UI looks to build on success
Oct. 7—No. 3 Idaho and its opponent at 5 p.m. today at Mustang Memorial Field in San Luis Obispo, Calif., Cal Poly (ESPN+), are in two different stages of a rebuild.
The Vandals (4-1, 2-0) are in Year 2 under coach Jason Eck and are winners of four of their last five games. The Mustangs (2-3, 0-2) are under the tutelage of first-year coach Paul Wulff and have yet to win in Big Sky play.
"I have a lot of respect for that program," Eck said during Monday's news conference. "I'm sure he's (Wulff) going to get them going."
Wulff took over for the Mustangs after spending two years as the offensive line coach. But he has decades of coaching experience, with the bulk of it spent in the Big Sky.
The Harrison, Calif., native earned his first head coaching gig at Eastern Washington, going 53-40 in eight seasons. The Eagles appeared in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs three times during his tenure.
"He's an experienced guy in this league," Eck said. "I don't know him really well, but I know his work well. He was one of the four fathers who really got Eastern Washington going, and that continued with coach Baldwin and coach Best. He's a very proven coach in this league who knows how to win."
Wulff's Mustangs will be tasked with defending possibly the most dynamic offense they've faced all year in Idaho, which averages 447.8 yards per game.
Here's what to expect:
A punishing rush attack
The Vandals have already rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a team.
For reference, it took Idaho eight games to reach that mark last season with a deeper backfield — that speaks volumes about the hogs up front.
"I think coach Booth has done a great job with that group," Eck said. "He's holding them to a higher standard and being demanding. That's how he coaches them. I think we're playing harder up front, and I think we're playing physical up front."
The Vandals' sophomore running back Anthony Woods enters today's contest on a two-game stretch where he's had 328 rushing yards on 47 carries (6.9 per carry) and six touchdowns.
"He's a dynamic football player," Eck said. "He's a very talented young man who has a great knack for making guys miss."
Woods' running mate, Nick Romano, is also piecing together a steady season, having 39 carries for 234 yards, which ranks 15th in the conference.
Limiting pressures
Idaho sophomore quarterback Gevani McCoy had a rare off night during its 44-36 win against Eastern Washington on Saturday, going 8-of-18 passing for 128 yards and an interception.
The Eagles were consistently bringing heat to McCoy's face, and while they didn't bring him to the ground, they did pick up three quarterback hurries.
The Baldwin Hills, Calif., native has done a solid job all year of evading pressure and making improvised plays. But the Eastern Washington game was a good example of what happens when he's forced to do it too much.
"You want to take pride in that and try to limit that as much as possible," Eck said of QB pressures. "They just need to consistently get the job done over and over again in the run game and the passing game. I think that's the hallmark of a good offensive line: being consistent."
They're due
The Vandals have struggled to get turnovers this year. They have just five takeaways and a minus-4 turnover margin.
At this time last season, Idaho had 10 takeaways and had at least one in five consecutive games.
Fast forward to this year and the Vandals haven't registered a takeaway (excluding the last-second scoop and score against Sac State) since their 33-6 win against Nevada on Sept. 9.
"We have to keep expanding our ball shots," Eck said. "That's something we track — how many times we're getting shots on the ball. It's just like shots on goal in hockey; usually when you get a ton of shots on goal, eventually they go in."
Despite the lack of turnovers, Idaho's secondary has continued to be the strength of the team, allowing 148.2 passing yards per game, a conference-best.
The Vandals will be facing perhaps the most pass-happy attack they've seen all year in Cal Poly, which has passed the ball 181 times.
The Mustangs started the season with University of Washington transfer Sam Huard under center. But an injury prevented him from playing in last week's 31-13 loss to UC Davis.
When he does play, he's pretty sharp. He's 67-of-109 passing for 862 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Mustangs turned to redshirt freshman Bo Kelly in their loss to the Aggies. He finished 19-of-31 passing for 191 yards and a score.
"You have to study the film and see what they do with each guy," Eck said. "I think that's one of the first things you have to decipher. But first, you have to say, is it different? Sometimes they have multiple quarterbacks, but they're running the same offense with a similar skill set. So you've really got to study and decipher what the differences are, and you've got to do a good job of communicating and knowing who's in defensively and what to expect with each quarterback in the game."
Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks
