Idaho to go with what works in 'Che-scow cup'

Sep. 30—The No. 4 Idaho football team will play its second ranked opponent in as many weeks at 1 p.m. today at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash., against No. 19 Eastern Washington.

The Vandals are coming off a 36-27 win over No. 7 Sacramento State in their home and conference opener last Saturday. The victory ended the Hornets' 22-game regular season win streak.

The Eagles enter today's game following a 27-24 decision over No. 21 UC Davis last Saturday. The win earned them a spot in the Stats Perform Football Championship Subdivision Top-25 poll.

"I know they'll be ready to play," Idaho coach Jason Eck said at Monday's news conference. "They're playing well, and it's another ranked matchup, so this is a big football game. They certainly have caught our attention because their last two wins came against teams that beat us last year."

Both offenses are dependent on the arms of their quarterbacks, with both gunslingers ranking in the top three in passing yards from within the Big Sky. But each team has solid secondaries that'll present some challenges.

"We're going to have to play efficiently on offense and not turn the ball over," Eck said. "They had a couple interceptions last year when we played them, and we have to start fast."

Here's what to expect in this edition of the "Che-scow cup.":

Sticking to what works

The Vandals have more offensive firepower than perhaps anyone in the Big Sky.

Idaho's sophomore quarterback Gevani McCoy has completed 66.4% of his passes for 980 yards and six touchdowns. The signal-caller has been able to disperse the ball to many of his targets, with four of the Vandals' pass catchers ranking in the top 20 in the Big Sky in receiving yards.

Idaho's sophomore running back Anthony Woods has also quietly been piecing together the best season of any offensive player for the Vandals.

The Palmdale, Calif., native is second in the Big Sky with 382 yards rushing and already has a career-high four touchdowns. He's also coming off a game where he had a career-high 24 carries for 117 yards.

"I think what you saw last week is a guy that is ready to handle the load," Idaho running backs coach Thomas Ford said. "I really do believe Anthony is capable of touching the ball anywhere from 20 to 30 times a game, whether that's running it or throwing it to him; however, we have to get it to him."

Idaho's ability to run the ball has allowed its dangerous offense to slowly matriculate down the field for a Big Sky-high 33 minutes, 54 seconds per game. And when the Vandals reach the red zone, they've been able to capitalize, scoring on 17 of their 18 possessions.

Staying out of your own way

Idaho's offense is operating extremely smooth, leading the Big Sky in offensive efficiency at 167.7, so it's easy to look past the Vandals' minus-4 turnover margin.

Idaho has given up the ball nine times this season, six of which have come from fumbles.

"There's some fundamental stuff we need to be better at," Eck said. "We're off to a good start this season, but if you continue to lose the turnover margin, you're not going to be off to a really good start, so that's something we've got to fix."

The Eagles defense has a plus-2 turnover margin and has gotten timely scores from senior defensive back Marlon Jones in their two wins.

In EWU's 40-29 victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 16, Jones returned an interception for 36 yards and a score for the game's final margin.

The Tacoma, Wash., native made his presence known in the UC Davis game as well when he picked off a Miles Hastings pass in the first quarter to put the Eagles in front 10-3.

Limiting the big plays

The Vandals had just four explosive plays against the Hornets and allowed six.

That number needs to go down against an Eastern Washington aerial attack that averages 265.3 yards per game, the third most in the Big Sky.

The Eagles are led by sophomore quarterback Kekoa Visperas, who is 10th in the FCS with 1,057 passing yards.

Eastern Washington coach Aaron Best has put a lot of faith in his first-year signal caller, letting him throw 38 times per game.

Visperas' favorite target four games in has been junior receiver Efon Chism, who has 30 receptions, which ranks second in the conference for 294 yards.

The Eagles' most explosive target is their Canadian receiver, junior Nolan Ulm.

His 19 receptions are accompanied by 209 yards, an average of 11 yards per catch.

The junior's longest reception this season was a 34-yard score against North Dakota State on Sept. 2 to pull the Eagles to within 14-7 in the opening frame.

Idaho's secondary has been one of its strongest units this season, allowing 154.3 passing yards per game.

The Vandals have done this without their starting safety, Murvin Kenion, who's been out for the last two weeks.

Idaho junior safety Kyrin Beachem has stepped up in a big way during his absence, and stalwart Tommy McCormick has continued to play well.

In Idaho's win against Sac State, McCormick racked up five tackles, including three solo stops and two pass breakups. Beachem added three tackles and two pass breakups.

"I thought our safety played excellent last week," Eck said. "I think Tommy McCormick had his most complete game since I've been here. Becahem has been playing physically, and he had a couple of pass breakups where he whacked the heck out of a guy."

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