Vandals dominate Nevada in Reno

From local reports and news services

RENO, Nev. — A pair of Idaho players dumped a container of liquid on coach Jason Eck after the Vandals throttled the Nevada Wolf Pack 33-6 on Saturday before 19,852 at Mackay Stadium.

The “shower” celebrated Idaho’s first victory over an FBS school since the Vandals dropped to the FCS level in 2018.

That was nice — but this was a game Idaho went into expecting to win.

“We believed we could win,” Eck said. “I really didn’t see us as an underdog. But it’s a big win; we haven’t been 2-0 in a long time. This is a big win for our program, and I’m hoping this will be a springboard for us taking the next step of being a team that can make deeper runs in the playoffs.”

Idaho is off to its first 2-0 start since the 1998 season, one which ended with the Vandals first of three Humanitarian Bowl victories. It marked Idaho’s biggest win over Nevada in Reno, and first over the Wolf Pack since 1999.

A pair of tight ends who are anything but household names — Turon Ivy Jr. and Alex Moore — caught touchdown passes from McCoy, who threw for 313 yards on 15-of-21 passing.

Nick Romano, from Rocky Mountain High in Meridian, scored on a 15-yard run as the Vandals led Nevada (0-2) 17-6 at halftime.

And Ricardo Chavez booted four field goals.

“Just so happy for our student-athletes,” Eck said. “Our guys really competed, they believed. Proud of our coaches; our coaches put together a great plan. We defended them better than USC did. We used our playmakers; Gevani played tremendous, Hayden Hatten played tremendous; Anthony Woods had some big plays.”

Idaho scored on the first play of the game when Ivy, a transfer from Coastal Carolina, took a short pass from McCoy uncovered, and raced down the left sideline for a 75-yard touchdown on his first catch as a Vandal.

“We already had that scheduled as our first play,” McCoy said. “That was a huge first play … it was a great way to start the game off. It doesn’t get too much better than that.

“That was a great pickup for us this offseason. He can do it all for us — he’s a very physical run blocker, puts guys on their backs, but at the same time he can catch and make plays in the open field. He’s very dynamic for us.”

Derek Layne’s first career interception of his career led to Romano’s TD. The drive included McCoy completions of 29 yards to Romano and 30 to Jordan Dwyer — on fourth down.

Moore, a redshirt sophomore who came into the game with two career receptions — both last week at Lamar — caught a pass over the middle inside the 5 from McCoy and took it in to complete the 15-yard scoring play.

“He went out with an injury our first game last year, and had to miss the whole season, but we had very high hopes for him,” McCoy said. “It’s nice to see all his hard work pay off.”

Ormanie Arnold had an interception, Xe’ree Alexander a fumble recovery as the Vandals won the turnover battle 3-1.

Idaho, which received a $400,000 payout from Nevada for the game, outgained Nevada 463-266. Woods ran for 72 of Idaho’s 150 yards. Hayden Hatten had five catches for 85 yards.

Mathias Bertram led the Idaho defense with eight tackles.

“Now we’ve got to keep building,” Eck said. “It’s a great start to be 2-0, but we’ve got to keep growing and getting better as a team.”

Idaho plays another FBS foe this Saturday, when the Vandals visit California.

“We’ve got a great opportunity in front of us next week,” Eck said. “It’s very rare for an FCS team to beat two FBS teams in a year.”