COMMENTARY: Now is not a time for the Vandals to sweat
Sep. 3—A quick Google search revealed that ducks do not have sweat glands and therefore do not sweat. However, I saw a lot of Oregon Ducks faithful sweating as their national championship-hopeful team held onto a three-point lead in the fourth quarter against the lower-division Idaho Vandals on Saturday.
It has been a bit of a whirlwind for me since I returned to the Tribune to take on the Vandal football beat, though none of it was as crazy as Saturday afternoon.
Just like most people, I turned on the Big Ten Network to watch Idaho take on No. 3 Oregon in a game that the Ducks were favored by 44.5 points, expecting to watch the Vandals lose. My main focus was on the young offense and how it would look against a superior opponent and if the UI defense could handle such a prolific offense on the other side.
Instead, I watched as Oregon struggled to break through a tough and patient Idaho defense. I witnessed a defensive line that made Duck supporters question their own offensive line. And I looked on as Jason Eck used every trick in the book to get some offense going and I couldn't help but get swept up in the moment.
Then, today's news of quarterback Jack Layne being sidelined for the next few weeks because of a collarbone injury that required surgery was announced. During the postgame press conference, Eck had said that he had been feeling some discomfort and they were being overly cautious by removing Layne late in the game.
Unfortunately, the damage had already been done and now it will be on backup quarterback Jack Wagner to take the reins for the foreseeable future.
The adage of "next man up" has been used to death by athletic teams since the invention of professional sport, but that is the case for this Idaho team.
The fact is there were a lot of question marks going in on the offense because of how young it was. With Wagner, a redshirt freshman, stepping into the starting quarterback role, those questions remain the same. How will they be able to perform?
We did not see a lot of the running back trio that I thought Eck would lean on in the game Saturday, but Elisha Cummings had several big plays, especially in the second half. With the Vandals being forced to go to the backup quarterback, now is the time that Cummings along with Nate Thomas and Art Williams will need to shine.
The offensive line performed well against a difficult task. Left tackle Ayden Knapik and left guard Nate Azzopardi were especially strong all game long. The pressure by Oregon late became a bit too much for the Vandal line to handle, and I am not saying they have improved from the weak point of the team to a strength, but I do believe they are going in the right direction and Saturday was an overall positive.
However, Vandal fans need to look no further than the defense to calm their nerves after the Layne injury announcement. It is the real deal.
As sports fans, we always look inward to the team we root for when things do not go well. That was definitely the case for Oregon fans who have spent the last three days talking to anyone that will listen that the Ducks offense is not good and the offensive line looked lost.
To me, it showed that the front seven of Idaho can compete with anyone in the country.
There was a distinct size difference between the Oregon offensive line and the Idaho defensive line. However, guys like Keyshawn James-Newby and Dallas Afalava continued to cause havoc in the backfield.
I know I have overused the word "swarming" when I talk about the Vandal defensive style, but that was on full display this past Saturday.
Eck's game plan was to keep everything in front of his defense and try to get Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel to make a mistake. While Gabriel showed poise, every time a receiver made a catch multiple defenders were there to swarm to the ball.
As long as the offense does not turn the ball over and make multiple crucial mistakes, a defense like the one at Idaho will keep the team in any game.
Layne only completed 11-of-25 passes, but because he had only thrown one interception on a ball that was less of a mistake throw and more of a fantastic play by the defender, the Vandals were not out of the game until late.
This might not be the sexy offense that we saw from the Vandals last year when they put up at least 33 points in five of their first six games, but it is a team that has the defense and the fight to compete and win.
Let's remember the feeling we all had watching Idaho cut the lead to three points in the fourth quarter and keep in mind that it was behind a struggling offensive performance.
Now is not the time to sweat; now is the time for fans to get excited about an elite defense and a young offense that has the chance to improve throughout the season and peak at the right time.
Let's leave the sweating to the Ducks.
Isbelle can be reached at 208-848-2268, [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyIsbelle.