It has been clear when watching head coach Thomas Ford Jr.’s press conferences over the past couple of weeks that the Idaho Vandals are not meeting their own expectations as a team. Ford and the rest of the team have displayed a lot of frustration throughout the current four-game losing streak.
In his most recent postgame press conference, Ford urged the Idaho fan base not to give up on what he’s trying to do with this program.
Prior to the season, not many people in Moscow thought it a possibility that by week eight, the team would be competing with Portland State to avoid being the last winless team in conference play. Though the Vandals have not had much to celebrate as of late, there is a lot of anticipation surrounding this Saturday’s game.
The reason for this is the potential return of several key contributors, including their top two quarterbacks, Joshua Wood and Sawyer Teeney.
Wood was injured in the first half of the Montana game and then missed the last two games. The team showed a lack of offensive consistency in both of those games, and the offense will look a lot different if he is healthy enough to get the nod against Portland State.
Something to watch for in this game will be how Matt Linehan chooses to use Rocco Koch if Wood is indeed back. Koch has taken on the bulk of the quarterback rushing duties during Wood’s absence, and has rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s last two games.
The Vikings are 0-7 overall, and they also have the worst overall defense and overall offense in the conference. Though they do have a good pass defense, they struggle against the run, and Idaho will look to exploit that and continue their successful rushing season. The Vandals have won 15 of 17 games against the Vikings, including all 10 games played in Moscow.
One of Idaho’s primary concerns about Portland State is the strength of their defensive line, specifically Idaho State transfer Tuaoa Tauili’ili. Tauili’ili is 6-foot 3-inches, 230 pounds, and plugs a lot of holes in the interior for the Vikings. Another threat on the Viking defensive line is Spencer Elliott, who has averaged 1.4 tackles for loss in the team’s past five games.
After losing four straight games, including dropping a game at home for the first time since 2023, the Vandals need a win more than ever to get back on track and regain the support of their fanbase.
“We ended a home streak last time we played in the dome. We want to start a new one this weekend, and I think that’s critical,” said Ford. “We want to make sure that we’re giving our home fan base what they’re coming to see.”
Last time taking the field, Idaho lost to the Eastern Washington Eagles in a game that they were heavily favored in. Though the team was banged up, Ford said that there are no excuses and that teams have to be able to battle through injuries.
He and the coaching staff take a lot of the blame for the team’s recent woes, saying that they need to do a better job of “putting our players in a position where they can be successful.”
In Monday’s press conference, Ford noted that despite the loss, he was “still impressed with the resolve of our group. We battled injuries throughout the game… We’ve really had a bit of a tough time the last four games having our offense and defense click at the same time, and that’s really our focus this week.”
The issue for Idaho in this game was the offense, as they went 10 drives without scoring, and only had a handful of explosive plays on offense.
However, the lone bright spot on that side of the ball for Ford’s squad was redshirt freshman Marquawn McCraney, who hauled in seven receptions for 105 yards and a score. McCraney provided a lot of separation downfield, something that the Idaho offense has lacked under the first-year offensive coordinator, Linehan.
McCraney missed fall camp with a knee injury and has started to find his stride halfway through this season. He was heavily recruited coming out of high school, and the combination of him, Ryan Jezioro and the rest of this young receiving core could give Idaho’s offense an edge that they have lacked for the majority of this season.
Despite the Eagles’ upset, the Vandal defense had a solid performance. The strong defensive showing was led by edge rusher Matyus McClain, who recorded a career-high of 3.5 tackles for loss. The secondary also did a good job of preventing EWU from getting vertical in the pass game. Ford looks for his defense to have another productive week and help snap the skid.
“After three games where our defense really did not play well, we played very well,” Ford said. “We’re looking to continue that and get that offense playing at the same time.”
The game will kick off at 1 p.m. at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome and will be streamed on ESPN+.
Liam Bradford can be reached at [email protected].