Things to watch: Idaho hopes mounting injuries won’t take a toll on playoff game against Southeastern Louisiana
MOSCOW, Idaho – Idaho has a long, successful legacy in the Football Championship Subdivision.
The Vandals made 11 trips to the playoffs in the 1980s and 1990s, reaching the semifinals twice. Following their two-decade venture in Football Bowl Subdivision football, however, it took the Vandals five years to regain their footing after returning to the Big Sky Conference and the FCS in 2018.
They stacked seven wins against four losses this year, though, and are back in the chase for an FCS championship for the first time in 27 years.
Here are three things to watch as Idaho travels to Southeastern Louisiana today to take on the Lions in the FCS first round.
Who is available to play? Vandals quarterback Gevani McCoy has been a key component in Idaho’s turnaround. He is 11th in FCS completion percentage, 67.9% , and fifth in efficiency, 168.4. He is a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award given to the most outstanding FCS freshman. He was named the BSC Freshman of the Year and to the All-BSC third team, and was a Big Sky Co-offensive Player of the Week following Idaho’s 30-23 win against Montana. But McCoy has been slowed by a knee injury. He was replaced by freshman Jack Layne in the Vandals’ final regular-season game against Idaho State, a 38-7 victory in which Layne completed 18 of 29 passes for 255 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Layne would get the start again against the Lions if McCoy, who was still affected by the injury in practice the past week, can’t go. Also iffy for the Vandals is their graduate transfer from USC, Juliano Falaniko. The defensive end has 29 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks this season. Falaniko also had a reduced practice load this week as he is trying to recover from an injury in time to help Idaho in the playoffs.
How good is Southeastern Louisiana? The Lions are 8-3, including wins against Incarnate Word and Jacksonville State. They are balanced on offense, averaging 250.1 yards per game passing and 181.3 yards on the ground. The Lions play a pair of quarterbacks in Eli Sawyer and Cephus Johnson III. Both are effective passers, and Johnson III has rushed for 419 yards this season. Carlos Washington Jr. leads the Lions with 586 rushing yards, followed by Johnson and Jessie Britt with 374. Idaho’s defense has had its biggest problems this season with teams that like to run, and Vandals coach Jason Eck said the Lions are just a step behind UC Davis and Sacramento State – the two Big Sky teams that beat Idaho – in putting together an effective ground game. The Lions’ defense is opportunistic with 14 interceptions, led by five players with two picks apiece, and the secondary is not afraid to play man-to-man on the outside. Idaho’s two first-team All-Big Sky receivers, Jermaine Jackson and Hayden Hatten, have beaten man coverage all year. Jackson is first in the Big Sky with 19.58 yards per reception, and Hatten broke a 54-year-old Idaho record when he caught his 15th touchdown of the season against Idaho State.
Can Idaho dominate the turnover battle? The Vandals have 21 takeaways this year against just eight turnovers . This is the seventh-best turnover margin in the FCS. In preseason camp, Eck told his team its ability to end five straight losing seasons would rely in large measure on their ability to force turnovers. Tommy McCormick, Murvin Kenion and Paul Moala have four interceptions apiece, and cornerback Marvin Harris has returned a fumble recovery against Washington State and an interception against Idaho State for touchdowns.