MOSCOW, Idaho - Vandals football hosts Portland State Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Kibbie Dome in a homecoming matchup.
1. THE GAME: In true homecoming fashion, Idaho football will play its first home game in over a month when it hosts Portland State Saturday at 2 p.m. The Vandals are 1-0 at home so far this season while the Vikings are 1-1 on the road and 1-1 in Big Sky Play. Idaho celebrates the 100-year anniversary of the Vandal nickname and there are events across campus to celebrate the week, including the ribbon cutting at the new ICCU Arena. Â
2. ABOUT IDAHO: The Vandals are back home for the first time since the Sept. 4 season opener, a 68-0 win over Simon Fraser. Since that time, Idaho has faced a murderer's row of opponents facing two power-five teams and Eighth-ranked UC Davis on the road. Freshman
Elisha Cummings and transfer
Terez Traynor now lead the Vandal rushing and receiving numbers respectively after breakout performances against Davis.
Mike Beaudry leads the passing attack with 614 yards and a 64% completion percentage.
Fa'Avae Fa'Avae paces the Vandal defense with 32 total tackles.Â
3. ABOUT PORTLAND STATE: Saturday's game will be the second game for the Vikings in the Palouse. PSU played Washington State on Sept. 11, falling to the Cougs 44-24. PSU has wins against Western Oregon and Southern Utah and losses to WSU, Montana State and Hawaii. Malik Walker leads to PSU rushing attack with 297 yards rushing while Davis Alexander has racked up over 1,400 yards passing. Three receivers have over 295 yards receiving so far this season. Parker McKenna has a team-high 39 tackles while VJ Malo has eight TFLs and 5.5 sacks already this year.Â
4. TRE WALKER: Fourth-year linebacker
Tre Walker proved why he's the best in the Big Sky last season. He led the conference with 13.5 tackles per game in his four outings and went on to earn five All-America honors. Walker was also a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the top defensive player in FCS. His preseason accolades got better, as he was named the Big Sky Conference Preseason MVP and has been a consistent First Team Preseason All-America selection.Â
5. BREAKOUT GAME: Against UC Davis, Freshman running back
Elisha Cummings notched 125 yards receiving on 15 carries, a season-high for any Vandal rusher. He had carries of 19 yards, 32 yards and 24 yards. Transfer receiver
Terez Traynor racked up 131 yards on 10 catches. His catches included a 28-yard reception and a highlight sideline grab for a first down late in the game.Â
6. QB BATTLE: CJ Jordan started the game Saturday before sustaining an injury in the first quarter.
Mike Beaudry and
Zach Borisch split time for the rest of the game with Beaudry passing for a season-high 255 yards and Borisch running for 82 yards and two touchdowns. All three continue to compete for the starting job in Moscow.
University of Idaho Institutes Metal Detector Policy
Fans are encouraged to give themselves extra time to enter the Kibbie Dome in accordance with the University's new Metal Detector Policy. The doors will open two hours ahead of the scheduled kick-off time instead of 90 minutes to allow fans more time to enter under the new policy. The mask and clear-bag policies remain in effect for Saturday's game.
As part of the University of Idaho's ongoing commitment to safety and security, walk-through metal detectors will be used at university events in which attendance is expected to exceed 1,000 people. The detectors will first be used at the Homecoming football game in the ASUI-Kibbie Activity Center on Saturday, Oct. 9. They will continue to be used for all football games, men's and women's basketball games, and other university sponsored events at the Kibbie Dome or Idaho Central Credit Union Arena. The detectors have been part of the university safety plan for more than a year.
Everyone attending the event — spectators, participants, workers and employees — will be screened at designated points of entry. Attendees will be asked to remove metal objects from clothing before passing through detectors. Prohibited items must be disposed of or returned to vehicles.
"The introduction of metal detectors adds piece of mind for guests, teams and staff," said Cami McClure, assistant vice president of Auxiliary Services. "The added protocols align with industry best practices already in place at many large-scale events and venues."
Last fall, U of I adopted a clear bag policy for events exceeding 1,000 attendees. This policy will continue. After having bags checked, patrons will pass through the metal detectors and then have tickets scanned for entry to the venue.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early at the venue to ensure a sufficient amount of time for screening. Information about these policies and prohibited items can be found online at
uidaho.edu/metal-detector-policy and
uidaho.edu/clearbagpolicy.