit at 2-2 overall with one of their losses being 34-31 in double overtime against an FBS opponent in #25 Fresno State.
One of the reasons the Eagles are now ranked is their ability to play through the air. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Kekoa Visperas has already racked up 1,057 passing yards, completing 105/163 attempts. In comparison, redshirt sophomore QB Gevani McCoy has put up 980 yards, completing 71/107 attempts.
“Kekoa is a good player,” Head Coach Jason Eck said in a press conference. “He’s playing at a high level, completing about 66% of his passes.”
On top of having one of the best passing quarterbacks in the Big Sky, Eastern has an extra element when playing at home. The Eagles have only lost 11 conference games at home since ‘The Inferno’ was installed. Of those 11 games, only two, a 52-28 loss to Sacramento State in 2022, and a 52-30 loss to Northern Arizona, have been blowouts.
“Generally (Eastern) plays better at home, like a lot of teams do, so there’s that challenge,” Eck said. The Eagles one home game this season was a 40-29 win over Southeastern Louisiana, the same team that ended the Vandals season last year.
The Vandals have never won on the red turf. In fact, they’ve only won in Cheney twice. They took the first matchup in 1994 43-10. The only other time was a 48-21 win in 1999.
In order to try and win their first game on the Inferno, Idaho must hope that it can establish a run game. Eastern has given up 223.3 rushing yards per game with teams averaging 36.2 attempts per game. On the flip side, the Eagles have only allowed 178.2 passing yards per game with opponents gaining 5.9 yards per attempt.
While the Vandals have proven that they aren’t a one-dimensional offense, this might be a game where they lean more on the running backs and McCoy’s scrambling ability.
Of the 708 total rushing yards the Vandals have put up, sophomore RB Anthony Woods has ran for 382 of them. Next up is McCoy, who has racked up 136 yards. Rounding out the run game is senior RB Nick Romano, who has tallied up 105 yards on the ground.
Whether it’s by land or by sea, this game is certain to be one of the top matchups in the FCS this weekend. The Vandals will travel to an almost sold-out Roos Stadium on Saturday with kickoff at 1 p.m. The game will be available on both SWX and ESPN+
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on X @jamesaldrich25