Idaho hopes to salvage season with rivalry win over Idaho State

Nov. 21—MOSCOW, Idaho — So, it comes down to this. Idaho and Idaho State will conclude the football season playing for an 18-pound slab of Douglas fir chain-sawed into the shape of a potato by UI assistant athletics director Jerek Wolcott — the Potato State Trophy.

The Bengals (5-6, 4-3 Big Sky Conference) are playing to reach .500. They seem to be a team on the way up. Idaho (4-7, 2-5) is playing to salvage something from a season that opened with a top-10 ranking and dreams of a Football Championship Subdivision title and closes with the goal of sending the seniors out with a win.

For Vandals fans, though, this is not the white-hot rivalry of yore against Boise State. The Bengals are coming to the Kibbie Dome on Saturday positioning themselves as a respected rival, not a hated one.

Idaho coach Thomas Ford Jr., in his press conference leading up to this game, touched on his regard for ISU coach Cody Hawkins before stating the practically obligatory "when you take the field, there are no friends."

Hawkins said the game is a step on the way to rebuilding a semi-moribund Bengals program.

"Is this game different? Understandably it is different. But it doesn't change the process."

He said he is looking forward to hanging out with Ford at Big Sky Conference coaches' meetings after the season, and he stated his admiration for the hard-luck Vandals, who lost three games by less than a touchdown, especially for their running game, defense, special teams and quarterback Joshua Wood.

Wood has been the catalyst for Idaho's offense. He has thrown for 1,825 yards this year with 14 touchdowns and four interceptions, and he has rushed for seven touchdowns.

He missed two games with a sprained knee but returned to lead Idaho to a pair of wins against Portland State and Northern Arizona before losses against UC Davis and Sacramento State. Hawkins said Wood lifts Idaho's entire team.

"They are a different team when he plays. Their pressure rate is less when he does not play. They stop the run less when he does not play," he said.

Idaho's record may not reflect it, but the Vandals are a solid defensive team. They are sixth in the Big Sky, averaging 405.1 yards of surrendered offense and seventh in points given up, 28.6 points per game. They are led by stalwarts like linebackers Isiah King (73 tackles) and Dylan Layne (77 tackles), and defensive linemen Matyus McLain (12.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks), Zach Krotzer and Sam Brown.

"I have a ton of respect for their defense. They're nasty." Hawkins said.

He expects Ford, who has a background in coaching special teams and running backs, to look for game-changing plays in the former. "He is going to create an advantage on special teams," said Hawkins.

But as much as Ford would like to dominate games with a running attack, he is dealing with a depleted running back roster.

Elisha Cummings, injured off and on for much of the year, has rushed for 365 yards and two touchdowns but was hurt again in Idaho's most recent game against Sacramento State, a 23-20 loss. Art Williams torched Utah Tech for 144 yards but was ruled out for the season with an injury the next week. Nate Thomas, 387 rushing yards and two touchdowns, has shouldered the load recently.

Ford does expect to have several injured wide receivers back in Marquawn McCraney and Ryan Jezioro.

However, Idaho's secondary will probably be missing a pair of safeties in Hayden John (53 tackles and an interception), who has been ruled out, and Matt Irwin (44 tackles), who is a game-time decision.

ISU will test Idaho's defense with quarterback Jordan Cooke. He has thrown for 2,840 yards and 14 touchdowns. Running back Dason Brooks has 904 yards and 10 touchdowns on the year, piling up 219 yards on Nov. 1 against UC Davis.

Ford says the Bengals do a good job of protecting Cooke, who is adept at extending plays.

"We have got a lot to prepare for," Ford said.

The Vandals and Bengals are closing out 2025 as a pair of teams looking to the future. Ford notes Idaho's losses to Washington State, 13-10, San Jose State, 31-28, and Eastern Washington, 21-14, and says "that's how close we are to being a playoff football team.

"We are optimistic, hopeful in building for the future."

Hawkins says of the Vandals, "they are going to be confident." He points out ISU last beat Idaho in 2021. The Vandals "are going into this football game with players who have never lost to the Bengals. They are not going to go down without a fight."