MOSCOW, Idaho - The Vandals are looking to make it three straight wins against Idaho State Saturday at 4 p.m. at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome. The Bengals are 3-7 on the year, but have found optimism and a talented quarterback in year one under Cody Hawkins. The Vandals are hoping to lock up a playoff spot with a win over Idaho State, entering the contest with a 7-3 record and a top 10 ranking. Idaho has more than doubled up Idaho State for the all-time series lead. The Battle of the Domes trophy has been retired and will not be used this year. The two schools are working on a new rivalry trophy which they hope to debut next year. The game will be broadcast live on SWX in North Idaho and Eastern Washington, KIVI in the Boise Area and KSAW in Twin Falls. 

ABOUT IDAHO: Idaho dropped last weekend's road game against Weber State 31-29 and looks to get back on the winning trail. Gevani McCoy is one of the most efficient passers in the FCS and is among the leaders in the Big Sky for passing yards and touchdowns. Hayden Hatten is among the leaders in the FCS in receiving yards. Anthony Woods is seventh in the nation in rushing TDs and leads the Big Sky in a bevy of categories. The Vandal defense is a solid unit, among the leaders in FCS in passing yards allowed and total defense. Tommy McCormick leads Idaho with 57 total tackles. Keyshawn James-Newby has a team-high five sacks, but missed the last two games with an injury. 

ABOUT IDAHO STATE: Idaho State is energized under first-year head coach Cody Hawkins. Quarterback Jordan Cooke and receiver Chedon James have become an outstanding combination, leading the nation's top passing offense. Safety Calvin Pitcher has a team-high 80 tackles and Cortland Horton has leads ISU with four sacks.
1. ECK'S VANDALS AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: Against Montana State, Idaho picked up its third win over a top-5 team in head Coach Jason Eck's  21-game tenure as a head coach. The Vandals controlled the time of possession, limiting Montana State to just 27 offensive plays and won all three phases of the game to pick up the 24-21 win over then second-ranked Montana State Saturday. Idaho previously won games over No. 3 Montana last season and No. 4 Sacramento State  earlier this year. Idaho is 3-1 against top-5 teams in 2022 and 2023, with his only loss coming in a last-second loss to #2 Sacramento State a season ago. Against ranked teams, Idaho is 4-2 in the same span. Prior to Eck's arrival, Idaho was 2-10 against ranked opponents and 0-4 in games against top-5 foes since returning to the FCS. 

2. RECORD SETTING FORM: Hayden Hatten's two fourth-quarter touchdowns against Montana gave the redshirt junior the Idaho Career Receiving Touchdown Record with 28. He broke Jerry Hendren's mark of 27 which was set in 1969. Hatten now holds the single-game (four), single-season (16) and the career receiving touchdown (31) records. He is also now fifth in the career total touchdown top 10 and third on the career receiving yards list. He surpassed the 3,000-yard mark for his career against Weber State.  Idaho running back Anthony Woods has 889 yards rushing on the season and is 111 yards from becoming the 14th Vandal ever to go over 1,000 yards in a season. With 13 touchdowns this season, he is already eighth all-time in the single-season TD record book. 

3. IMPACT TRANSFERS: Eleven transfers joined the Idaho roster since the conclusion of last season. Eight of the 11 transfers are listed on the Vandal two-deep and three players, edge rusher Tylen Coleman, linebacker Tre Thomas and edge rusher Keyshawn James-Newby are listed as starters for the Vandals. Jahkari Larmond has made his presence felt with disruptive play in the middle of the Vandal defense. Thomas brings three-years of starting experience from South Dakota and James-Newby racked up nine sacks and 14.5 tackles, leading the NAIA's Frontier Conference while at Montana Tech. Turon Ivy Jr. started game two and took the opening pass 75 yards for a touchdown.  

4. STURDY SCHEDULE: Massey Ratings has Idaho's current schedule listed as the seventh-toughest schedule in all of the FCS. The Vandals have played seven road games so far this season, including two against FBS teams, going 1-1 in those games. The three home games so far were played against top 10 opponents in Montana State, Montana and Sacramento State and played a ranked Eastern Washington team on the road. 

5. MORE BEEF IN THE TRENCHES: The biggest difference year-to-year on the offensive line and defensive line for the Vandals may be improved strength and weight. Of the nine returners on the Vandal two-deep for the offensive line, the weight gain is over 11 pounds on average per player. Last year, not a single player who started a game at defensive tackle weighed over 270. This season, not a single player on the defensive line two-deep weighs less than 275. 

6. STAFF CONSISTENCY: With an FCS program that had a winning season, it is not unreasonable to assume that many members of the successful coaching staff would get poached by bigger programs. In the case of the 2022 Idaho Vandals only one coach, safeties coach Tyler Yelk, left and he took an assistant job with the Philadelphia Eagles. Coach Jason Eck hired Bobby Jay, the Defensive Coordinator of the University of San Diego Toreros.