Vandals upset Cowboys, but lose another quarterback

Sep. 8—The Idaho Vandals defeated the Wyoming Cowboys for the first time in 103 years Saturday in a 17-13 slugfest in Laramie, Wyo.

It was the first time the Vandals have ever won in Laramie and it was Idaho coach Jason Eck's second victory against a Football Bowl Subdivision school in two years.

"Very proud of our team's effort. These road wins are tough to get. FBS wins are tough to get," Eck said. "I still don't think we maybe played our best football, but I think we battled and had great resilience. And our defense was just outstanding time and time again."

The win came at a cost as freshman quarterback Jack Wagner went down with an upper body injury with about seven minutes to go and was unable to return. Redshirt freshman Nick Josifek replaced Wagner, but did not throw a pass.

Wagner started the game after original starting quarterback Jack Layne broke his collarbone in the first game of the season against Oregon.

"He's worked hard to get his opportunity, so he was upset," Eck said of Wagner. "When I talked to him here after the game he was composed and things and he's just hoping that it's not nothing too serious. We'll get it looked at and hope we know something more for next week, but we're optimistic."

Idaho battled through an altitude of 7,220 feet above sea level to earn its second win against a Mountain West Conference opponent in as many seasons after routing Nevada a year ago. For reference, the Kibbie Dome sits at 2,610 feet above sea level and Oregon's Autzen Stadium, where the Vandals played last week, is at an elevation of 420 feet.

Senior defensive end Keyshawn James-Newby dominated on the defensive line, recorded three sacks and had a special moment on TruTV when he got to perform the salsa dance for broadcaster Victor Cruz, a former NFL star. James-Newby got his teammates involved in the celebration as well.

Solid first half offensively, nothing in the second half

After a quick three-and-out on the opening drive that the Vandals seemed to use to allow Wagner to get a feel for the game, Idaho scored on each of its next three possessions.

Junior running back Elisha Cummings had five carries in a seven-play drive, including a 3-yard touchdown on a fourth-down play to give the Vandals a 7-3 lead. Cummings finished with 16 carries for 52 yards and the touchdown.

Wagner completed the deepest pass of the first half on the following drive to sophomore wideout Jordan Dwyer to get Idaho to midfield. Junior running back Nate Thomas had two strong runs to collect 30 combined yards to get the Vandals down to the 1-yard line. Thomas had 15 carries for 64 yards on the day.

The redshirt freshman quarterback found senior tight end Jake Cox open in the end zone for his first touchdown pass of his collegiate career. Wagner began the game 7-for-7 for 55 yards and the score.

"That's more Vandal football, having 31 tailback carries. The week before we had like 10 tailback carries and that's not the way we want to play," Eck said.

After a missed Cowboy field-goal attempt, the Vandals used the good field position and a pass interference call to set up a 49-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Cameron Pope to extend the Idaho lead to 17-10.

Unfortunately, Wagner and the Vandal offense could not ride that momentum into the final 30 minutes. Idaho had seven drives in the second half and they resulted in five punts and two turnovers on downs.

Wagner finished 12-of-21 passing for 101 yards and a touchdown before he left late in the game. Jordan Dwyer had six receptions, all in the first half, for 66 yards.

The good and bad of aggressive play calling

Eck is known for being an aggressive play-caller and that was the case again at War Memorial Stadium.

Both Idaho touchdowns came on fourth-down conversions inside the 5-yard line. The Vandals found early success with the wildcat formation and were rewarded for thinking outside the box. However, not every risk is going to be rewarded.

Up by seven in the third quarter, Idaho had the ball on its own 45-yard line and faced a fourth-and-8. Eck decided to try to catch Wyoming off guard and called for a fake punt run play. Orion Peters was able to get 5 of the 8 yards needed, but the Vandals gave the Cowboys great field position after the failed attempt.

Wyoming completed a 38-yard pass on the very first play of the drive and looked to score on an Evan Svoboda quarterback keeper, but a replay showed that the QB was down before he crossed the line.

