MOSCOW, Idaho - Idaho hits the road for the final time in the regular season with a game against Weber State Saturday in Ogden, Utah. The Vandals clinched the all-important seven-win mark with last-weeks victory over Northern Colorado in Greeley. Weber is coming off of a convincing win over Idaho State in Pocatello. Idaho is the Big Sky leader in pass efficiency and total defense. The two teams are among the youngest in the FCS with Weber State having 29 freshmen and sophomores on the two-deep and Idaho having 27. 

ABOUT IDAHO: Idaho moved to 7-2 on the year with seven DI wins and a 6-1 record against FCS foes, the only loss a 23-21 setback to No. 3 Montana. 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 fourth 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. Tre Thomas leads Idaho with 45 total tackles. Keyshawn James-Newby has a team-high five sacks, but missed the last two games with an injury. 

ABOUT WEBER STATE: Weber State is 4-5 on the year, but recorded an impressive road win over UNI in week two. They had one-score losses to UC Davis and Eastern Washington and are coming off of a 33-21 win over Idaho State. Weber is among the nation's leaders in Sacks and forced fumbles. True freshman Richie Munoz has started the last three games at QB and passed for four TDs and just one interception. Weber State standout kick returner Abraham Williams leads the Big Sky in kick return yardage and kick return touchdowns. 
1. ECK'S VANDALS AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: Two Weeks ago, 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 records. He is also now fifth in the career total touchdown top 10 and third on the career receiving yards list. He now has 30 career touchdowns. He is just 46 receiving yards from surpassing 3,000 for his career.  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 six 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. Saturday will be the last regular-season road game for Idaho before a season-ending game against Idaho State in the P1FCU Kibbie Dome on Nov. 18. 

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.