Idaho is better than expected...

[76-1]

They almost took down Washington State :

WSU Cougars survive upset scare from Idaho in 24-17 season-opening win

Transfer quarterback Cameron Ward threw for 215 yards and three touchdowns Saturday as Washington State beat scrappy Idaho 24-17 to narrowly avoid the upset.

www.seattletimes.com

A new coaching staff and several transfer additions later and Idaho isn't the same pushover we played last year...

 

[4IUSox2]

At IU, there are no gimmies. Coaches need to get these guys focused and ready to play a solid game next wknd.

 

[It Will Do]

I’m glad they are better. We need to get a W by us playing well vs just showing up.

 

[82hoosier]

I'm just glad the Hoosiers aren't playing powerhouse South Dakota State.

 

[76-1]

I'm just glad the Hoosiers aren't playing powerhouse South Dakota State.

Actually..., we will be to some small degree and those guys gave Iowa all they wanted...

Idaho's HC came from the South Dakota State staff...

Jason Eck - Football Coach - University of Idaho Athletics

Follow @Coach_Eck Head Coach Jason Eck enters his second season at the helm of Vandal football after a stellar first year in Moscow. He led the Vandals to a 7-4

govandals.com

Here's hoping we won't allow the "Vandals" live up to their name by trashing our season...

I'm expecting a much tougher game than we had last Fall against them...

 

[E.Z.Rider]

I watched the highlites on YouTube and they definitely are not the helpless group we beat-up last year.

 

[hoosier roadtrips]

I would have watched it, but Direct does not carry the Pac 12. Comcast does, so maybe the IU staff had access to it someway.

 

[vesuvius13]

IUFB needs to approach every game as a tough opponent to beat if they're not then crush them. With this approach IU is ready for a tougher opponent but also ready to execute against an opponent that doesn't measure up.

 

[76-1]

I watched the highlites on YouTube and they definitely are not the helpless group we beat-up last year.

Here they are:



They look like Real trouble to me if they're hitting on all cylinders and we aren't taking them seriously...

 

[Courtsensetwo]

Here they are:

View embedded media

They look like Real trouble to me if they're hitting on all cylinders and we aren't taking them seriously...

I suspect it will be a closer game than most expect at least for the first half.

My 5 goals for the team would be:

W
OL stabilization
Shivers gets past the trucking he took
CB brings the ball down
#4 is and stays healthy.

 

[So.In.Hoosier95]

I suspect it will be a closer game than most expect at least for the first half.

My 5 goals for the team would be:

W
OL stabilization
Shivers gets past the trucking he took
CB brings the ball down
#4 is and stays healthy.

Each of those 5 things are extremely important at this juncture in the season. I’ll add to it;

- Rush for over 100 yds
- No turnovers

 

[YOTHN]

I suspect it will be a closer game than most expect at least for the first half.

My 5 goals for the team would be:

W
OL stabilization
Shivers gets past the trucking he took
CB brings the ball down
#4 is and stays healthy.

I like it.

Just to keep the additions, I would enjoy seeing us get more looks at Barner. I think he can be a big asset with his size and hands.

 

[daddyhoosier]

Watch out for rat poison.

 

[76-1]

Watch out for rat poison.

????

 

[Jackskip23]

I watched the highlites on YouTube and they definitely are not the helpless group we beat-up last year.

Agreed. This should be a good test for us.

 

[Bowlmania]

Idaho will be confident after playing WSU close, and they'll be loose. They're literally playing with house money (IU paid them $1.3 million to play this two-game series in Bloomington), they've got nothing to lose and, as others have suggested, we'll need to play well. That said, it would be inexcusable to lose to an FCS team that we're paying to play - - and beat - - - and it would portend another train wreck of a season. I'm confident that won't happen.

 

[76-1]

Idaho will be confident after playing WSU close, and they'll be loose. They're literally playing with house money (IU paid them $1.3 million to play this two-game series in Bloomington), they've got nothing to lose and, as others have suggested, we'll need to play well. That said, it would be inexcusable to lose to an FCS team that we're paying to play - - and beat - - - and it would portend another train wreck of a season. I'm confident that won't happen.

We need to get out of that "they're just an FCS team" mindset (at least our guys Actually in uniform do) or we'll end up getting a very sad surprise..., in my opinion...

Idaho looked very much to be Washington State's "near peer" in every aspect of the game last weekend... That's upper level MAC talent, at worst, and everyone knows the MAC has routinely found a way to upset a Big Ten team at home over the years...

 

[TomEric4756]

I suspect it will be a closer game than most expect at least for the first half.

My 5 goals for the team would be:

W
OL stabilization
Shivers gets past the trucking he took
CB brings the ball down
#4 is and stays healthy.

