Though the game may not have resulted in as smooth of a performance as the Vandals hoped for, Idaho picked up their first win in the Thomas Ford Jr. era against the St. Thomas Tommies. The Vandals won 37-30 in an offensive slugfest against an up-and-coming St. Thomas team.
Though he was not thrilled with his team’s performance, Ford was relieved to get in the win column, saying, “They don’t ask how, they ask how many … [it’s a] huge step in the right direction.”
In week one1, Idaho lost to Washington State and only had 33 total yards through the air. In this game, Fresno State transfer, Joshua Wood, despite starting the opening drive off with a first-play interception, completed 20 of his 25 pass attempts for 281 yards and three touchdowns.
Wood said that he felt more comfortable in this game and that he got into a rhythm early. There were a lot of question marks surrounding the team’s passing abilities coming into the game and Wood responded by outperforming the opposing quarterback, Andy Peters, in a shootout.
Peters finished the game with 343 total yards from scrimmage as well as three passing touchdowns.
Not only did Wood find success through the air, but he completed a lot of deep passes. His top three targets in the game each hauled in a pass of 37 yards or more. For the second straight week, Wood’s running ability was deadly, totaling 87 yards and a score on the ground. 59 of those rushing yards came on the game-sealing score with just over two minutes remaining.
“It felt amazing,” Wood said. “Once I got the edge and saw open field, it was over from then on.”
Ford says Wood causes his opponents to struggle when preparing for the Idaho offense.
“I definitely think having a guy that’s as dynamic as him, both running and throwing, is going to help us throughout the season the rest of the way,” Ford said.
In 2023, the Vandals offense featured star wideouts Hayden Hatten and Jermaine Jackson. In 2024, the receivers were equally impactful, referring to Jordan Dwyer and Mark Hamper. In 2025, the Vandals looked to find replacements for Dwyer and Hamper.
In week one1, the young group of receivers struggled to get open against an FBS opponent. In this game, Ryan Jezioro, Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar and Tony Harste each had at least five catches, hauling in 253 of the team’s 281 passing yards.
Ford says the team emphasized getting Wood into a rhythm early, which is why they took a shot down the field on the game’s opening play. Despite Wood having an early miscue, he did a superb job of settling in from that point on.
Ford praised Wood’s ability to not “let one play define him. He did a phenomenal job the rest of the way.”
Wood says the running backs opened up a lot of opportunities for him in this game. While he was the leading rusher for the second straight week, Art Williams has quickly become the team’s workhorse in the backfield. He has 26 carries for 84 yards and a score through two games.
This was the second consecutive week that the Idaho offense did an excellent job of running the football. However, unlike last week, Idaho’s defense struggled to contain the Tommies’ ground attack. The Cougars only rushed for three yards, but the Tommies accumulated 208.
“We need to do a lot better job in terms of playing cleaner football,” Ford said.
Ford is unhappy with his team’s lack of football IQ in terms of limiting errors. Despite addressing prior to the game that penalties needed to be limited, the Vandals were flagged 13 times for 104 yards.
“I still don’t think we’re a very mature team,” Ford said. “That’s an area we have to improve in a hurry.”
Late in the fourth quarter, on top by just six points, Idaho had the ball near midfield. It was fourth down with about three yards to go. The Vandals decided to attempt a fourth down conversion, but team captain Nate Azzopardi committed a false start penalty.
When asked if the penalty was intentionally taken in order to create optimal field position for a punt, Ford said that it was not and that the team actually did plan to attempt a conversion had the penalty not occurred.
“Knowing Nate, that’s all he’s going to be thinking about until tomorrow,” Ford said.
Though it was a defensive struggle for the Vandals, they had two players with double-digit tackles. Dylan Layne finished with 12 total tackles, and Hayden John had 10. Layne had nothing but great things to say about where this Idaho team stands currently.
“Coach Ford is an amazing coach we have an unbelievable culture here of guys that show up every day to grind,” Layne said.
Idaho is back in action next Saturday at home against Utah Tech at 1 p.m.
Liam Bradford can be reached at [email protected].