When Idaho scored on a trick play for the second time in a surprising showdown with No. 3 Oregon on Saturday night to cut the Ducks' lead to three points midway through the fourth quarter, the Vandals appeared poised to pull off the biggest upset in college football history.
The Ducks, who have beaten FCS opponents by an average of 60-13 over the past 20 years, were favored by 45 1/2 points, but the Vandals' dreams of a stunning comeback were dashed when Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson scored on a 12-yard pass from quarterback Dillon Gabriel to give Oregon a 24-14 victory.
On paper, the Ducks dominated the game, outgaining Idaho 487 to 217 yards. But make no mistake: the Vandals made life difficult for the Ducks. Idaho held Oregon, a team many projected to win the national championship, to less than three yards per carry and no plays longer than 24 yards. Even more impressive, Idaho sacked highly touted transfer QB Gabriel three times; Oregon only allowed five sacks last season.
“They won when it mattered,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “We didn't score in the middle eight (the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half), which is unusual for us. I think they had a good plan as well. We're not going to get beaten by shots. We're going to work on what's in front of us and get Oregon to beat Oregon.” Idaho They had to beat Oregon. They stuck to their identity and did a good job.”
But the real story of Oregon vs. Idaho is about the realities of college football in 2024.
The Ducks are considered the pinnacle of NIL in the sports world, a well-organized and well-funded school team thanks in part to the efforts of Nike co-founder and stalwart Phil Knight. Even Georgia's Kirby Smart joked this summer that he would “like to get a piece” of the NIL money that Dan Lanning is sharing with them.
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Meanwhile, the Vandals have had seven of their top players move to FBS programs through the transfer portal this offseason, with five of them signing NIL contracts in the low six figures, according to Idaho coach Jason Eck.
“If we had those (five) guys who got paid, I think we could have beaten Oregon,” Eck said. “We got sacked four times. Our quarterback, who's at Oregon State now, is good at deflecting pressure and extending plays.”
Quarterback Jevani McCoy, a transfer from Oregon State, has thrown for 5,631 yards and 42 touchdowns over the past two seasons, plus rushed for five more, and is a finalist for the Walter Payton Award in 2023. McCoy completed 9 of 10 passes in leading the Beavers to a win over Idaho State last weekend. Cornerback Marcus Harris, a first-team All-American who transferred to Cal, set Idaho state records in 2023 with 36 passes defensed and three interceptions. He recorded an interception in his Cal debut, helping the Bears win the game.
Running back Anthony Woods, a first-team All-Big Sky selection who rushed for 1,155 yards and 16 touchdowns, has transferred to Utah. Linebacker Zerry Alexander, who led the Vandals with 75 tackles and two forced fumbles as a freshman last year, has transferred to UCF. Cornerback Ormani Arnold, who had 33 tackles and two interceptions, has transferred to Cincinnati.
“They're well-coached and they do a good job in the player-scouting portal,” Running said. “They went to (NAIA) Montana Tech for a player (top pass rusher Keyshawn James Newby) and then (FCS) Weber State for (DB-KR's Abraham Williams). Eck is doing a great job.”
Eck, a 47-year-old former Wisconsin offensive lineman, took over a team that had suffered five straight losing seasons. He led the Vandals to seven wins in his first year in 2022 and a 9-4 record and eighth-place nationally in the FCS last year. Eck has been head coach for just over two seasons, but the job has changed quite a bit in that time. That's true for all college coaches, especially those in the bottom half of the FBS and FCS.
“It's definitely harder now than it was when I took this job and when I was hired in December of 2021,” he said. “NIL was just becoming legal. I never thought I'd have players from my roster being recruited like this. It's a balancing act of trying to do the right thing for the kids, because for some people it's life-changing money.”