Shivers took the dive handoff and ran with urgency and determination for the winning TD.
Then, he celebrated the winning TD in the end zone. I think he’s fine now.
Bell needs to explain to CB and Shivers‘ blockers how to never let that happen again.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

Shivers took the dive handoff and ran with urgency and determination for the winning TD
Then, he celebrated the winning TD in the end zone. I think he’s fine now.
Bell needs to explain to CB and Shivers‘ blockers how to never let that happen again.

Yes, I mentioned that before that the TD was important for him I would think.

It appeared that Ill was expecting that play. Damn what a hit.

 

[Bowlmania]

We need to get out of that "they're just an FCS team" mindset (at least our guys Actually in uniform do) or we'll end up getting a very sad surprise..., in my opinion...

Idaho looked very much to be Washington State's "near peer" in every aspect of the game last weekend... That's upper level MAC talent, at worst, and everyone knows the MAC has routinely found a way to upset a Big Ten team at home over the years...

I'm sure Idaho's close loss at WSU got IU's attention. IU will be fine.

I'll say it again. It would be inexcusable to lose to an FCS team, particularly after our disastrous season last year that I'd like to think was an aberration. If we lose to Idaho, then it wasn't. But we won't lose to Idaho. Relax.

 

[Shadesof Crimson]

I like it.

Just to keep the additions, I would enjoy seeing us get more looks at Barner. I think he can be a big asset with his size and hands.

I loved seeing Barner in the wide -out sets, once he catches/burns a couple of DB's he'll make the offense even more effective. I'm convinced we'll hear from him in the near future & quite frankly that excites me a lot.

 

[TomEric4756]

I loved seeing Barner in the wide -out sets, once he catches/burns a couple of DB's he'll make the offense even more effective. I'm convinced we'll hear from him in the near future & quite frankly that excites me a lot.

Yes, Hendershot was effective last year split wide at X, and easily out muscled CBs on contested catches.
Barner is even faster and should do well there too.

 

[Jackskip23]

I loved seeing Barner in the wide -out sets, once he catches/burns a couple of DB's he'll make the offense even more effective. I'm convinced we'll hear from him in the near future & quite frankly that excites me a lot.

Barner will rarely be in tight. He’s not a guy we’ll be looking to as an edge setting blocker, especially in the offense Bell wants to run.

 

[daddyhoosier]

????

 

[76-1]

I'm sure Idaho's close loss at WSU got IU's attention. IU will be fine.

I'll say it again. It would be inexcusable to lose to an FCS team, particularly after our disastrous season last year that I'd like to think was an aberration. If we lose to Idaho, then it wasn't. But we won't lose to Idaho. Relax.

I'm interacting with you on the Football Board aren't I... That's about as Relaxed as I can get 😉😎... (almost worries me)...

Once again...: Idaho clearly isn't your average FCS team... Our guys Need to be more than ready for them...

 

[76-1]

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He knows what of he speaks... 😉😎🏈🍺

 

[jlasson]

IMO that says more about WSU than it says about Idaho. The Vandals will most likely be better than last year but the drop off even for GO5 teams to the FCS level is significant. We can cite the few examples where FCS teams have given trouble to P5 teams, but usually that's upper tier(as in top 10 in FCS rankings) against a bottom tier offense or defense. So Iowa a few days ago was pretty classic. This isn't the first time Iowa's outdated offense has struggled against an FCS opponent. NDSU beat them in 2016, but again NDSU was a top tier FCS team at the time. It's also important to note for every one of these close game examples, there's about 50 examples of P5 schools winning with ease.

As it stands Idaho isn't even ranked in the FCS. I simply don't trust any Pac-12 defense given the recent history of that conference. Another note, while WSU is not anything to write home about from a physicality perspective, for an FCS opponent I'm sure they're a lot to take. I wouldn't be surprised if they were more banged up than they were last year when they came to town off a 68-0 win over a D-II school. While rankings don't mean everything and Idaho could absolutely finish the year as a top 10 FCS team, I will be disappointed if our backups aren't in by the start of the second half.

One important note that will certainly not be working in our favor compared to last year though. The crowd should be significantly smaller than it was last season. Even if our guys scoffed at Idaho in practice last year, when you have a full stadium behind you it's a lot easier to bring the intensity than what will most likely be 2/3 full at its peak. Especially after they were just rubbed by Iowa, CTA probably didn't need to convince the starters to go all out last year. He will have to make sure his guys are mentally prepared to give 100%, but if the starters are mentally dialed in, this game will be over by halftime.

 

[IndyIUFan66]

IU should take no team for granted, but I think the Hoosiers will learn from week 1 and bring home a W!

 

[daddyhoosier]

Here they are:

View embedded media

They look like Real trouble to me if they're hitting on all cylinders and we aren't taking them seriously...

Thank you for posting this. You really get a pretty good feel for the game here. That was an unexpected Labor Day treat!

