Back in the Dome: Vandals eye upset over No. 11 UC Davis Aggies on Family Weekend

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Nov. 8—After two straight wins, the Idaho Vandals (4-5, 2-3 Big Sky) are gearing up to come back to play in the P1FCU Kibbie Dome in Moscow against the nationally ranked No. 11 UC Davis Aggies (6-2, 4-1) at 4 p.m. today.

The Big Sky Conference selected the matchup, which will be broadcast on SWX/ESPN+, as the league's Game of the Week.

This meeting will be just the seventh time the two teams have met in the series' history.

Idaho won the first game played on Oct. 11, 1997, and has lost five straight since. UC Davis holds a 5-1 record against UI.

The last matchup between UCD and UI was Sept. 28, 2024, when the Aggies won 28-26 in Davis, Calif.

This game is during family weekend for the University of Idaho, and UI coach Thomas Ford Jr. said he expects a good turnout and is happy to be back at the Kibbie Dome.

"It's family weekend," Ford said. "It's just something that we're really excited about (being) back in front of our fans. Really encourage everyone that's in town to get to the game. It's going to be a really historic game. I think we have not beat UC Davis in our last five opportunities, and this is our year."

Idaho's weapons are healthy again

The biggest reason why UI's offense has turned lethal again is the return of sophomore quarterback Joshua Wood after missing multiple games with a lower-body injury.

In his first game back, Wood threw 15-for-22 with 259 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-6 win over Portland State on Oct. 25. Wood threw for the most touchdowns in a half (four) since Jack Layne passed for six in the Vandals' 63-21 win over Idaho State on Nov. 18, 2023.

Wood struggled a bit against Northern Arizona on Oct. 31, but still finished 15-for-31 for 180 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in a 35-32 win.

Another player who has stepped up in recent weeks is fifth-year running back Elisha Cummings. Against Portland State, Cummings carried the ball eight times for 65 yards and a touchdown, along with leading the Vandals in receiving with four grabs for 100 yards and another score.

Against NAU, Cummings provided most of Idaho's offensive attack. He ran the ball 12 times for 106 yards and a score while catching five passes for 78 yards and another touchdown.

Ford said the difference in Cummings' game is that he is fully healthy with no restrictions.

"It's huge," Ford said. "He is such a versatile player. Eli's really a guy that can do pretty much everything you want a running back to do. He's great, obviously, in the run game. I think he reads mid-zone better than any back in our conference. He's very exceptional in the passing game, and he's also really good in pass protection, so there's not a lot he can't do."

Ford also said that now that Cummings is fully healthy, he expects to see him get many more snaps and be more of an every-down back. When he is tired, he will come out of the game, and then once he's rested up, he will be placed right back onto the field.

"He definitely opens up the offense quite a bit," Ford said. "He's very versatile, and I think as a defense, you gotta know where he is. All of a sudden they're worried about where our tailback is. … It takes a lot of attention off of our receivers, and I think (it) gets them a lot more one-on-one opportunities."

UI's offense finding its rhythm

The Vandals' offense has found what has been working and has been trying to play into the success to the best of its ability.

Ford said that having the two main playmakers, Wood and Cummings, back and healthy has moved the needle quite a bit for the offense.

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The Vandals are finding more success schematically in recent weeks, and part of that is due to Ford stepping in and assisting the offensive unit.

"I think we're doing some things better schematically," Ford said. "After the Eastern Washington game, I've been a little bit more involved with the offense, just really trying to get us to where we're doing things we're really good at, and having a bunch of things off of those looks. And I think we've done a really good job, coach (Matt) Linehan's done a great job calling plays the last couple of games, really, including naked play action stuff, down the field, screens — just really opening up our playbook a little bit more."

The young wide receiver trio of sophomore Ryan Jezioro, redshirt freshman Marquawn McCraney and true freshman Nolan McWilliams have grown into their roles and matured as players, which has helped the scheme become more dialed in to get them the ball more often.

Scouting the Aggies

UC Davis is ranked No. 11 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll and No. 12 in the American Football Coaches Association poll.

The Aggies' only losses this year came to Washington 70-10 in Week 3 and to Idaho State 38-36 in a close matchup last Saturday.

To contain a good UC Davis offense, Ford said the main focus will be on their quarterback, redshirt freshman Caden Pinnick.

Pinnick ranks first in the Big Sky in passing efficiency and has thrown for 1,739 yards with 17 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Pinnick also has 197 yards rushing and two scores on the ground this season.

"I think when he's at his best has been when he's been able to extend plays, get out of the pocket with some of their boot and naked stuff," Ford said. "I think he does a good job in their RPO game. So, I think if we can force him into being a pocket passer, not allowing him to create and extend plays, that's going to be critical."

UC Davis junior running back Jordan Fisher is a player that the Vandals recruited "pretty hard," Ford said. The coach said he is a very talented player, and a focus with Fisher is to limit his explosive plays.

Fisher is fourth in the Big Sky in rushing yards with 684. He's scored four touchdowns, has a long of 75 yards and is averaging 85.5 yards per game.

Offensively, the Vandals' focus will be on a banged-up Aggies secondary.

"Kind of finding the combination of receivers that's working the best for us, and obviously having Joshua back throwing the football to those guys can be huge," Ford said. "So we really want to try to get after their secondary a little bit, try to take advantage of some of the things that we see in their coverage, and then obviously still run the football. That's kind of our MO, as long as I'm the head football coach, establishing that line of scrimmage."

The basics

What: Idaho (4-5, 2-3) vs. UC Davis (6-2, 4-1)

Where: P1FCU Kibbie Dome, Moscow

When: 4 p.m. today

TV: SWX/ESPN+

Radio: KOZE-AM/FM (950/95.5), KZFN-FM (106.1), KORT-AM (1230), KLER-AM (1300), Vandal Football Radio Network, The Varsity Network App

Spread: UC Davis -2.5 (FanDuel)

Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, tjunt@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @TrevorJunt.

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