COMMENTARY: Idaho hit the bye week at the perfect time

I am not sure if it was just me, but that Idaho football win Saturday night had a different feel to it.

Every team deals with injuries throughout the year, but for the Vandals the injury bug came early and often.

With starting quarterback Jack Layne back behind center and running back Eli Cummings returning for a short time in the 38-28 win against Eastern Washington, the offense felt nearly complete again.

The best news for Idaho? The team finally reached the bye week.

Coach Jason Eck has said multiple times how much he was not a fan of the Vandals having a late-season bye. It becomes a battle of attrition throughout the first three-quarters of the season without a chance to take a breath.

Well, Idaho has now reached that breathing point at the perfect moment.

Vandal fans were able to witness what Layne could do with the offense and now he will have two full weeks of prep before the home stretch.

The running back room, which might be the deepest room for Idaho, has a chance to get healthier.

Art Williams and Deshaun Buchanan have done a solid job of carrying the load the last few weeks. Getting a guy like Cummings back to be the lead of a three-headed monster could be too much to stop for some defenses.

The defensive line has also been banged up and has not been able to utilize its original gameplan of keeping fresh legs on the field as much as it did at the beginning of the season.

What is left for the Vandals to accomplish to finish their resume?

Three teams with a combined record of 8-16 in Portland State, Weber State and Idaho State.

Idaho moved up to No. 10 in the latest Stats Perform rankings and 11th in the coaches poll. The polls are not always a straight one-to-one comparison to how the playoff seeding will go, but it can help you get a good idea of where some of the teams sit.

The top-eight seeded teams will earn a first round bye and host a second round contest. If we use those rankings as a guide, the Vandals need to move up two or three spots to reach their goal.

I don’t think Idaho football fans could ask for a better combination than a week of rest, a team getting healthy at the right time and three games where the Vandals will be big favorites.

Now it is up to Eck and the Idaho players to cross the finish line strong.

Idaho has not finished the regular season by winning the final three games since 2016 when it was still part of the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Vandals won their final four regular season games and won a slugfest against Colorado State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl when the two teams combined for 111 points that season.

Last year, Idaho had a letdown on its final regular season road game against Weber State, which will be the final team to play the Vandals inside the Kibbie Dome in this year’s regular season.

Another letdown like that will ruin any chance of a first-round bye. Hopefully Idaho uses this break correctly and recharges the batteries for a strong finish and a playoff run.

Vandal fans need to recharge their batteries as well and make sure that they show up for senior day on Nov. 18 to make sure there is not another Wildcat-letdown like last season.

Time to put the “Vs” up, as Eck would say, and lock in.

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