UAlbany next in Vandals' path
MARK NELKE/Press Idaho's Jermaine Jackson (1) celebrates with Vandal cheerleaders after his punt return touchdown in last Saturday's win over Southern Illinois in the second round of the FCS playoffs at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow.
Tonight, UAlbany at Idaho, 7 p.m. TV/streaming: ESPN+
By MARK NELKE
Sports editor
The Idaho Vandals are averaging 416.7 yards per game, but were held to a season-low 293 yards last week by Southern Illinois in the second round of the FCS playoffs.
The bad news?
The Vandals figure to run into an even better defense tonight, when the fifth-seeded University at Albany Great Danes (10-3) visit fourth-seeded Idaho (9-3) in a quarterfinal matchup at the Kibbie Dome.
“Their defense is outstanding, probably a little scarier, a little better than Southern Illinois’ defense,” second-year Idaho coach Jason Eck said. “And Southern’s defense did a great job against us.”
UAlbany has the best rushing defense in the FCS, allowing 75.9 yards per game. The Great Danes allow 16.8 points per game, eighth in the FCS.
Defensive end Anton Juncaj ranked second in FCS with 14 sacks, and D-end AJ Simon has 12.5 sacks.
Linebacker Dylan Kelly is a top-three finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, for the top defensive player in FCS.
Offensively, quarterback Reese Poffenbarger was the runner-up to Idaho QB Gevani McCoy for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top freshman in FCS. Poffenbarger leads the FCS with 33 passing touchdowns, has thrown for 3,030 yards, and has rushed for five scores.
“He’s a great athlete, can extend plays,” Eck said of Poffenbarger. “And that’s something we struggled with last week with (SIU quarterback Nic) Baker, and this kid’s better than Baker.”
Eck said Poffenbarger is like McCoy in that “they’re not guys who scramble to run, they scramble to buy time and find guys.”
The good news?
The Vandals are playing at home in the Kibbie Dome for the second straight week in the playoffs, something that hasn’t happened since 1988.
The Vandals are 8-2 in the Dome under Eck.
“The best thing we have going for us is the Kibbie Dome,” Eck said. “I think our fans can be a factor in this game.”
Of course, Idaho has other things going for it as well.
Like a balanced offense, led by McCoy (2,593 yards, 14 TDs), running back Anthony Woods (1,051 yards, 15 TDs) and wide receiver Hayden Hatten (81 catches, 1,096 yards, 9 TDs, the career leader with 33 TD catches), a solid defense (294 yards allowed per game) and special teams led by returner Jermaine Jackson and punter/placekicker Ricardo Chavez.
Eck said the matchup of Idaho’s offensive line vs. UAlbany’s defensive line is “going to be a challenge for us. The D-ends are the best 1-2 combo of D-ends that we’ve played.”
“For us to win the game, we have to win the matchup of our D-line vs. their O-line,” Eck added. “I think it’s somewhat favorable for us. Their quarterback is the ‘X’ factor.”
Idaho, in the FCS playoffs for the 13th time, is playing in its fifth quarterfinal game, looking to advance to the semifinals for the third time, having reached the semis in 1988 and 1993.
The UAlbany-Idaho winner will play the winner between Villanova (10-2) and top-seeded and defending champion South Dakota State (12-0) next weekend in the semifinals. Villanova and South Dakota State play today at 9 a.m. on ESPN.