After a close defeat in the home opener against Lamar, Vandals football (0-3, 0-1) plays their second straight home game on Saturday, Sep. 19 when they welcome the Abilene Christian Wildcats (0-3) to the P1FCU Kibbie Dome.
Despite another disappointing defeat, the Vandals never quit, and battled as a team until the very end. Senior quarterback Joshua Wood attempted a career high 40 passes, while red-shirt senior wide receiver Lonyatta Alexander Jr. tallied a career high 64 receiving yards.
True freshman safety Luca Moore set a new career high with nine tackles. The defense as a unit put together their strongest performance of the season so far, picking up two sacks and forcing two fumbles.
Head coach Thomas Ford Jr. was adamant that there is still much improvement needed from his squad across the board. “Obviously super disappointed in the outcome of this weekend, not up to the standard. We did not play well enough in the first half of football, particularly in the second quarter, to beat a ranked opponent…we’re certainly aware that we’re not playing up to the standard that we know is here at the University of Idaho.”
Ford was impressed most with the improvement of the defense against Lamar, stating that, “The defense showed some vast improvements from our first two weeks. I think they did a phenomenal job in the second half, limiting them to really one score.”
“When you look at the five drives we had defensively in the second half, three three and outs, forcing a punt, and then they had the one field goal opportunity in the second half, which I thought was really, really good. You know, we put ourselves in a position to have a chance to win at the end of the game against the number 15 ranked team in the country. So I know that although it seems doom and gloom on the outside, there are still a lot of really positive things going on in the program, and our kids are fighting really hard.” Ford said.
That fight will continue this weekend against Abilene Christian, another school that qualified and won a game in last season’s FCS tournament, ironically defeating Lamar. They’ve struggled to start this season however, and also sit at 0-3.
But much like Idaho, their opponents have all been strong. A 21-14 loss in a rematch with Lamar opened the season for the Wildcats, before a resounding 33-10 defeat against FBS opponent Texas Tech.
#9 ranked FCS squad Stephen F. Austin cruised to a 26-7 victory over the Wildcats last weekend. Senior running back Alex Broome leads the Wildcat offense, alongside sophomore quarterback John David Black and senior wide receiver Cristian Driver.
Defensive backs Dillon Williams and Javeon Wilcox lead the Wildcats in tackles, and Wilcox has the team’s lone interception of the season so far.
Coach Ford finished his presser with a heavy emphasis on shared accountability across the entire team and staff.
“I’ve got to do a better job coaching the coaches. The coaches got to do a better job coaching the players, and the players got to do a better job at making plays. So it’s shared responsibility across the board, but we certainly need to execute at a much higher level, especially early in the game.”
Only three first half points held the Vandals back tremendously against Lamar, and getting out to the fast start that Coach Ford is looking for will be vital. This battle will be about both clubs fighting for a win to get their seasons back on the right track after stumbling out of the gate. Idaho has this game to realign and refocus in front of their home crowd, before the FCS #1 ranked, defending FCS national champion Montana State Bobcats come into the Kibbie Dome on Friday, October 2 at 1 p.m.
Saturday’s kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT from the P1FCU Kibbie Dome in Moscow. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, SWX, and the Vandal Radio Network.