When the Washington State Cougars won the coin toss, they elected to defer to the second half and start the game on defense. The next decision, according to head coach Thomas Ford Jr., was an easy one. He had Idaho defend the west end zone in the second half, allowing the large swarm of visiting Vandal fans in attendance to make an impact.
“Seeing the Vandal nation go crazy was pretty special,” Ford said. “I mean, shout out to the Vandal family. Obviously, they showed out in big numbers tonight. That was really, really cool to see.”
Though they never had total control of the game, the Cougars played more soundly in the first half. Idaho’s offense went stagnant for a stretch, and they fell behind 10-0 through three quarters. However, while dealing with the rowdy Idaho crowd, the Cougars made a few mistakes and the Vandals claimed the momentum.
After not scoring in the first three quarters, they scored 10 points in a six-minute stretch late in the fourth quarter to tie the score. WSU got the ball back with 1:42 on the clock, which was all they needed to march down the field and kick the game winning 32-yard field goal.
Idaho came into the game looking to be the more physically dominant team, and the difference in rush yards between the teams shows that the Vandals achieved this goal. The offense ran for 188 yards, while the defense allowed just three.
“Anytime you can hold an offense that has a philosophy of running the football to three yards, you feel really good about where you’re at defensively,” Ford said. “But it goes back to our number one principle on the field: You want to be a physical team.”
Physicality-wise, nobody impacted the game more for the Vandals than Isaiah King. King was flying all around the field all game long, tallying 10 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
“Isaiah is an absolute difference maker. It was evident to me, every time that guy’s on the field for us, it changes our defense,” Ford said. “He’s a physical guy, and I’m extremely excited to have him on my team.”
Coming into the game, it was unclear who would be the starting play caller for the Cougars. Zevi Eckhaus was anticipated to start, though no official starter had been named. However, when the Cougar offense came on the field for the first time, it was redshirt sophomore Jaxon Potter commanding the huddle.
Idaho defensive end Donovan Parham said it did not matter who WSU put at quarterback, because defensive coordinator Cort Dennison prepared them for every quarterback on the roster. The defense allowed only 211 yards and forced two fumbles, recovering one. They also had nine third down stands.
“If your defense gives up 13 points, you need to win the ball game,” Ford said. “The offense has got to get better, and I’m very confident that we will.”
Ford was frustrated with the loss because he says the Vandals beat themselves rather than the Cougars beating them. He said that he does not think the team will lose another game this season.
“I think the culture is developing according to plan. You saw a group of guys that at no point thought they weren’t going to win the game,” Ford said. “Like I said, this group is going to keep fighting. They know nothing else but to play hard every play.”
Offensively, one of the aspects that Vandal fans were most excited to watch was the new starting quarterback from Fresno State, Joshua Wood. Wood had ups and downs, showing flashes of greatness, but overall, not playing his best game.
Wood rushed for over 100 yards, but he struggled to get comfortable in the pass game for the majority of the game. He threw for only 33 yards on 20 pass attempts, committed an unsportsmanlike penalty and lost a fumble.
Despite this game not unfolding as ideally as Wood would have hoped, his coach and teammates have utmost optimism for his potential this season.
“Not only is he a great player and a great quarterback, he’s a great leader and he’s an even better person and teammate off the field,” said team captain Nate Azzopardi. “There’s no one else I’d rather block for than three. And I think he’s going to have a lot better games than he did tonight. He’s going to light up the stat sheet this year.”
In a game where WSU was heavily favored, it was crucial for Idaho to limit mistakes and not beat themselves. Looking back at the game, Ford was unsatisfied with his team’s ball security and penalties. However, he does not see ball security as something that will be a long-term concern.
“We had way too many self-inflicted wounds offensively. … We have to do a better job taking care of the football, there’s no question about that,” Ford said. “Maybe we need to put a few more ball security drills in this week just to kind of refocus on that. I don’t think it’s an issue.”
The Vandals are back in action next Saturday at 1 p.m. in the home opener against St. Thomas.
Liam Bradford can be reached at [email protected].