After a 38-7 Battle of the Domes win, the Vandals returned home to see if they were playoff bound.
The top eight teams were announced, and it was now time to see if Idaho would get an at-large bid. The next six were called, and with two spots remaining, head coach Jason Eck was anticipating an Idaho call.
“This was the biggest thrill because I wasn’t sure we were in,” Eck said. “I thought we were gonna be against Weber. When I saw we didn’t make it then, I got a little nervous.”
Weber State was the final team announced in the first set of at-large teams. They’ll face North Dakota for a chance at a rematch against Montana State.
After a commercial break, it was time for the final eight. Announced first was Southeast Missouri State at Montana.
“When Montana made it, I felt a little better,” Eck said.
A few moments after Montana was called, the room erupted with cheers. Although they didn’t get a home game, the Vandals were in the FCS playoffs for the first time since 1995 (their final season at the FCS level for 20 years).
“I’m just so happy for our kids, especially our seniors,” Eck said. “I wasn’t gonna get fired if we didn’t make the playoffs this year, but for our seniors, this is their last chance.”
One of those seniors is linebacker Fa’avae Fa’avae, who transferred from rival Washington State after the 2019 season.
“It’s been nothing but great,” Fa’avae said, still having his eye black on from last night. “It’s been such a fun journey since coach Eck and the staff came in.”
Fa’avae has had a great career at Idaho, totaling 217 tackles in 25 games. He’s also forced four fumbles and sacked quarterbacks 3.5 times for a loss of 40 combined yards.
The Vandals will be glad to have Fa’avae in their secondary as SE Louisiana has put up a lot of points this season. After starting the season with 24-7 and 42-9 losses, they turned it around with a 70-6 win over Central Connecticut State. From there they beat the seventh seeded University of Incarnate Word 41-35 and Murray State 48-14. One week after their dominant win, they took a tough 31-28 homecoming night loss against Texas A&M-Commerce. However, that would be their final loss of the season.
Senior running back Carlos Washington Jr. is fifth in the Southland conference in rushing yards with 586 yards and second in touchdowns with 11. Their dual quarterback system involves redshirt freshman Eli Sawyer and senior Cephus Johnson III. Sawyer has the fifth most passing yards in the conference with 1,605 yards while Johnson III is sixth with 1,146 yards. Sawyer is also second in completion percentage with 64.7%, and Johnson III is third with 62.4%.
Leading the Vandals on the ground are freshman RB Anthony Woods and senior RB Roshaun Johnson. Woods is fifth in the Big Sky Conference in yards with 814 while Johnson is fourth in touchdowns with 11.
Leading in the air is redshirt freshman QB Gevani McCoy. Although he was out with an injury against the Bengals, one of the top passers in the conference should be good to go against the Lions. McCoy has completed 68% of his passes, which lands him at second in the conference. His 2,376 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns were fifth and first in the conference respectively.
Receiving the ball for the Lions will likely be redshirt freshman wide receiver Maurice Massey, sophomore WR Gage Larvadain and redshirt junior WR Anthony Spurlock. Massey leads the team in receiving touchdowns with four. Carrying the bulk of gaining yards in the air is Larvadain with 582. Averaging the most receiving yards per catch on both the team, and in the conference, is Spurlock with 25.9 YPC.
Leading the Vandals in both receiving yards and touchdowns is redshirt sophomore WR Hayden Hatten. His 1,000 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns were the second and first best in the Big Sky respectively. His 15 touchdowns also land him atop the Idaho single season record books, beating Jerry Hendren’s record from 1968.
Teaming up with Hatten to give the Vandals such a great aerial attack is junior WR Jermaine Jackson. Jackson’s 938 receiving yards and 19.1 YPC are both third best in the Big Sky.
Both teams played great on defense as Idaho had the fifth best in the Big Sky and SE Louisiana had the third best in the Southland. The Vandals allowed 260 total points, or 26 per game, while the Lions allowed 248 total points, or 22.5 per game.
As the old saying goes, “defense wins championships,” and that will certainly be the case when these teams face off on Nov. 26 at 4 p.m. PST.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jamesaldrich25