A false start aided Idaho and then the defensive line went to work and forced a field goal.

"(The defense) made me look not as bad for calling a fake punt that we got nothing out of by holding them to three points," Eck said. "And really, you know, it was my bad decision there that set them up. But, these guys got my back and they do a great job and just a tremendous performance."

On the very next possession, the Vandals were into Cowboy territory after a 32-yard completion to Mark Hamper, but again were forced to make a decision on fourth down. Eck went for it again and Wagner threw an incompletion. Once again the defense stepped up.

Dominant Vandal defense

Idaho held Wyoming to 270 total yards of offense, most of that coming in the first half. Once the game got to crunch time when a Cowboy touchdown could cost the Vandals a win, the defense became impenetrable.

Sophomore linebacker Jaxton Eck led the team in tackles for the second consecutive week with nine. Senior defensive back Abraham Williams had seven including five solo tackles.

James-Newby created havoc from the edge all game long, including his three sacks. Sophomore defensive lineman Xavier Slayton also had a sack in the victory.

There were many standout performances, but it was the numbers in the second half, especially the final four drives, that show that the Idaho defense is one of the best in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Wyoming possessed the ball seven times in the second half and gained 80 total yards with 45 of those yards coming on the drive after the fake punt.

Up by only four points, the Vandals held the Cowboys to minus-1 yard on 18 plays over the final four Wyoming drives.

A celebration dance

The Idaho upset victory over Wyoming was broadcast live on TruTV and streamed on Max. Cruz, a former New York Giants wide receiver, is part of that studio broadcast team.

James-Newby was interviewed during the post game show and could not hide his excitement about getting interviewed by one of his heroes.

Cruz was known for breaking into a salsa dance after every touchdown. To celebrate a Vandal victory, it was James-Newby who broke into a dance for one of his idols.

"We were big supporters of Victor Cruz, and all those guys, me and my siblings, loved the Giants. We all had Giants jerseys," James-Newby said. "I had, specifically, an Ahmad Bradshaw 44 jersey. That's where the 44 comes from. I rep it because he repped that number. It was sweet, and the salsa, one of my teammates recorded it on TV, and I need to pick up my footwork a little bit. It's not as fast, you know? It's not as fast as I thought it was."

Idaho will now have to refocus and prepare for a rematch with UAlbany as the Kibbie Dome gets its first football action of the 2024 season at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Vandals will look for revenge against a Great Danes team that eliminated Idaho in the quarterfinals of the 2023 FCS tournament on the same field.

Idaho 17, Wyoming 13

First Quarter

WYO: FG Hoyland 48, 12:50.

IDHO: Cummings 3 run (Pope kick), 6:36.

WYO: Boddie 20 pass from Svoboda (Hoyland kick), 2:06.

Second Quarter

IDHO: Cox 2 pass from Wagner (Pope kick), 11:33.

IDHO: FG Pope 49, 4:40.

Fourth Quarter

WYO: FG Hoyland 22, 14:57.

A: 25,070.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Idaho, N.Thomas 15-64, Cummings 16-52, Peters 1-5, Wagner 6-5, (Team) 1-(minus 2). Wyoming, Jones 17-80, Svoboda 14-45, Stevenson 1-16, Ferrell 7-13, McNeely 1-4, Pelissier 1-3, Scott 1-(minus 2), (Team) 1-(minus 15).

PASSING: Idaho, Wagner 12-21-0-101. Wyoming, Svoboda 10-24-0-126, (Team) 0-1-0-0, Ka.Anderson 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: Idaho, Dwyer 6-66, Hamper 2-34, Cox 2-4, Cummings 1-3, Ar.Williams 1-(minus 6). Wyoming, Boddie 2-34, Ferrell 2-22, Scott 2-18, Pelissier 1-38, Miles 1-9, A.Brown 1-6, Jones 1-(minus 1).

MISSED FIELD GOALS: Wyoming, Hoyland 53.

Isbelle can be reached at 208-848-2268, [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyIsbelle.