Oct. 9—After a much-needed bye week to heal, refocus and regroup, the Idaho Vandals return to the P1FCU Kibbie Dome this weekend.
The Vandals (2-3, 0-1 Big Sky) host Northern Colorado (2-3, 0-1) at 2 p.m. Saturday (SWX/ESPN+), looking to extend their home winning streak and reignite their momentum for the rest of the season.
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On top of that, Idaho has not played at home in nearly a month and it’s also homecoming. Idaho will host alumni, former players, current students and employees all celebrating the weekend.
Coming off the bye week
UI’s bye week offered an opportunity for the team to get healthy, watch film and to adjust any failures that have been hurting it through the first five weeks of the season.
Idaho headman Thomas Ford Jr. said that the team using the bye week to get healthy was the most important.
He said that there are a few players who are expected back this week against Northern Colorado, including fifth-year starting running back Elisha Cummings.
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“No. 1: Get healthy,” Ford said. “We wanted to make sure that we got some of our guys that have been kind of battling through some injuries and still playing. Gotta try to get those guys where they’re not battling through those injuries anymore. So getting healthy was No. 1.”
He said the second most important thing during the bye week is competition among the position groups because it’s is a continuous battle for players to keep fighting for their jobs.
“We also did a lot of ‘good-on-good’ where we really got to compete and get some guys that haven’t had as many reps get more reps,” Ford said. “And again, those reps for those guys are going to pay off in the long run, because you’re always one play away from moving up that depth chart.”
Another crucial part of the bye week was to let the athletes breathe. Ford said that finding the balance of getting work done while also letting the players rest and find recovery time helped Idaho through the bye week.
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“We gave them really kind of three hard days on and then a couple of days off from practice and meetings where they could be college students for a couple of days, watch a bunch of football on their own and kind of hang out with their teammates,” Ford said.
Back in the Dome after nearly a month
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Idaho is coming off two straight road games, against San Jose State and Montana, and then the bye week. Ford said that it feels like a long time since the Vandals have played in front of their home crowd at the Kibbie Dome.
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The last home game for the Vandals was against Utah Tech on Sept. 13.
“Anytime we can play in front of the Kibbie Dome crowd, it’s a blessing,” Ford said. “We’re very excited to be back at home again. Two back-to-back road games and then a bye week. It’s almost been a month since we’ve been able to play in front of our home crowd. But I know, especially defensively, our defense really feeds off that home crowd, and so we’re very excited to get back in front them.”
The Vandals have won eight consecutive games in the Kibbie Dome going back to last season, with a strong homefield advantage that they will attempt to continue.
Coming off a bye week and then playing at home makes the schedule much easier for the Vandals. Having no travel in the week and playing in front of the home crowd is a huge lift to the team.
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“Definitely love having home games after the bye week. It just keeps, I think our flow a little bit better with our group,” Ford said.
Homecoming celebration
The Vandals are hosting UI alumni, students, employees and the Moscow community for homecoming all week.
The Idaho football team is hosting former players who are visiting practice and chatting with the current players and will be attending the game this weekend, Ford said.
“Homecoming is always a special time,” Ford said. “We get a bunch of former Vandals coming back. Our practices will have a lot more visitors this week than we have in the previous weeks. So anytime you get guys that have been through this program, they’ve done what our guys are doing, and they get to celebrate with them.”
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Ford said the support of the former athletes and alumni is something the team loves. He also said that those former players who have been in the exact spot that these current players are in show the players how notable Idaho is as a program.
“I think it also gives our guys a lot of perspective on how special this place is, and when they see so many guys coming back to our homecoming events,” Ford said. “I definitely think it helps put those guys in a better headspace in terms of the perspective of all the stuff that they’re doing is really important.”
Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, tjunt@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @TrevorJunt.