Idaho forced a couple of turnovers early including a defensive TD and jumped out 10-0. Washington St scored the next 24. Wazzu missed two field goals including one late that would have essentially iced the game. As a result the Vandals actually had a chance to tie on their last possession.

It appears Idaho had trouble putting together a sustained drive although on that last possession they went about 80 yards. What jumped out is that Idaho was very aggressive going for it on 4th and short. I would expect the same Saturday.

The Cougars seemed to control the line of scrimmage both ways, especially in the second half - and honestly that is what you would expect to see. It's worth mentioning that this is a rivarly game - the schools are only eight miles apart. As we know sometimes weird things happen in rivalry games.

So, respect Idaho and take preparation for them seriously. Show up Saturday focused and ready to go. As long as our guys do that and don't turn the ball over I don't see any reason why they don't take care of business.

 

[IUninethree]

I'll never be one to say IU should underestimate any opponent. I will say, though, the Idaho/WSU game looks close mostly because WSU played a lousy game.

Idaho pieced together two sustained drives for scores in the game, similar to what they did in Bloomington last year. Otherwise they struggled to move the ball. WSU gave away three fumbles and had two missed field goals in their possessions.

It's also noteworthy that Idaho/WSU is a low-key rivalry game. It's less than 10 miles from WSU's stadium to Idaho's stadium. I'd guess that added some edge to the performance of both teams.

My guess is the Idaho team that arrives on Saturday will be similar in skill and ability to the Idaho team we saw last year. The IU team will also be similar in skill and ability to the 2021 squad, maybe with the advantage of coming off a win vs a stinging road loss. A similar result to 2021's will be ideal.

 

[Jssanto]

Yes, I mentioned that before that the TD was important for him I would think.

It appeared that Ill was expecting that play. Damn what a hit.

I also wondered if we were tipping our plays.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

I also wondered if we were tipping our plays.

It certainly looked like it that time. Also, the defender could have just been lucky and stayed home.

 

[Wiedersehen]

They almost took down Washington State :

WSU Cougars survive upset scare from Idaho in 24-17 season-opening win

Transfer quarterback Cameron Ward threw for 215 yards and three touchdowns Saturday as Washington State beat scrappy Idaho 24-17 to narrowly avoid the upset.

www.seattletimes.com

A new coaching staff and several transfer additions later and Idaho isn't the same pushover we played last year...

They stunk. Did you watch the game? Idaho did absolutely nothing on offense until a miracle drive late in the 4th to cut it to 7. That was there only offensive touchdown. They are really bad. IU should win by 30.

 

[Jackskip23]

They stunk. Did you watch the game? Idaho did absolutely nothing on offense until a miracle drive late in the 4th to cut it to 7. That was there only offensive touchdown. They are really bad. IU should win by 30.

They aren’t very good at all. WKU will be much tougher than Idaho.

 

[76-1]

They stunk. Did you watch the game? Idaho did absolutely nothing on offense until a miracle drive late in the 4th to cut it to 7. That was there only offensive touchdown. They are really bad. IU should win by 30.

Watched the same tape I provided for you...

Clearly we see things differently...

You're wrong about their skill level but I do hope you're right about our winning by 30...

If we walk onto that field thinking they're gonna just roll over and play dead because they're not an FBS school we're going to be in for a long day...

 

[Bowlmania]

Line opens at IU -21.5.

 

[Hoosiers47614]

It is notable that Wazzu and Idaho is a fairly serious rivalry for those schools, probably one of very few that exists between a FBS and FCS school. They played basically every year before Idaho dropped down, and both sides seemed pretty excited online for it to come back. Idaho probably had a lot of fire behind them for that game.

 

[Wiedersehen]

Watched the same tape I provided for you...

Clearly we see things differently...

You're wrong about their skill level but I do hope you're right about our winning by 30...

If we walk onto that field thinking they're gonna just roll over and play dead because they're not an FBS school we're going to be in for a long day...

I watched the entire game Saturday night. Idaho is horrendous on the offensive side of the ball. Horrendous. No excuse not winning this one by three touchdown or more.

 

[VandalBasher]

The comments here are all fair. Indiana will see the same level of talent from the Vandals as they did last year.

The significant difference will be from our new staff. Coach Eck has this team believing they can win. The previous coaching staff always played to "not lose." Idaho was up by five touchdowns against CSU in our last bowl and ended the game only winning by two. If the Petrino teams would have ended games at halftime, those teams would have had multiple winning seasons. Good coaches were able to make halftime adjustments against our old coach and the second half of every game showed this.

Idaho isn't winning this game. But, I say we cover: 40-21 Indiana win.

 

[DANC]

It certainly looked like it that time. Also, the defender could have just been lucky and stayed home.

I would bet Illinois scouted Bell's past play-calls and that was one of his favorites.

Yeah, they were more than expecting that play.