No. 7 Idaho to meet rival Idaho State in regular-season finale

On the plane ride to Pocatello, the new “Potato State Trophy” was sitting on a seat possibly right next to Idaho football coach Jason Eck.

It’s a trophy made in Moscow and, if the Vandals (8-3, 5-2 Big Sky) have their way, it will return to Moscow following No. 7 Idaho’s 3 p.m. meeting with the Idaho State Bengals (5-6, 3-4) today at the ICCU Dome in Pocatello.

The trophy, created by Jerek Wolcott, Idaho’s sports information director, is a wooden sphere, stylized as a potato with a metal rendering of the state of Idaho posted on the left side. On the northwestern portion of the metal state of Idaho is the Vandals’ logo and in the southeastern portion is the Bengals’ logo.

The Potato State Trophy replaces a temporary trophy Eck made in 2023 after the Idaho-Idaho State game was rebranded following a sponsorship change.

Following Tuesday’s practice in the Kibbie Dome, Eck’s assistants brought the new trophy into the huddle. The third-year Vandal coach, who is 2-0 against ISU, reminded his players to take a moment to touch the trophy ahead of Saturday’s game.

Eck said this in-state rivalry game is the last game of the regular season for a reason.

“It’s something (that is) really unique and special about college football,” Eck said. “And we like that trophy, we want to keep that trophy. I see it right outside my office every day, I want to keep it there for another year.”

Jack Layne the Bengal Slayer

Vandal sophomore quarterback Jack Layne will start just the fourth game of his season on Saturday and his first time making consecutive starts after suffering a collarbone injury in the Vandals’ season opener at Oregon on Aug. 31 and a separate injury during Idaho’s 38-28 win over Eastern Washington on Oct. 26.

Through three starts versus Oregon, EWU and Weber State, Layne has completed 46-of-80 passes for 686 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions.

However, Layne has a knack for excelling versus Idaho’s in-state rival.

Layne’s first career start as a true freshman came on Nov. 18, 2022, when first-year coach Eck tapped Layne to start versus the Bengals.

The Lake Oswego, Ore., native completed 18-of-29 passes (62.1%) for 255 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the Vandal’s 38-7 win over ISU in Pocatello.

In 2023, Layne’s lone start of the season once again came against the Bengals in the Moscow edition of the rivalry.

Layne turned in a 20-for-26 (76.9%) day for 275 yards and a scorching six touchdowns and no interceptions in the Vandals’ 63-21 victory.

The redshirt sophomore who is already 2-0 against ISU said he loves the energy of a college football rivalry.

“I think rivalry games are what’s kind of beautiful about college football,” Layne said. “I would argue rivalry games in college are kind of more profound than in the NFL, which makes college cool, and then these trophies make it cooler. ... We really want to keep it here. It’s just important to us.”

Scouting the Bengals

Idaho State, despite a sub-.500 record, is having its best season since 2018 when the Bengals won six games.

The Bengals opened the season with a 38-15 loss at Oregon State in their first of three losses in the first five games.

The Bengals beat Western Oregon in their home opener, then lost to then-No. 10 North Dakota, beat Southern Utah, lost by 20 to then-No. 3 Montana State, and then won three-out-of-five one-score games with wins over Cal Poly, Sacramento State and Weber State and four-point losses to Portland State and Northern Arizona.

The Bengals lost their last game 77-42 to EWU in Cheney on Saturday.

“They did not play their best football last week at Eastern, but I think they’ll be primed to play hard against us based on our game last year where we got after them pretty good,” Eck said. “I think they’re a prideful team that is playing hard.”

ISU coach Cody Hawkins announced on Monday that Josh Runda would no longer be the Bengals’ defensive coordinator.

The Bengal defense ranks second-to-last in the Big Sky Conference with 37.6 points allowed per game. ISU allowed EWU to score 77 points last week.

Eck said the Vandals would need to be prepared for anything as ISU debuts a slightly revamped defense, although he does not expect it to be a dramatic shift.

Bengal quarterback Kobe Tracy has completed 234-of-388 passes (60.3%) for 2,812 yards with 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The 6-foot-4 senior from Chubbuck, Idaho, totaled 370 yards, four touchdowns and a pick while throwing the ball a whopping 54 times versus EWU last week.

Senior wide receiver Jeff Weimer has been the Bengals’ leading pass-catcher with 71 receptions for 959 yards and six touchdowns.

The Bengal offense sits in the upper half of the Big Sky Conference with 33.5 points per game while the Vandals, who have relied on three different quarterbacks through 11 games, have the third-worst scoring offense in the conference at 27 points per game.

The Vandals’ fifth-best scoring defense has made up the difference in a remarkably challenging schedule that has seen the team go 2-2 against teams currently in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll and 1-1 against Football Bowl Subdivision schools, with a season-opening loss to Oregon, the No. 1 team in college football as of Week 14.

The injury-plagued Vandals still have several lingering injuries heading into today’s game.

Running backs Elisha Cummings, Deshaun Buchanan and Art Williams are all in various stages of recovery from injuries, leaving junior Nate Thomas and redshirt freshman Carlos Matheney as the healthiest backs in the backfield.

The chance to get a bye in the playoffs

The Vandals at 8-3 are ranked No. 7 in the latest Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll. Idaho is confidently in the playoffs, although nothing is official until the FCS playoff committee announces the 24-team bracket next week after the regular season. The committee awards the top eight teams a bye.

Eck said that he would expect Idaho to receive a first-round bye if the Vandals can beat ISU on Saturday.

Thomas said a first-round bye is not in the front of his mind, but would help the Vandals get closer to their goal of winning the FCS national championship.

“Go ball out one last time to be able to get that extra rest, to not only get myself better, but everybody else better,” Thomas said.

Senior safety Tommy McCormick said he had thought about getting a bye.

“That definitely is in my mind, personally,” McCormick said. “If we want to go all the way, that’s something that we think is pretty crucial, giving our bodies a rest, and then that’s one less game that we have to win to make the national championship.”

Layne said he wants to get a bye to guarantee that the Vandals’ playoff path runs through the P1FCU Kibbie Dome.

Idaho hosted two playoff games at the Kibbie Dome last year, beating Southern Illinois 20-17 in overtime and losing to UAlbany 30-22.

“We know how hard of a place it is to play for teams to come in here,” Layne said. “It’s been rocking this year. The fans have been amazing.”

History of Idaho vs. Idaho State

The Vandals have largely dominated the rivalry, holding a 32-13 all-time record versus the Bengals.

UI and ISU’s first meeting was a 32-0 Vandal win on Nov. 27, 1916, in Pocatello. The game was not played again until 1929 and then returned in 1962.

The two teams met for 31 straight years from 1965-95 (with ISU forfeiting in 1978 because of transportation issues) and then played just five times after Idaho joined the Football Bowl Subdivision in 1996 (previously called NCAA Division I-A). When the Vandals returned to the Big Sky in the FCS again in 2018, it became an annual conference matchup.

“We like to talk about Idaho State being our little brother, and you don’t let your little brother take things from you,” McCormick said. “So we definitely want to come back home with that one.”

The basics

What: Idaho (8-3, 5-2) at Idaho State (5-6, 3-4)

Where: ICCU Dome, Pocatello, Idaho

When: 3 p.m. today

TV: ESPN+

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

Spread: Idaho -8.29 (collegefootballpoll.com)

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.