Idaho (0-1) vs. #21 Utah (0-0)
MOSCOW, Idaho - After a nail-biter Week 1 that came down to the final seconds, Idaho Football is returning to the big screen, traveling to Salt Lake City for a road contest with FBS Utah on Thursday night on ESPNU. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM MST/6:00 PM PST.
The Vandals' offense made big plays in the season opener, emphasized by Joshua Wood's career-high 405 yards of total offense and Tony Harste logging a personal best 180 yards receiving with a pair of scores. However, as is the case everywhere, a team is never its best self in Week 1, and Idaho will have an opportunity to take that next step against one of the best teams in the country.
With Big Sky play halted for the time being, Idaho will face a slate of talented teams in the non-conference portion of the season, Utah being the first. Following the contest in Salt Lake City, UI will finally return to the comforts of the P1FCU Kibbie Dome to host two 2025 playoff contenders in Lamar and Abiliene Christian.
A LOOK AT UTAH
Utah, ranked #21 in the AP preseason polls, returns some notable talent despite having a new head coach for the first time in two decades. Morgan Scalley, longtime assistant in Salt Lake City, has taken over the helm of the storied program and will make his full-time head coaching debut on Thursday after leading the Utes to a Las Vegas Bowl win over Nebraska to close out the 2025 season.
Devon Dampier is slated to return for his second season under center for Utah. The senior quarterback was named Third-Team All-Big 12 and the league's newcomer of the year in 2025 and has been named to numerous watchlists over the offseason, including the Maxwell, Davey O'Brien, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm, and Walter Camp awards.
Defensively, the Utes have multiple new faces who could see significant snaps. DL Jireh Moe, a San Jose State transfer, had one of the best win rates in college football last season and will be a strong presence up front. LB Johnathan Hall will be a surefire leader and signal caller for Utah's defense in 2026, coming off a junior season where he racked up 67 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and an interception.
THINGS TO LOOK FOR
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Joshua Wood and Tony Harste will look to build on the chemistry displayed in Week 1. Wood tallied a career-high 363 yards passing with two TDs vs. Cal Poly, with Harste on the receiving end of 180 of those yards as well as both scores, also personal bests.
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The series with Utah is one of Idaho's most storied rivalries in the program's history. The Vandals and Utes first faced off in 1908, a 0-0 tie in Salt Lake City. The series sits nearly even, with Utah holding a 14-12-1 advantage.
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Morgan Scalley will make his debut as a first-time head coach for Utah after spending his entire coaching career with the Utes, rising from an administrative assistant in 2006 to the head of the program twenty years later.
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The Utes' home turf, Rice-Eccles Stadium, has a capacity of nearly 51,500 and will be nearly twice the size of the next-largest stadium the Vandals will play this regular season.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
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3: Idaho is one of three FCS teams to record multiple wins over FBS programs since 2023 (Idaho beat Nevada 33-6 in 2023, Idaho beat Wyoming 17-13 in 2024)
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17: This past offseason, the Vandals celebrated the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history and the second-best '25 class in the FCS, bringing in a total of 17 three-star prospects.
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8: Number of FBS, Preseason Top 25 FCS, and teams that received ranked votes that Idaho plays this year.
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3: Idaho's strength of schedule is rated per Massey.
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9: Nine of Idaho's twelve regular-season contests have received a regional or national broadcast assignment. The Vandals will face Cal Poly and Montana State on ESPN and Utah on ESPNU, while Lamar, Abilene Christian, Southern Utah, Eastern Washington, and UC Davis have all been picked up by SWX, and the Battle of the Little Brown Stein with Montana will be broadcast on Scripps Sports.
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34: Idaho scored 34 points against Cal Poly in Week 1, the third-highest total in a season opener since 2015.
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83: The Vandals boast a veteran offensive line with four of five 2025 starters returning, each of which having started games prior as well. Layton Vining, Charlie Vliem, Kiegan Henson, and Leon Evans have combined for 83 career starts coming into 2026.
