Following bye week, No. 9 Idaho feeling energized ahead of road game at Portland State

MOSCOW, Idaho – To hear Idaho coach Jason Eck, anyone considering a prop bet on points when the his Vandals play Portland State on Saturday in Hillsboro, Oregon, might want to take the over.

Idaho is coming off a bye week. The Vandals have energy restored, which is fortunate following nine consecutive weeks of games in which they overcame a cascade of injuries and managed to construct a 6-3 record, 3-2 in the Big Sky Conference, and No. 9 ranking in the STATS Football Championship Subdivision poll.

The Vandals may have needed the rest since they are catching a team on the way up. PSU (2-6, 2-3) is 2-2 in its last four games, including busing 10 hours a week ago to hand Sacramento State a 58-38 beating.

“… and they should have beat (fourth-ranked UC Davis, which only prevailed 27-26),” Eck said.

The Vikings have one of the premier Big Sky quarterbacks in senior Dante Chachere, who this season has thrown for 1,452 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 612 yards and 12 more touchdowns.

Finally, the Vikings changed their defensive strategy midway through the season, Eck said. They are playing a lot of “off technique” in the secondary.

“They want to keep everything in front of them,” he said. “They want to win games 35-31, not 17-14.”

The Vandals will counter with an offense rejuvenated by the return of the season’s starting quarterback, Jack Layne.

Layne was injured against Oregon during a 24-14 loss, but he returned last week to throw for 235 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Eastern Washington in a 38-28 victory.

UI running back Nate Thomas, who scored five touchdowns before missing a couple of games with a shoulder injury, could also return against PSU, along with wide receiver Tony Harste, Eck said.

Having Layne back against a defense that plays off the ball could open up the game for Idaho’s tight ends.

“(Layne) does a really good job of getting through progressions” to find tight ends, who are often the fourth read, Eck said.

He added that Idaho is designing more plays to get the ball to tight ends.

PSU sets up Chachere with frequent quarterback draws and options.

“It’s almost a triple option,” Eck said. “He does a good job in the passing game, too.”

The Vandals will have to put a spy on Chachere.

“We have to make sure it is someone who can really run fast,” Eck said. “He is certainly a challenge.”

All things considered, this could be a shootout – the newly confident Vikings taking on the refreshed Vandals offense,

The game will also be a reunion of sorts for PSU junior quarterback CJ Jordan. He played for the Vandals in 2021 and 2022 in a career short-circuited by injuries.

Jordan was with Northern Illinois in 2023 but did not see action. He transferred to PSU this season but has not played in a game.