Tuesday Morning Quarterback: No. 4 Idaho football team is heating up

The No. 4 Idaho Vandals football team is firing on all cylinders, and it’ll be interesting to see if anyone can slow it down.

Idaho notched a 36-27 victory over then-No. 4 Sacramento State in its home and Big Sky Conference opener Saturday, which in turn snapped the Hornets’ 22-game regular season win streak.

Saturday’s result against the Hornets gave second-year coach Jason Eck a signature win over an above .500 team that’s a traditional Football Championship Subdivision powerhouse. And the Vandals looked good doing it too, cleaning up nearly every aspect that would have typically cost them last year.

For example, Idaho would sometimes struggle against the run while failing to establish a run game themselves.

On Saturday, the Vandals’ defense limited Sac State to just 69 yards rushing while the offense dominated the time of possession, handling the ball for more than 30 minutes. This was made possible courtesy of a gritty performance by Idaho’s offensive line.

The Vandals’ front five gave sophomore runner Anthony Woods plenty of room to run. He finished with 24 carries for 117 yards.

Idaho’s big men had one of their best outings of the season in terms of moving bodies in the run game. But it still struggled to keep a clean pocket for sophomore quarterback Gevani McCoy, who was sacked three times. But even with pressure in his face, McCoy continued to perform like one of the nation’s best.

He finished 15-of-21 (71.4%) passing for 234 yards and two touchdowns while tallying 52 yards on the ground.

The Baldwin Hill, Calif., native had pressure in his lap during both of his touchdown passes to tight end TJ Ivy Jr. and Terez Traynor. But he was still able to deliver the ball with enough touch so they didn’t have to break stride.

McCoy was also able to demonstrate his ability to throw a pass on a line in the second quarter, finding Jermaine Jackson for a gain of 28 yards.

The pass was delivered with pressure in his face on the sidelines, where only the senior could get it.

McCoy is currently 16th in the nation with 980 passing yards, and his 66.4% completion percentage ranks first in the Big Sky.

The redshirt sophomore has taken a major step in his development, and to be honest, it’s been fun to watch. It’s a far cry from where he was the first time he took a snap for the Vandals in a 71-21 loss to Eastern Washington on Oct. 16, 2021, at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.

Idaho’s gunslinger will be returning to the red turf for the first time at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

McCoy came in relief of an injured Zach Borisch and finished 7-of-14 passing for 82 yards and two interceptions in his first taste of college football action.

Following the rout, Eastern Washington’s coach, Aaron Best, was quoted as saying the meeting between the two teams, separated by 71.5 miles, wasn’t much of a rivalry.

Fast forward to the 2022 season, and he had to have regretted that statement.

The Vandals thumped the Eagles 48-16, and McCoy threw for over 200 yards and four touchdowns.

This year’s matchup will be the first time EWU (No. 23) and UI will meet ranked in the top 25 since 1992, which was a 38-21 Vandal win.

Both teams have potent aerial attacks led by high-level quarterbacks. But the Eagles’ defense has proved to be stingy, recording three takeaways in its 27-24 win over UC Davis last Saturday. And turnovers have been a problem so far for the Vandals, with a minus-4 turnover margin.

The Vandals also haven’t been the cleanest after the snap, recording the third most penalties in the Big Sky with 25 for 262 yards.

Eck has been a big proponent of how important turnovers and Idaho not beating Idaho are, especially in games against quality opponents. But so far, the Vandals are struggling to get out of their own way. However, in a surprising turn of fate, it hasn’t really seemed to matter much.

Against Sacramento State, whenever the Vandals would commit a boneheaded play, the Hornets would either return the favor soon after or Idaho would piece together a good enough drive that would almost make you forget about the miscue.

Idaho’s penalties and, honestly, abysmal turnover margin may not have cost it yet, but it’s only a matter of time.

The Vandals are talented enough that they might not even see the repercussions of their misfortunes until the postseason. But it’s up to them to make sure that it doesn’t get to that point.

Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks