After going on the road and beating Montana, the Vandals will return home to take on Portland State University.
The Vikings come in at 2-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play. They beat Northern Colorado 35-27 then dominated Lincoln (CA) 48-6. Their two-game win streak came to an end last week against #5 ranked 6-0 Weber State when they lost 42-7.
Usually a team has a backfield that utilizes one player’s arm and another’s legs, but that doesn’t seem to be the case at PSU. Sophomore quarterback Dante Chachere has led in both passing and rushing yards in every game other than their 52-6 loss to Washington. Sophomore running back Jalynnee McGee led in that game with 59 rushing yards.
The two main receivers for the Vikings will be senior and sophomore wide receivers Beau Kelly and Nate Bennett respectively. Kelly is in the top 10 for most receiving yards in the Big Sky Conference this season with 363 yards on 26 receptions. Bennett is in the top 20 with 334 yards on 32 receptions.
Their standout player on defense is senior defensive tackle VJ Malo. Malo is top five in the conference for tackles for loss with seven. Those seven TFLs have accounted for 22 lost yards, landing him in the top 20.
On offense for the Vandals, it continues to be the big three. Redshirt freshman QB Gevani McCoy, redshirt sophomore WR Hayden Hatten and redshirt junior WR Jermaine Jackson have played at an elite level all season.
McCoy was named FCS National Freshman Player of the Week after the 55-35 win over Northern Colorado, and Co-Offensive Player of the Week in the Big Sky Conference after the 30-23 win over Montana. He’s first in the conference in completion percentage (73.7%), sixth in passing yards (1,359) and second-to-last in interceptions (three).
Hatten was named FCS Plyer of the Week after his 149 yards and two touchdowns on nine receptions. He’s seventh in the conference in receiving yards (410), seventh in touchdowns (four) and fifth in receptions (32).
Jackson may not have received any honors, but his numbers look like he should have. He’s third in the conference in receiving yards (545), top 20 in touchdowns (2) and top 15 in receptions (28).
Leading on the Vandals defense are senior linebacker Fa’avae Fa’avae, sophomore defensive back Tommy McCormick and sophomore defensive lineman Kemari Bailey. Fa’avae is fourth in the conference in total tackles with 58, McCormick is third in interceptions with three and Bailey is eighth in sacks with three. The defense as a whole is holding opposing teams to 65.5 rushing yards per game while FCS QB’s have only been able to complete 63/124 (50.8%) of passes against the Vandals.
Perhaps one of the most impressive stats about this Idaho is their time of possession. The Vandals lead all of college football in TOP with 37:57. They are one of only four teams averaging over 37 minutes.
Continuing to be able to hold onto the ball for a majority of the game will be crucial for the Vandals to continue their success. Although PSU may not look like a team to be worried about, Idaho can’t count them out. Every team in the Big Sky Conference has the ability to have a surprising weekend.
“We can’t get ahead of ourselves, we aren’t in the playoffs yet,” head coach Jason Eck said. “We still need to beat Portland State this weekend.”
To ensure that the Vandals are able to get the Vikings to make mistakes, fans need to “Blackout the Dome” at noon tomorrow.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jamesaldrich25