“This year, with our guys, especially our young guys, and we start a lot of young guys in the game, we're going to try to get them to think, 'Just one more year,'” Eck said. “We've had guys go to Oregon State, University of California, University of California-San Francisco, University of Cincinnati, and they didn't go to a premier league university. They said, 'Just wait one more year. Don't go to a university in the bottom half of the Power Four.'”
Vandals tight end Jake Cox scored the team's first touchdown in the third quarter. Photo: Ben Lonergan/The Red/USA Today
Idaho currently has a consortium in place and hopes to raise $100,000 by the time the portal opens in December, Eck said.
Eck knows the team's performance against the Ducks will likely draw more interest from FBS programs looking for reinforcements. Defensive tackle Dallas Afalaba, a 6-foot-1, 290-pound sophomore, tormented Oregon inside with one sack. Sophomore cornerback Andrew Marshall had nine tackles and one interception. The 6-foot, 186-pound Afalaba from Southern California was a low-profile recruit and the Vandals worried Boise State or Colorado State might take him late in the recruiting process. Now they have game film of him playing well against a top-five opponent with speedy receivers.
“He's going to get some attention, and our selling point is if you stay (here) one more year you could get $500,000 (from a Power 4 school). Don't jump at the offer for $100,000,” Eck said, though of course there's no guarantee. “They (Oregon) tried him early, they tried to get him deep, but they couldn't get a hit. … He didn't allow any big plays with all those receivers. They couldn't beat him one-on-one.”
Idaho cornerbacks coach Stanley Franks Jr. came to the Vandals from Washington State and saw the Cougars' scouting staff scouring the lower ranks to study all-conference level players. For many FCS and lower FBS coaches, it may be bittersweet to invest in a freshman only to have them move on to a bigger program, but Franks understands that for many players, the chance to earn life-changing money to help their families is too good to pass up.
Before Harris transferred to Cal, he came to Franks' office to talk with him. “He acted like it was a tough decision,” Franks said. “I said, 'This is a no-brainer. Blessings to the family.' There was never any doubt he could play at the next level.
“We use it as a recruiting tool. We have to recruit players at the Mountain West level. 'Come here, develop and play here and spend your last few years of college providing for your family.' We want to educate as many of our players as possible. I tell them, we're developing good players here. Why should they go somewhere else where they might sit on the bench just because we have a logo? We look at it as a positive.”
Eck has always considered Idaho a program in development. He and his coaching staff have discussed it with the freshmen, and Eck said it gives him pride as a freshman to know that in this new era, the cornerbacks coach will develop two players who will make a combined total of maybe $300,000 this year. That's how coaches should be at this level, Eck said. Three coaches left last offseason to take FBS jobs, two to San Diego State and one to Oregon State.
“That's part of our selling point. We have to get the coaches that come in here to do that,” he said. “We're going to help you get better and get a bigger opportunity. And it's the same with the players. Hopefully, everyone want Leave.”
Part of the selling point to retain players is reminding them that playing in the FCS will get them NFL recognition, as former Vandals long snapper Hogan Hatten just did when he was named to the Detroit Lions' 53-man roster.
“I don't think that helps in the NFL,” Eck said, “As long as you're an FCS school, every team comes here to scout, but it's hard to get someone to give up even a $150,000 salary when their family doesn't have the money.”
At Idaho, Eck expects to be able to pay his top players $10,000 to $15,000 a year — far short of the six-figure sums some Power 4 schools are offering. The school has recently been able to cover its players' tuition, paying them about $2,500 a semester.
Another prospect Eck has in mind is a young player who played big against the Ducks and may now be on the radar of FBS teams: Eck's son, Jackson. The linebacker had a game-high 14 tackles, including two plays where he was able to corral Johnson, the Ducks' dynamic receiver, in space.
“Yeah, that's funny,” Eck said with a laugh. After the game, one FBS head coach he knows texted him, referring to Jackson. “Maybe it was half a joke. We'll see what happens.”
(Image: Dan Goldfarb/ Athletic; Photos: Young Quack/AP; Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty)
