MOSCOW, Idaho - The first two rounds of the FCS Playoffs have been chalk in Idaho's quarter of the bracket with the home teams winning every game so far. The fourth-seeded Vandals hope to see the trend continue Saturday when Idaho hosts fifth-seeded UAlbany and one of the best defensive front sevens in the FCS. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+. Game coverage presented by: Avista Utilities, Clearwater River Casino, P1FCU and United Country Real Estate.
ABOUT IDAHO: Idaho survived a battle from Southern Illinois. The Salukis brought one of the best defenses in the FCS, but the Vandals got over the top with strong defense of its own and outstanding special teams play, including a
Jermaine Jackson punt return touchdown and a blocked field goal attempt by Xe'Ree Alexander.
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 and touchdowns.
Anthony Woods is third 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. Freshman Xe'Ree Alexander leads Idaho with 70 total tackles.
Keyshawn James-Newby has a team-high five sacks, but missed multiple games with an injury.
ABOUT UALBANY: UAlbany ended the regular-season as the CAA Co-Champions, but topped fellow co-champs Villanova in the regular-season and Richmond last week in the second round. The Great Danes bring in a solid offensive unit behind last year's Jerry Rice Award Runner-Up Reese Poffenbarger, but their identity comes from the defense, particularly the front seven. Linebacker Dylan Kelly is a tackling machine, racking up 148 so far this season. Tuesday he was named a Buck Buchanan Top-3 finalist. Anton Kuncaj and AJ Simon are wreckers at defensive end. Both have 20.5 TFLs this season while Juncaj has 14 sacks and Simon has 12. Veteran coach Greg Gattuso is in his 10th season as head coach and has led the Danes to the playoffs in 2016.
PICK SIX
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 24-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 5-2 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 (33) 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 1,051 yards rushing on the season, becoming the 15th Vandal to surpass the 1,000 season rushing yards mark. With 15 touchdowns this season, he is already tied for fifth all-time in the single-season TD record list.
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 10th-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. Three of Idaho's regular-season home games were played against top 10 opponents in Montana State, Montana and Sacramento State and played a ranked Eastern Washington team on the road. UAlbany's schedule is ranked 38th.
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. THE EDGE OF HISTORY: Idaho is now 9-3 on the year and one of 11 teams in Vandal history with nine wins. Idaho has previously won at least nine games in 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989,1990, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1998. In only two of those seasons, 1988 and 1993, the Vandals won at least 10 games (winning 11 in both.) Idaho is playing in its fifth quarterfinal game. If they advance to the semifinals, it would the third time in Idaho history, with the previous appearances also happening in 1988 and 1993.
