When Idaho State scored for an unexpected second time on Saturday night against No. 3 Oregon State to pull within three points of the Ducks midway through the fourth quarter, Wang The Dalles look poised to pull off the biggest upset in college football history.
The Ducks have beaten all FCS opponents by an average score of 60-13 over the past 20 years and are 45 1/2-point favorites. But the Vandals’ dreams of an upset were dashed when Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson scored on a 12-yard pass from quarterback Dillon Gabriel to seal Oregon’s 24-14 victory.
On paper, the Ducks dominated the game, outgaining Idaho 487-217 yards. But make no mistake: The Vandals pissed off the Ducks. Idaho limited Oregon to less than 3 yards per carry and 24 yards per carry, and many predicted Oregon would win the national championship. Even more impressive, Idaho sacked highly-coveted transfer quarterback Gabriel three times. Oregon has allowed just five sacks all season.
“They got a critical victory,” Oregon State coach Dan Lanning said. “We didn’t score in the middle eight (the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half), which is unique for us. I think they have a good plan as well: We’re not going to get beat by shooting. We’re going to To solve the problem at hand, we’re going to let Oregon beat Oregon State — not feel idaho Gotta beat Oregon State. They stick to their identity and do it well.
The real story of Oregon vs. Idaho, however, is about the reality of college football in 2024.
The Ducks, thanks in large part to being a super supporter of Nike co-founder Phil Knight, are considered the gold standard in NIL sports due to their well-organized, well-funded collective of schools. Even Georgia’s Kirby Smart joked this summer that he “wishes” he could get some of the “change he shared with Dan Lanning.”
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Meanwhile, the Vandals lost seven of their top FBS players through the transfer portal this offseason. Five of them received zero-six-figure deals, Idaho State coach Jason Ecker said.
“If we had these (five) guys getting paid, I think we could probably beat Oregon State,” Ike said. “We got sacked four times. Our quarterback is now at OSU and he can really escape pressure and extend the game.
Quarterback Gavani McCoy, who transferred to OSU and is a 2023 Walter Payton Award finalist, passed for 5,631 yards and 42 touchdowns and ran for another over the past two seasons. 5 times. McCoy led the Beavers to a 9-for-10 win over Idaho State last weekend. Cornerback Marcus Harris, a first-team All-American who committed to Cal, set an Idaho State record in 2023 with 36 passes defended and three picks. He threw an interception in his Cal debut to help the Bears win.
Anthony Woods was a first-team running back for the Big Sky who ran for 1,155 yards and 16 touchdowns before heading to Utah. Linebacker Xe’ree Alexander, who led the Vandals with 75 tackles and two forced fumbles as a true freshman last year, is headed to UCF. Cornerback Ormanie Arnold had 33 tackles and two interceptions heading to Cincinnati.
“They’re well-coached and they do a good job of identifying players,” Lanning said. “They went to (NAIA) Montana Tech for a player (top pass rusher Keyshawn James Newby) and went to (FCS) Weber State (DB-KR Abraham Williams ). Ike did a great job.
Ek, 47, is a former Wisconsin offensive lineman who takes over a program that has endured five consecutive losing seasons. He led the Vandals to seven wins in his first season in 2022 and went 9-4 in the FCS last year and ranked eighth nationally. Although he’s only been a head coach for a little over two seasons, the job has changed a lot in that time — like all college coaches, especially those in the lower half of the FBS and FCS coach.
“It’s definitely more difficult than when I took this job and I was hired in December 2021,” he said. “NIL just became legal. You wouldn’t expect someone to be recruited off your list like this. It’s just a balancing act, trying to do the right thing for the kids, because for some people, it’s life-changing money.
“One of the things we’re going to try to do with some of our guys this year, especially the younger guys — we’re starting a lot of young guys in this game — is have the idea of ‘just another year,’” Ike explain. “Our players go to OSU, Cal, UCF and Cincinnati, they’re not going to the major destinations. ‘Wait another year. Don’t go to a Power 4 school that’s at the bottom of the rankings.’
