After thrashing of Idaho State, Vandals likely to be happy with FCS playoff position

The University of Idaho football team very likely earned itself a week off Saturday.

Closing out the regular season against in-state rival Idaho State, the Vandals scored four touchdowns in each of the first two quarters and demolished the Bengals 63-21 at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow.

Idaho (8-3, 6-2 Big Sky), No. 6 in the latest FCS Top 25 poll, now awaits its spot in the playoffs, which begin next week. The Vandals probably won’t be in action then, though — they are almost certain to receive a first-round bye and host a game the weekend of Dec. 2. The 24-team postseason bracket will be unveiled Sunday morning, and the top eight seeds receive byes.

“We weren’t happy taking that loss last week to Weber (State),” Idaho coach Jason Eck said in a postgame press conference, referring to a 31-29 defeat that ended the team’s Big Sky title hopes. “I think our guys really came back focused and had great preparation all week, and we really wanted to play our best football and kind of rest our case with the (selection) committee that we’re one of the top eight teams ... and deserving of the first-round bye.”

Montana (10-1, 7-1) won the Big Sky title on Saturday with a 37-7 shellacking of No. 4 Montana State (8-3, 6-2) in Missoula, and the No. 3 Grizzlies certainly will get a first-round bye. Idaho defeated the Bobcats in the regular season, giving the Vandals the conference runner-up finish and a leg up in the seeding process.

Besides those teams, the Big Sky also had No. 8 Sacramento State (7-4, 4-4) ranked in the Top 25, but the Hornets lost 31-21 to UC Davis (7-4, 5-3) this week. The league could wind up with all five teams in the playoffs.

Against Idaho State (3-8, 3-5) on Saturday evening, the Vandals played without starting quarterback Gevani McCoy, but it made no difference. Filling in for the injured McCoy, redshirt freshman Jack Layne completed 20-of-26 passes for 275 yards and six touchdowns — all in the first half. He helped stake Idaho to a 56-0 lead, a school record for most points in any half of football.

“I thought going into this year, Jack Layne — you know, I’ve been coaching since 1999 ... I think he’s the best backup quarterback I’ve ever been around,” Eck said.

Layne gave way to backup Jack Wagner, as a host of reserves played the second half for Idaho. Wagner rushed for 42 yards and threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

Running back Anthony Woods rushed for 115 yards and a TD for the Vandals, and also had four catches for 24 yards and a score. Jordan Dwyer (3 catches, 100 yards, TD) and Hayden Hatten (5-74-2) led the receiving corps.

Idaho finished with 579 yards of offense. Seven different Vandals scored touchdowns, nine players had at least one reception and seven carried the ball.

Idaho State saw four different passers throw interceptions in the game, and three of those came in the first half, helping Idaho’s onslaught. Chedon James was the Bengals’ star on offense, catching 10 passes for 145 yards.