Coming off a close loss to UC Davis, the Vandals look to flip the script and get their fourth win of the season against Northern Arizona University. The Vandals will return to the P1FCU Kibbie Dome at 2 p.m. on Oct. 6 to take on the #25 ranked Lumberjacks for their homecoming game.
Coach Eck shared his perspective of Idaho’s road games to start the season and his excitement about returning to the Palouse and playing in front of a home crowd.
“We’ve definitely had a challenging road. I think Northern Arizona is a very good team too, I think they are one of the better teams we have left on our schedule this year,” Eck said. “It’s a great challenge, we need people to come support this team. I think even in defeat you should be proud of these guys because they are fighting their tails off for you.”
After beating Sacramento State, NAU jumped up from being unranked to being ranked #25 in the FCS. Idaho, who was previously ranked #4, dropped down to #10 after the 28-26 loss to the Aggies. Idaho lost starting TE Jake Cox for the season after going down with a knee injury. Starting QB Jack Wagner reaggravated his shoulder injury from earlier in the season, but Eck is hopeful about his status for Saturday.
The Lumberjacks are ranked #3 in the Big Sky for total offense with 169 total points, as well #3 for total defense with opponents averaging 19.8 points per game. The NAU offense is led by QB Ty Pennington, who has 810 passing yards on a 65.7% completion rate thus far in the season. The Lumberjack rushing game is led by RB Darvon Hubbard, who has ascertained 301 rushing yards on 51 attempts, averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
Idaho’s defense ranks #4 in the Big Sky, which should be a great matchup against NAU’s potent offense. The Vandal defense, led by Linebacker Jaxton Eck, who leads the team in solo tackles with 19 and Edge Keyshawn James-Newby, a nationwide premier pass rusher with, who leads the team with 7 sacks, will look to neutralize the NAU rushing attack.
Idaho’s offense will look to get back to its early season form. RB’s Elisha Cummings and Nate Thomas will lead the Vandal rushing attack against a Lumberjack defense that has allowed 818 rushing yards across all matchups this season. Cummings and Thomas have a combined average of 109.6 yards per game, with 5 touchdowns between them while sharing a near 50-50 attempt rate.
The Vandals will take on the Lumberjacks at 2 p.m. Oct. 6 in the P1FCU Kibbie Dome. For other homecoming events, visit here. Tickets for the game are on sale here.
You can reach Jack DeWitt and [email protected]