The #3 ranked Vandals were victorious in California for the first time in 12 years with their win over Cal Poly on Saturday.
Idaho (5-1) came into the game with two ranked wins while Cal Poly (2-6) came in off a loss to #20 UC Davis. The Vandals dominated from beginning to end in the 42-14 victory.
Leading the charge in scoring was redshirt freshman wide receiver Jordan Dwyer. Of the five players to score, Dwyer was the only one to get into the endzone twice. He also only had three receptions, one from each guy to throw a pass.
Two quarterbacks, redshirt sophomore Gevani McCoy and redshirt sophomore Jack Layne, completed a pass to Dwyer. However, neither of them were the passer on Dwyer’s first touchdown.
Senior running back Nick Romano took the snap, then handed it off to McCoy, who pitched it to redshirt junior WR Hayden Hatten. Hatten aired it 32 yards downfield to a completely covered Dwyer, but he was able to haul in the catch despite the pass interference. Hatten has now passed for as many touchdowns as he’s received this season.
“Jordan got pass interfered with on the play and still went up and got it,” Head Coach Jason Eck said in a press conference. “It’s a lot better to get the touchdown and decline the penalty than to just get 15 yards.”
Dwyer’s second touchdown has almost as good of a story as the first. It started with the ball slipping out of redshirt freshman QB Bo Kelly’s hands and junior linebacker Syrr Barnes falling on it. From there, freshman running back Art Williams gained one yard in his second college snap. Williams’ one-yard run was followed by a one-yard pass from Layne, which broke for a 27-yard touchdown for Dwyer.
While Jack Layne put up his second touchdown of the season, his twin brother Dylan Lane was putting up stats on defense. The redshirt freshman linebacker racked up three solo tackles and two tackles for loss.
Leading on the defensive side was graduate student linebacker Tre Thomas with six solo tackles and one QB hurry. However, it was a guy at the bottom of the stat sheet who may have had one of the biggest impacts.
Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Zach Krotzer had one number on his stat line. It was one of the two interceptions against the Mustangs.
“On the screen, Xavier Slayton tipped it, and Zach Krotzer intercepted it,” Eck said. “That was great to see two backups make a good play.”
All around, it was really a game for Idaho’s second-string guys. Romano led in rushing yards with 77 on 13 attempts. Jack Layne, even though he only came in with three minutes left in the third quarter, was 4/5 for 35 yards.
On the defensive side, along with Krotzer, it was a guy who wasn’t a starter until a few weeks ago. Junior defensive back Kyrin Beachem has stepped up after junior DB Murvin Kenion went down with an injury against Nevada. Beachem was the other player to have an interception.
Although the Vandals played well today and had the opportunity to utilize their depth, they have a big challenge in #17 Montana next week. The Griz are coming off a 31-23 road win over #20 UC Davis. Luckily for Idaho, the Kibbie Dome is nearly sold out.
“When I was an assistant here in 2006, I was here for the Boise State game, and that was an electric environment, and I’m hoping this environment is even more electric” Eck said when asked about the crowd. “Every sports bar in America is going to have that game showing, so it’s a great chance for our fans and our team to show what they’re all about.”
Idaho will look to not only show out on national television, but also keep the Little Brown Stein at home on Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. The final game between Idaho and Montana until 2025 can be watched on ESPN2.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on X @jamesaldrich25