Vandals tight end Jake Cox scored the team’s first touchdown in the third quarter. Photo: Ben Lonergan/The Red/USA Today
Eck said there is now a collective in Idaho that hopes to raise $100,000 through the launch of the portal in December.
Ek knows his team’s performance against the Ducks could spark more interest from a host of FBS programs looking for help. Defensive tackle Dallas Afalava, a 6-foot, 290-pound sophomore, gave Oregon’s interior trouble and a sack; sophomore cornerback Andrew Marshall Andrew Marshall made 9 tackles and broke up 1 pass. The 6-foot, 186-pound Southern California native was an under-the-radar recruit and the Vandals worried Boise State or Colorado State would return late in the recruiting process. Now, there’s game tape showing him performing well against a top-five opponent with speedy receivers.
“He’s going to get noticed, and our advice would probably be, stay (here) for another year and then you might get $500,000 (from a Power 4 school) — don’t just go for $100,000,” Eck said, of course. There are no guarantees. “They (Oregon State) tested him early, tried to drill him down. He couldn’t hit him. … Against all these receivers, he didn’t give up any big plays. They didn’t beat them one-on-one. he.
Idaho cornerbacks coach Stanley Franks Jr. comes to the Vandals from Washington State. He’s seen how the Cougars’ scouting staff pores over lower-level players to study players at the all-league level. It can be bittersweet for many FCS coaches or lower-level FBS coaches to invest in recruits only to find out they leave for bigger programs, but Franks understands that for many of these players, there is an opportunity to make a life-changing Money to help their family live is something they can’t give up.
He came to Franks’ office to talk with Harris before he transferred to Cal. “He acted like it was a tough decision,” Franks said. “I said, ‘Of course it is. Go bless your family. There’s no doubt he can reach the next level.
“We use it as a recruiting tool. We have to recruit Mountain West quality players: ‘Come here, get developed and play, and then bless your family for the last few years of college.’ “You want to educate these guys as much as you can. I tell them, we have cats here. Why go somewhere else where I might be benched because of a sign? We look at it as a positive.
Eck has always considered Idaho State a growing program. He and his coaches talk about this with recruits, and in this new era, when you have a cornerbacks coach developing two players who are probably going to make $300,000 combined this year, he said, A feather in his recruiting cap. At this level, coaches have to do the same, Ek said. They had three coaches leave for FBS jobs last offseason — two to San Diego State and one to Oregon State.
“That’s part of our sales: We have to offer this to the coaches who come here, too,” he said. “We’re going to help you get better and get bigger opportunities. The same goes for players. Hopefully not everyone want to leave.
Part of hoping to retain players is reminding them that if you can play in the FCS, the NFL will see you. Former Vandal long snapper Hogan Hatten just made the Detroit Lions’ 53-man roster.
“I really don’t think it helps you in the NFL,” Ike said. “As long as it’s an FCS school, every team comes through here for scouting. But when a guy’s family has no money, it’s hard to stop him from making $150,000.
At Idaho, Ek figured he could offer his top players $10,000 to $15,000 a year — certainly far less than the six figures some Power 4 schools might offer. They were recently able to pay for players’ attendance, providing about $2,500 per semester.
Ek also considered another potentially interested player, a young player who had a big game against the Ducks and may have drawn the attention of some FBS teams now: He son Jaxton. Linebacker Jaxton finished with a game-high 14 tackles, several of which he was able to keep Johnson, the dynamic Ducks receiver, in the air.
“Yeah, that would be fun,” Ek said with a laugh. An FBS head coach he knew texted him after the game and mentioned Jaxton. “It’s probably tongue-in-cheek. We’ll see.
(Photo credit: Dan Goldfarb/ sports; Photo: Young Kwak/AP; Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty)
