MOSCOW, Idaho - The Idaho Vandals are off to their best start since 1998 and picked up their first FCS over FBS win since beating UNLV in 1994. The Cal Bears enter the game with a 1-1 record after dropping a game last week to Auburn in Memorial Coliseum. Despite both playing in the Pacific Coast Conference together for more than three decades, the Vandals and Bears only played each other four times, all in the early 30s, all won by Cal, the last a 45-13 result in 1934. 

ABOUT IDAHO: Idaho is 2-0 with two blowout road wins to start the season. Idaho controlled both games, topping Lamar a 42-17 and beating Mountain West Nevada 33-2.  Punter/kicker Ricardo Chavez was named the FEDEX Ground Stats Perform FCS National Special Teams Player after a stellar game against Utah.  Sophomore Gevani McCoy has shined in his first two games and the Vandals lead the FCS in Passing Efficiency. Hayden Hatten leads the Vandals with 176 receiving yards and Anthony Woods has a team-high 209  rushing yards. Mathias Bertram has a team-high 13 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. 

ABOUT CAL: The Bears are 1-1 after a road win at North Texas and a hard-fought home loss at Auburn. Cal has been solid on defense, sitting at 12th in FBS for scoring defense. Jaydn Ott leads the rushing attack with 275 yards in two games. Two QBs have split time for Cal throwing for 482 yards, two TDs and three interceptions. Jackson Sirmon leads the Bears with 15 total tackles.
 
1. FCS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ricardo Chavez tied his career-high in field goals going 4-4, added three PATs and averaged 65 yards a punt on two punts. His efforts earned helped the Vandals dominate the Wolfpack in all three phases of the game and earned Chavez Big Sky Conference and STATS PERFORM FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week honors.  The conference award was the second of his career, but it is his first national award. College Football Hall of Famer and two-time Super Bowl Champion Gary Reasons came out to Moscow to deliver Chavez his award in person. 

2. RETURNING HOME: Seven Vandals hail from the Bay Area or Northern California with three players coming from Oakland and two from Pacifica. Starters Murvin Kenion III (Vallejo/St. Patrick St. Vincent), Jermaine Jackson (Oakland/San Leandro), Tigana Cisse (Oakland/McClymonds) and Nate Azzopardi (Pacifica/Junipero Serra) are all listed as starters on the Vandal depth chart. 

3. IMPACT TRANSFERS: Twelve transfers joined the Idaho roster since the conclusion of last season. Eight of the 12 transfers are listed on the Vandal two-deep and three players, defensive tackle Jahkari Larmond, linebacker Tre Thomas and edge rusher Keyshawn James-Newby are listed as starters for the Vandals. 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. YEAR-TO-YEAR IMPROVEMENT: If the Vandals keep pace with the improvement in year one of the Eck era, Idaho will be among the elite of the FCS. The Idaho offense jumped from 25.36 points per game in 2021 to 35.92 in year one under Eck and the Vandal staff while the defense held opponents to 25.42 points per game, compared to 31.55 in the previous season. The Vandals also increased turnovers from eight to 21 year-to-year. The 2022 defense allowed more than 70 fewer yards per game than the season before, ranking 24th in the FCS for total defense (336.8).

In Big Sky play, the Vandals were the best team in the league in Yards Per Game and led the league in interceptions. The Vandals averaged 23.38 PPG in conference games in 2022, compared to 31.13 in fall of 2021.

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.