No. 4 Vandals poised to face hot passing attack

No. 4 Idaho will face its second ranked Football Championship Subdivision opponent in as many weeks when it travels down to Abilene, Texas, to play No. 19 Abilene Christian.

The two ranked teams will kick off at 5 p.m. Pacific today at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.

“Defensively, I think they are a lot like our team — they are driven by their defensive line,” Idaho coach Jason Eck said. “I think their D-line is really a challenge. They have a really creative scheme where they like to do a lot of blitzes and movement up front.”

Both teams enter the game with 2-1 records with the only blemish on coming against a Power Four conference team. Idaho lost its opener to then-No. 3 Oregon 24-14. The Wildcats went for two in overtime against Texas Tech and failed to convert in a 52-51 loss.

Backup quarterback Jack Wagner will once again lead the Vandal offense and after two clean performances that led to Idaho wins, Eck has been happy with his performance.

“We have a ton of confidence in Jack Wagner,” Eck said. “The impressive thing to me through two games (is that) he has not turned the ball over, which is sometimes something that happens with young quarterbacks. He has done a really good job of protecting the football.”

A victory would wrap up an impressive nonconference portion of the Idaho schedule that could look good to the seeding committee if the Vandals are able to make it back to the FCS playoffs. With a win, Idaho would head into Big Sky competition with two top-25 FCS victories, a win over a Mountain West team and a solid performance against Oregon.

“If we can find a way to win this game, that gives us a heck of a resume in our nonconference games,” Eck said. “It is a process throughout the year and we cannot get ahead of ourselves.”

A “Turb” homecoming

Idaho running back Elisha Cummings, nicknamed “Turb,” graduated high school at Bishop Reicher in Waco, Texas. Abilene is a three-hour drive from Waco and the Vandal running back is expecting to have at least 50 family and friends in attendance.

Cummings and running mate Nate Thomas ran all over UAlbany last week. The duo combined for 148 of the 247 Idaho rushing yards in the blowout win. There is a chance of topping those numbers today.

The Wildcats have allowed opponents to rush for 168 yards per game, but that is mostly because the opposing offenses have leaned on the ground game. In the three games that ACU has played, its opponents have rushed the ball 131 times to just 99 pass attempts.

Those numbers were skewed last week in a 24-22 victory against Northern Colorado when the Bears had 65 rushing attempts to just 13 passes.

Cummings has increased his rushing total in all three games this year and had 71 yards on just 11 carries against the Great Danes. Thomas needed just eight carries to amass 75 yards and two touchdowns in the same game.

With Abilene Christian’s difficult front seven, Idaho might lean heavily on the two running backs to maintain the ball and not allow Wagner to face too many blitzes while also winning the time-of-possession game.

High-powered passing attack

Two-thirds of the Abilene Christian offense this season has come from the passing game. The Wildcats are averaging 344 yards through the air on 41 passing attempts.

“This will be a great challenge for us this week,” Eck said. “They throw it a bunch.”

ACU quarterback Maverick McIvor is 80-for-122 (65.6%) with seven touchdowns to no interceptions through three games.

McIvor has found 13 different receivers for at least one catch so far. None more than Nehemiah Martinez who has 18 receptions for 259 yards and three touchdowns. Blayne Taylor (13 catches, 206 yards) and Javon Gipson (8, 125) are two other receivers to look out for. However, McIvor likes to spread the ball around and has completed a touchdown pass to five different targets.

The Vandal pass rush will need to be in top form to get McIvor out of rhythm and make him feel uncomfortable in the pocket.

Abilene Christian has size up front and has only allowed three sacks on the year. Four of the five starting offensive linemen for the Wildcats are listed at 295 pounds or more.

Temperature, “Schmalperature?”

In an on field postgame interview, Eck coined the phrase “altitude, schmaltitude” after the 17-13 victory against Mountain West opponent Wyoming on Sept. 7. It was a reference to the critics saying Idaho would wear down at the 7,220-foot elevation of War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, Wyo.

This week, it is not the altitude that the Vandals need to worry about, it is the temperature. According to AccuWeather.com, the temperature at kickoff in Abilene, Texas, at 5 p.m. Pacific is projected to be 90 degrees.

Idaho practiced during the hot August days for fall camp and Eck said the wide array of weather that Moscow gets will allow the Vandals to be ready for any kind of weather, but this will still be a test.

“It takes a lot of energy and effort to rush the passer, so playing in heat definitely is a challenge. ... I think our depth at the D-line will have to be a factor in this game,” Eck said. “I think they average throwing it over 40 times a game. Who knows, if we keep stopping the run like we have they might be a team that wants to throw it 50 times against us like Oregon did.”

Idaho’s defense has done a great job of rotating in fresh players as often as it can to keep players from wearing down. This week there has been a heavier emphasis on hydration as well to prepare for the hot Texas conditions.

Eck meets a familiar face

Current Wildcat associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator Nick Holt was a former assistant coach and later head coach for the Vandals. Holt was an assistant from 1990-97 for Idaho before he left to be an assistant for Louisville and later USC.

The University of the Pacific graduate returned to Moscow to take the head coach position for the Vandals from 2004-05, where he struggled to a 5-18 record.

The offensive line coach for Holt? A young Eck in his first full-time coaching position.

“I am thankful to him because if he hadn’t hired me at Idaho as an assistant, I probably wouldn’t be here as the head coach,” Eck said. “So I am very thankful for the opportunities that he gave me.”

The basics

What: Idaho at Abilene Christian

When: 5 p.m. Pacific today

Where: Abilene, Texas

Streaming: ESPN+

Radio: KOZE-AM/FM (950/95.5), KZFN-FM (106.1), KORT-AM (1230), KLER-AM (1300)

Isbelle can be reached at 208-848-2268, risbelle@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyIsbelle.