‘Heck of a deal.’ Idaho starts FCS playoffs on national TV against Southern Illinois

The University of Idaho’s second-round Football Championship Subdivision playoff game against Southern Illinois was elevated to ESPN2 this week.

The other seven playoff games will air on ESPN+.

Perhaps the network couldn’t resist what is shaping up to be a collision of opposites.

The fourth-seeded Vandals (8-3) will host Southern Illinois (8-4) at 8 p.m. Mountain time Saturday at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome in Moscow. It is Idaho’s first home playoff game since 1993 and will be the first meeting in football between the two schools.

Idaho features one of the most prolific offenses in FCS, while Southern Illinois is among the division’s best on defense.

“It’s really a heck of a deal for our whole university. This is a three-hour advertisement for the University of Idaho on national TV for the second time this year,” Idaho football coach Jason Eck said, referring to a regular-season home game against Montana that also was on ESPN2. “You couldn’t buy that type of exposure. It’d be prohibitively expensive.

“So what a great deal for our whole university to showcase our university, showcase our students and showcase the great student-athletes we have. A lot of eyes will be on us, it’s kind of the dessert with a little FCS playoffs after dark.”

Idaho had a first-round bye last week, while Southern Illinois opened the playoffs with a 35-0 home victory over Nicholls State. The Salukis of the Missouri Valley Conference held Nicholls to 252 total yards while forcing three turnovers.

Eck anticipates Southern Illinois will bring the defensive pressure again this week.

“It’s tough to find a weakness on their defense,” Eck said. “They have a lot of really good players.”

Southern Illinois senior safety PJ Jules was the only Saluki to make the All-Missouri Valley first team, but he represents a defensive unit that has been one of the best in FCS this season. Jules leads the Salukis with 105 tackles, including a team-best 13 for loss.

Southern Illinois ranks third in total defense (281.4 yards), sixth in scoring defense (15.83 points), fifth in run defense (92.9 yards), fifth in pass efficiency defense (111.27), ninth in sacks per game (3.0) and 11th in tackles for loss per game (7.4).

“We really have to do a good job with our blocking counts with our O-line. I think they’re gonna have a good challenge this week because (Southern Illinois) presents problems with their three-man fronts and four-man fronts,” Eck said. “… Even if you have them accounted for, you’ve got to finish on those guys and really make sure you finish your blocks, because they will escape blocks and get off them and get to the ball.”

Key to the Vandals’ success will be the return of starting quarterback Gevani McCoy, who sat out Idaho’s regular-season finale with an injury. Eck said McCoy, the 2022 Jerry Rice Award Winner for FCS national freshman of the year, has been a full participant at practice since Saturday.

McCoy headlines an Idaho offense that enters Saturday’s game averaging 428.5 yards per game, which ranks No. 14 in the nation. The Vandals’ 34.4 points per game checks in at No. 9, their 45.4% third-down conversion percentage is 13th and they have scored 45 times on 49 red-zone trips, a 91.8% rate that ranks fourth.

“Schematically, they do a great job of trying to find matchups and exploiting those things,” Southern Illinois coach Nick Hill said. “When you play a Coach Eck team, you’re always gonna have to be ready for some wrinkles and some special plays. They do a nice job of distributing the ball and keeping you off-balance.”