In a stunning matchup with No. 3 Oregon on Saturday night, Idaho scored on a second-of-the-season trick play to cut the Ducks’ lead to three points midway through the fourth quarter, and the Vandals appeared poised to pull off one of the biggest upsets in college football history.
The Ducks, who have beaten every FCS opponent by an average of 60-13 over the last 20 years, were favored by 45 1/2 points. But the Vandals’ dreams of a stunning upset were dashed when Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson caught a 12-yard pass from quarterback Dylan Gabriel for a touchdown in Oregon’s 24-14 victory.
On paper, the Ducks had the advantage, outgaining Idaho 487-217. But make no mistake: The Vandals were annoying the Ducks. Idaho held an Oregon team that many expected to win the national title to under three yards per carry and never had a play longer than 24 yards. Even more impressively, Idaho sacked popular transfer QB Gabriel three times. Oregon allowed just five sacks all season.
“They won in a big situation,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “We didn’t score for the last eight minutes (the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half). That’s unique for us. I thought they had a good game plan. We’re not going to get completely outdone by the shot. We’re going to tackle what’s in front of us and let Oregon beat Oregon. Idaho “We had to beat Oregon. They stuck to their identity and did a great job of it.”
But the real story of Oregon-Idaho is about the reality of college football in 2024.
The Ducks are considered the gold standard for NIL in sports, thanks to a well-organized and well-funded school organization, thanks in part to Nike co-founder and mega-booster Phil Knight. Even Georgia’s Kirby Smart joked this summer that he “would love” to get some of the “NIL money that Dan Lanning shares.”
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Meanwhile, the Vandals lost seven top players to FBS programs through the transfer portal this offseason. Idaho coach Jason Eck said five of them received NIL deals in the low six figures.
“If we had (five) guys getting paid, I think we probably would have beaten Oregon,” Eck said. “We got sacked four times. Our quarterback, who is at Oregon State right now, can avoid pressure and extend plays.”
Oregon State transfer quarterback Jevani McCoy threw for 5,631 yards and 42 touchdowns and ran for five more over the past two seasons, making him a finalist for the Walter Payton Award in 2023. McCoy led the Beavers to a 9-of-10 win over Idaho State last weekend. Cornerback Marcus Harris, a first-team All-American who committed to California, set an Idaho record with 36 passes defended along with three picks in 2023. He recorded an interception in his debut at California to help the Bears win.
First-team All-Big Sky running back Anthony Woods, who threw for 1,155 yards and 16 touchdowns, went to Utah. Linebacker Jerry Alexander, who led the Vandals with 75 tackles and two forced fumbles last year, went to UCF. Cornerback Omani Arnold, who had 33 tackles and two interceptions, went to Cincinnati.
“They’re well-coached and they do a good job with their portal identifying guys,” Lanning said. “They went to (NAIA) Montana Tech to find a guy (top pass rusher Keyshawn James-Newby) and went to (FCS) Weber State (DB-KR Abraham Williams). Eck is doing a great job.”
Eck, a 47-year-old former Wisconsin offensive lineman, takes over a program that has been rocked by five straight losing seasons. He led the Vandals to seven wins in his debut season in 2022 and a 9-4 record and eighth-ranked nationally in the FCS last year. He’s only been in charge for two seasons, but his job has changed a lot in that time. As is true for all college coaches, especially those in the lower ranks of the FBS and the FCS.
“It’s definitely harder than it was when I took this job, and I was hired in December 2021,” he said. “NIL had just become legal. You never thought people would come in off your roster like this. It’s just a balancing act of trying to do the right thing for kids, because for some people, it’s life-changing money.
“One thing we’re trying to do with some of our guys this year, especially the younger guys, and we had a lot of young guys coming into this game, is to have that ‘one more year,’” Eck said. “We’ve had guys go to Oregon State, California, UCF, Cincinnati, and they’re not going to the top destinations. It’s like, ‘Just wait one more year. Don’t go to a lower-ranked Power Four school.’”
Vandals tight end Jake Cox scores the team’s first touchdown in the third quarter. Photo: Ben Lonergan/The Red/USA Today
Idaho is currently forming a group to launch a portal in December, hoping to raise $100,000, Eck said.
Eck knows his team’s performance against the Ducks will likely draw more attention from a number of FBS programs looking for help. Sophomore defensive tackle Dallas Afalava, 6-1, 290 pounds, gave Oregon problems and recorded a sack. Sophomore cornerback Andrew Marshall recorded nine tackles and broke up a pass. The 6-foot, 186-pound Southern California native was an under-the-radar freshman who the Vandals worried would be recruited late in the recruiting process by Boise State or Colorado State. Now, here’s his game film showing him performing well against a top-five opponent with a fast receiver.
“He’s going to get noticed, and our pitching is, if he stays (here) another year, he could get $500,000 (from a Power 4 school) – don’t jump on $100,000,” Eck said, but there’s no guarantee that will happen. “They (Oregon) tested him early, tried to go deep on him. They couldn’t hit it. … He didn’t give up a big play to every receiver. They couldn’t beat him one-on-one.”
Idaho cornerbacks coach Stanley Franks Jr. came to the Vandals from Washington State. He saw the Cougars’ scouting staff look at lower-tier rankings and study all-conference level players. For many FCS coaches or lower-level FBS coaches, it can be bittersweet to see a recruit leave for a bigger program after investing in him, but Franks understands that for many players, the opportunity to earn life-changing money to help their families is something they can’t afford to miss.
Before Harris transferred to California, he came into Franks’ office and talked to him. “He acted like it was a hard decision,” Franks said. “I said, ‘This is an easy decision. Go and bless your family.’ There was no doubt in my mind that he could play at the next level.
“We use it as a recruiting tool. We need to recruit Mountain West caliber players. ‘Come here, develop and play, and bless your family for your last few years in college.’ We want to educate these players as much as possible. I tell them, we develop cats here. Why should they go somewhere else where they can sit on the bench because of a logo? We turn it into a positive.”
Ek always thought of Idaho as a developing program. He and his coaches talked about it with recruits, and in this new era, when a cornerbacks coach developed two players who could make a combined $300,000 this year, it was a feather in his recruiting cap, he said. At this level, coaches have to do the same, Ek said. Last offseason, they had three coaches leave for FBS jobs, two to San Diego State and one to Oregon State.
“That’s part of our selling, and that’s what coaches have to do when they come in here,” he said. “We’re going to help you get better and get bigger opportunities. That’s the same for players. Hopefully, not everyone. I want leave.”
Part of the pitch to retain players is reminding them that if they can play in the FCS, they can see themselves in the NFL. Former Vandal long snapper Hogan Hatten was just added to the Detroit Lions’ 53-man roster.
“I don’t think it helps the NFL,” Eck said. “If you’re an FCS school, all the teams come here and scout. But it’s hard to stop someone from making $150,000 when your family doesn’t have any money.”
In Idaho, Eck believes he can afford to pay top players $10,000 to $15,000 a year, which is certainly far below the six-figure sums some Power 4 schools can offer. They have recently been able to cover tuition for players, offering about $2,500 per semester.
There’s another potential player Eck thinks is on the radar of a young player who had a big game against the Ducks and might now be on the radar of some FBS teams: his son Jackson. A linebacker, Jackson had a game-high 14 tackles, including several plays where he trapped dynamic Ducks receiver Johnson in space.
“Yeah, that’ll be fun,” Eck said with a laugh. One of the FBS coaches he knows texted him after the game and mentioned Jackson. “Maybe he was half-joking. We’ll see.”
(Image: Dan Goldfarb/ The Athletic; Photo: Young Kwak / AP; (Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty)
