Who would've thought? Idaho's epic season picked as story of the year

Dec. 25—Author Alexander Pope once said, "Blessed is the man who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed."

The quote from the English poet and satirist in the 17th century certainly resonates with Idaho football fans. Expectations for the Vandals have been nonexistent for more than two decades. Entering 2022, Idaho had not had a winning season in six years and hired coach Jason Eck in December 2021.

When Eck came to Moscow, it seemed like he checked all the boxes. But he still would need to prove it on the field.

What would happen 11 months later not only would shock the fanbase, but reverberate through the entire Football Championship Subdivision.

The Vandals finished the regular season 7-5 overall, earning a spot in the FCS playoffs for the first time since 1995.

For that reason, the Idaho football team was voted the top sports story of the year by the Lewiston Tribune sports staff.

On the road to the playoffs, Idaho captured some signature wins along the way. That began Oct. 15.

Idaho traveled to Washington-Grizzly Stadium to take on its longest-tenured rival, Montana. The Vandals hadn't gone to Missoula, Mont., and beat the Grizzlies since 1999.

After a defensive performance for the ages, one in which Idaho allowed just 35 yards rushing, the Vandals downed Montana 30-23 to bring the Little Brown Stein back to Moscow for the first time in 22 years.

Its next big win against a long-time regional foe came inside the Kibbie Dome on Nov. 5 against Eastern Washington.

The Vandals downed the Eagles 48-16 in front of their largest crowd of the season, as more than 11,000 fans also watched a coming out party for sophomore receiver Hayden Hatten. In that game, Hatten, who would go on to earn five All-American first-team honors, finished with a single-game program-best of four touchdown grabs.

What made the win all the more impressive is last season, Eastern Washington routed Idaho 71-21. After that game, Eagles coach Aaron Best said the game "wasn't much of a rivalry."

Maybe he was onto something.

It was an emotional scene Nov. 20 in the Dome, as Idaho's players and coaches gathered for a watch party to find out if the Vandals would make the FCS postseason for the first time in 27 years.

When their name was announced, pandemonium broke out at the Litehouse Suite. The Vandals were named opposite FCS playoff mainstay Southeastern Louisiana.

In one of the best offensive showcases of the season, Idaho fell 45-42 to the Lions after kicker Ricardo Chavez missed a 39-yard field goal in the waning moments. That was after the Vandals had rallied from 10 points down in the fourth quarter and took the lead.

While the season didn't end the way anyone wanted, it gave something to the fans: hope and expectations.

"I haven't had too much time to reflect, but I do think it was the start that we were looking for," Eck said. "When I got the job, I laid out the season with the staff, and getting to the playoffs was the goal. There's some room for improvement for next season."

The 2022 campaign was a sight to see, with players having career years and units putting up historical numbers.

One of the biggest things Eck preached when he arrived was the importance of creating turnovers. The Vandals' defense made its living by taking the ball away, registering 23 total throughout the season. They had at least one turnover in eight consecutive games.

"That's how you win football games," Eck said. "I have a lot of confidence in our defense, and I think we continue to make strides."

Hatten, who had been a decent player coming into the season, had a breakout year in 2022. He finished with 16 touchdowns, which led the FCS and set a program season record, adding 1,209 yards receiving.

In his first full season as the starting quarterback, freshman Gevani McCoy completed 68.7% of his passes, a program record. He also earned the Jerry Rice Award, which is given out to the best freshman in the FCS.

The youngsters for Idaho played at a high level such as McCoy and freshman All-Americans Anthony Woods at running back and Ayden Knapik on the offensive line. But players who already were on the roster such as Hatten, safety Tommy McCormick and receiver Jermaine Jackson, stepped up to another level.

When a team that's been so historically bad for so long has a turnaround year like this, the only question people can ask is how? It can really be boiled down to one person, or really, a group of people — Eck and his coaching staff.

Everyone on Idaho's roster quickly bought into the first-year coach's philosophies. One thing Eck used to get his team to bond and become closer was having non-football meetings, something that was done when he was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at South Dakota State.

While with the Jackrabbits, coach John Stiegelmeier would have position coaches host non-football related meetings.

But when Eck came to Moscow, he took it to the next logical step, having non-football meetings with the entire roster.

"We spend a lot of time working on relationships," Eck said. "It's really focused on building relationships with everyone across ages, positions and races. When we've had times where one of the side of the ball isn't playing at that high of a level (and) we didn't see people blaming each other. It was more of these guys picking each other up."

The meetings allowed the Vandals to become closer on and off the field. In turn, it allowed each member of the team to trust one another every time they stepped on the field.

So, while no one had high expectations coming into the season, Eck and the Vandals were able to instill something that Idaho fans haven't felt in a while: joy.

Now, fans know what Idaho is capable of. Eck and the players on next year's team have a big responsibility to maintain that momentum.

Gone are the days of fans not having expectations. Now, there are not only expectations, there are standards.

Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks.