Aug. 24—We are just one week away from the opening game of the 2024 Idaho football season.
The Vandals will open up against two Football Bowl Subdivision teams in Oregon and Wyoming on the road. The first P1FCU Kibbie Dome contest will be a rematch of a FCS quarterfinal game with UAlbany which will be one of five games at home.
UC Davis hosts Idaho in late September to kick off the eight-game Big Sky Conference schedule and Weber State will travel to Moscow in November for the Vandals’ senior day.
Here is a look at five of the more intriguing matchups on Idaho’s 2024 slate:
At No. 3 Oregon (Aug. 31, 4:30 p.m., Big Ten Network)
A tough opening opponent is an understatement when Idaho starts the 2024 season at Autzen Stadium in one week.
The Ducks have possibly the best offense in the country, a perfect test for a Vandal defense that feels it is one of the best in the FCS.
Gone is Bo Nix, now the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. In his place is Dillon Gabriel, a sixth-year senior who played the last two seasons at Oklahoma. In those two seasons, Gabriel threw for 6,585 yards and 54 touchdowns to 12 interceptions.
In its first year in the Big Ten conference, Oregon is one of the favorites and it will be interesting to see how well Idaho can hang with a top-five team in the FBS.
Vs. No. 14 UAlbany (Sept. 14, 1 p.m., ESPN+/SWX)
This one is a rematch of a quarterfinal matchup in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in 2023. The Great Danes return to the site of their upset in what will be the 2024 season debut of Idaho at the Kibbie Dome.
In that playoff matchup, UAlbany pulled away in the fourth quarter with 16 unanswered points to take a 30-19 lead with under a minute to go. The Vandals got a quick field goal, but were unable to recover the onside kick in a 30-22 loss.
The Great Danes went 11-4 last season and were eliminated in the semifinals to eventual champion South Dakota State, 59-0. However, the team that celebrated on the Kibbie Dome turf last year is far from the team that will arrive in September.
The Coastal Athletic Association 2023 co-champion returns just seven starters from last season, and only one on the defensive side. The Great Danes will look to replace 11 of their 15 All-Conference players and hope that the transfer portal can do just that. UAlbany added 15 Division-I players to its roster this past offseason.
Look for the Great Danes to lean on running back Griffin Woodell, who had 892 rushing yards and 12 total touchdowns in 2023. All-Conference quarterback Reese Poffenbarger is gone and in his place is Wisconsin transfer Myles Burkett, who was named the starting quarterback on Wednesday.
At No. 17 UC Davis (Sept. 28, 7 p.m., ESPN+)
The Vandals have not defeated UC Davis since 1997. The Aggies have won the last four meetings, including a 44-26 victory at the Kibbie Dome in 2022. UC Davis jumped out early and took a 31-7 halftime advantage in that one.
To add to it, the loss happened on senior day and for a moment looked like it might bump Idaho out of the FCS playoffs.
UC Davis finished last year with a 7-4 record and was 5-3 in the Big Sky. The Aggies were fourth on the preseason Big Sky football media poll, receiving one first place vote, just behind Idaho.
Tim Plough takes over for longtime coach Dan Hawkins, but he will have a lot of weapons to work with including the 2023 Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year Lan Larison. The running back had 1,101 yards on the ground with 13 touchdowns last season. Sixth-year quarterback Miles Hastings will look to have a bounce back year with an offense that is loaded with returning players.
The defense was one of the best in the Big Sky and returns six players in the secondary that had at least 200 snaps last year.
This meeting will be the Big Sky opener for the Vandals and is an important benchmark on the season.
At No. 4 Montana State (Oct. 12, 7:15 p.m., ESPN2)
A late Gevani McCoy touchdown pass to Hayden Hatten closed out a great back-and-forth battle between the Vandals and Bobcats last year. Montana State finished third in the Big Sky last year and is one of the favorites again in 2024. This year, the two will meet in a game broadcast on ESPN2.
The matchup between the two teams has swayed in favor of the home team. In eight all-time meetings, the hosting squad has won every game with one neutral site game in 2000 in Pullman that Idaho won 56-7.
Montana State has a lot of veteran leadership with 21 seniors on the roster and has seven 2023 All-Big Sky members returning.
The offense was dynamic last year, averaging 39.9 points per game which was second best in the FCS. The Bobcats were also second in the FCS in rushing yards per game with 291.0.
The offense should be just as difficult to stop again this season, if not more so, with quarterback Tommy Mellott, wide receiver Ty McCullouch, its top four rushers and five offensive linemen with experience.
Idaho does not have Montana on the schedule this year, which makes the Bobcats its toughest conference test of the year. If the Vandals want a chance to win the Big Sky, there is a good chance that winning at Bobcat Stadium for the first time is a must.
Vs. Weber State (Nov. 16, 5 p.m., ESPN+/SWX)
Last year, the Vandals suffered a late season loss on the road to the Wildcats, 31-29. It was the third consecutive loss to Weber State; in fact, Idaho is 1-3 all-time against the Big Sky opponent with the only victory coming in 1994.
The Wildcats finished 6-5 overall and 4-4 in conference in 2023, but finished strong with a three-game winning streak.
It is the second season under Mickey Mental for Weber State and the Wildcats hope to have more consistency on the offensive side of the ball. The offense averaged 307.4 yards per game, 11th best in the Big Sky in 2023. However things turned around when then-freshman quarterback Richie Munoz took over.
Munoz started the final five games and completed 90-of-147 (61.2%) of his passes for 1,054 yards with 10 touchdowns to just one interception. He was efficient in the upset win against Idaho with 152 passing yards and one touchdown.
Just like last year, the matchup with Weber State is the penultimate game on the Vandals’ schedule and with it being at the Kibbie Dome it will also be senior night for Idaho.
Isbelle can be reached at 208-848-2268, risbelle@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyIsbelle.
