PICK SIX

1. THE BATTLE FOR THE CHE-SCOW CUP: The rivalry between Idaho and Eastern Washington dates back to the 40s. In 1984, the teams started trading the Governor's Cup a 32-inch tall cup with a football player on the top. The rivalry originally included a wager between Washington and Idaho's governors.  The Eagles claimed the trophy the first year, but Idaho went on to win 10 of the next 11 games in the series.  Inscriptions were only made for the first four seasons of the trophy rivalry, as the trophy lost its luster with Idaho's domination of the series.  After Idaho's elevation to FBS football, the trophy was stored away because of irregular meetings. After the return of the Vandals to the Big Sky Conference, the rivalry record is 3-3 with both teams winning each home game. In 2022, first-year head coach Jason Eck learned about the trophy and, having no interest in inviting politics into football, unofficially renamed the trophy the "Che-Scow Cup" in honor of the two towns that are homes to the universities. The Vandals claimed the resurrected cup in 2022 with a 48-16 win in the P1FCU Kibbie Dome.

2. ANOTHER RANKED OPPONENT: A week after No. 7 Idaho topped fourth-ranked Sacramento State in battle of top-10 teams. This week, the fourth-ranked Vandals take on the No. 19 Eagles. EWU jumped into the polls after back-to-back wins over ranked teams Southeastern Louisiana and UC Davis. The FCS polls now include seven Big Sky teams including future Vandal opponents Montana (18), Montana State (3) and Weber State (13). 

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, 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: Through four games this season, the Vandals are outpacing their numbers from last year at the same point in the season. Idaho is scoring 32.0 points per game compared to 27.0 in 2022. The Idaho defense is giving up just 20.3 points per game, compared to 20.8. The Vandals are averaging nearly 90 yards more per game on offense while giving up 18 fewer yards. On the ground, Idaho is averaging 4.9 yards per carry compared to 3.2 last season. Another comparison, Idaho averaged the same yards per carry against Pac-12 member Cal as they did against non-scholarship Drake in week three of 2022. 

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.