Another ranked foe awaits Idaho Vandals for homecoming

The No. 10 Vandals will attempt to bounce back from a tough Big Sky loss last week when they return home to the P1FCU Kibbie Dome to take on No. 25 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks at 2 p.m. today.

The game is also homecoming for Idaho and will be broadcast on SWX and streaming on ESPN+.

“Excited to get back in front of the home fans this week and play in front of a great crowd in the Kibbie Dome and play a really outstanding team,” Idaho coach Jason Eck said. “I have been impressed by NAU and how they have shown improvements. Coach Wright has done a tremendous job.”

Freshman Jack Wagner is listed as the No. 1 quarterback on the Idaho depth chart going into the game, but fellow freshman Nick Josifek will be ready to go if called upon.

Northern Arizona is coming off a high after a 34-16 upset win at home against then-No. 10 Sacramento State. The Vandals are looking for their first Big Sky win of the year after a 28-26 loss to UC Davis.

NAU on the “Wright” track

New head coach Brian Wright became the 31st head coach for the Lumberjacks when he agreed to the position back in December. Wright had success at the NCAA Division II level with Pittsburg State of Kansas and led the Gorillas to a 23-3 record and two Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships.

Wright was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Toledo for three seasons prior to taking the Pittsburg State job. He also spent two years with the same two job titles for Montana State in 2010 and 2011 with the Bobcats winning back-to-back Big Sky Conference titles.

Northern Arizona has not had a winning season since 2017 when it went 7-5, not counting the 3-2 record it had in the COVID-shortened spring 2020 season. 2017 was also the last time the Lumberjacks made the FCS playoffs.

“I expected he would turn it around and he has turned it around pretty quick,” Eck said of Wright. “This is going to be a very good challenge. This is a very good team.”

With an upset victory over then-No. 10 Sacramento State last week, Northern Arizona is ranked on the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 for the first time in over six years.

Balanced Lumberjack attack

Looking at the overall player stat sheet for Northern Arizona, there is not a lot that jumps out at first glance. However, the Lumberjacks average 33.8 points per game and over 400 yards on offense. The key has been a full team effort and an emphasis on avoiding mistakes.

Sophomore quarterback Ty Pennington followed Wright from Pitt State where he played 13 games and had eight total touchdowns.

A dual-threat QB, Pennington has played a smart brand of football. The Sand Springs, Okla., native is 71-for-109 (65.1%) passing for 843 yards and six touchdowns, but more importantly no interceptions. On the ground Pennington has rushed the ball 39 times for 191 yards and three scores. His mobility will be a key factor against an aggressive defensive line for Idaho.

“He is very accurate; they do a good job with the (run-pass-option) game. They have a good O-line, their center I think is a really good player,” Eck said. “On defense, they are very aggressive, kind of have a creative scheme, really not quite like anyone else in the Big Sky, but will give you multiple fronts and a lot of pressure.”

Pennington likes to spread the ball around as six different targets have at least nine receptions on the year and none have more than 13. The leading receiver is senior tight end Bryzai White with 13 catches for 201 yards and two scores, including a six-reception, 88-yard performance against Sacramento State.

Darvon Hubbard and Seth Cromwell have combined for 86 carries for 439 yards and five scores on the ground. Junior running back J’Wan Evans has been electric in his few touches. Evans has 17 carries for 163 yards and a score.

Turnover battle is key

While Pennington has not thrown an interception, Northern Arizona has given up the football eight times on the ground. With the way Idaho swarms to the football on every play, there will be opportunities to take advantage of possible ball-carrier mistakes.

“If we can get teams into third-and-long that is advantage us,” Eck said. “We have a lot of good pass rushers.”

For the Vandals, the equation has been a simple one: Secure the ball, finish the game with zero turnovers and earn a mark in the win column. Idaho has done that three times this season.

When the Vandals turn the ball over, the mark moves to the loss column. In the two losses this season to Oregon and UC Davis, the Vandals turned the ball over five times.

Five different Lumberjacks have intercepted a pass this year and 11 players have contributed to the team’s 19 pass breakups.

Northern Arizona has plenty of playmakers in the secondary to make Idaho’s quarterback play difficult. UI’s Wagner has been banged up this season and Josifek, a third-stringer to start the year, has seen limited snaps.

Two battle-tested teams

These two foes have already been through the gauntlet this season.

Idaho opened the season with two Football Bowl Subdivision opponents in Oregon and Wyoming. This will be the fourth consecutive week that the Vandals have played a ranked Football Championship Subdivision squad after a home game against UAlbany and two road contests against Abilene Christian and UC Davis.

The Vandals have played four of their opening five games on the road and have played in five different states this season.

Northern Arizona competed with then-No. 20 FBS team Arizona in Week 2 in a 22-10 loss that the Lumberjacks led 10-6 at halftime. After a road game against Utah Tech, NAU is now facing its third straight top-15 FCS team.

The Lumberjacks lost to then-No. 15 Incarnate Word on the road before defending their home field against 10th-ranked Sacramento State last weekend. This will be the fourth road game in six games for Northern Arizona and the fourth different state it has competed in.

Isbelle can be reached at 208-848-2268, risbelle@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyIsbelle.