“December in Moscow is all about playoff football”: Idaho expects a physical game against Lehigh in the second round of the FCS

MOSCOW, Idaho – It’s the playoffs. Anyone still competing has done enough good to be here.

And Idaho coach Jason Eck is aware that a year ago, Albany of the Colonial Athletic Association traveled across the country from New York to Moscow to end the Vandals’ season in the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

But with a five-game winning streak and a first-round bye, the Vandals are eager to begin their championship season on Saturday against Lehigh (9-3), which is coming off a six-hour bus ride to upset CAA champ Richmond. 20-16, in the first round.

“December in Moscow is all about playoff football,” Eck said at his weekly press conference on Monday. “You might think it’s about preparing for Christmas. But it’s about playoff football.”

The Mountain Hawks have performed quite well after going 2-9 a year ago and are led by a freshman quarterback, Hayden Johnson. But Eck expects to face a fundamentally sound team that regularly averages about 200 yards per game but can stretch the field with its usual three wideouts, and against Richmond, Lehigh twice held off and forced the Spiders near the goal line to settle for field goals.

“They are a resilient team,” Eck said.

“They are a strong, physical team. You will have to defeat them. Teams are not going to beat you in the playoffs.”

Johnson has thrown for 1,229 yards and 10 touchdowns. Geoffrey Jamiel is listed at just 5-8, 180, but the junior wide receiver has 56 receptions for 701 yards and eight touchdowns.

“He’s difficult to deal with,” Eck said. Freshman running back Jaden Green is similarly physically unimpressive, but at 5-9, 175 pounds, he has run for 763 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Lehigh’s defense is anchored by 300-pound nose guard TJ Burke, who has 9.5 tackles for loss and six sacks this year, and graduate linebacker Mike DeNucci, who has 80 tackles, including 10 for loss, and 5.5 sacks , anchored. DeNucci missed the Richmond game due to injury but is expected to return against Idaho.

Cornerbacks Aidan Singleton and Jordan Adderley are reliable in the secondary, Eck said.

With the Vandals going undefeated against Football Bowl Subdivision leaders Oregon and Montana State, the Big Sky Conference champion and the top-ranked FCS team, Lehigh is “not the fastest team we’ve played all year.” Eck admitted. Still, “they’re solid, really solid,” he says. “We have to make plays.”

The Vandals expect senior edge rusher Keyshawn James-Newby to be available. Despite battling a persistent shoulder injury, he is a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, which honors the FCS Defensive Player of the Year. He leads the Big Sky with 9.5 sacks and 13 tackles.

“Our defensive line is probably better than the average line in the Patriot League,” Eck said.

Most of Idaho’s running backs have also recovered from injuries, with the possible exception of Nate Thomas, according to Eck, and the Mountain Hawks could have their hands full with receivers like Jordan Dwyer, Mark Hamper and tight end Mike Martinez in check to keep. Quarterback Jack Layne missed seven games with collarbone and wrist injuries. But in the five games he played, he was impressive, throwing for 915 yards with nine touchdowns and just three interceptions. Layne will play in his first playoff game against Lehigh, but Eck says he simply told Layne, “You be you.”

The Vandals are undefeated at home this year for the first time since 1996, and Eck is looking to keep that streak alive against the Mountain Hawks.

“This is a legacy game for our seniors,” he said.

A member of that 1996 team, running back Joel Thomas, who set Idaho’s career rushing record with 3,929 yards and helped lead the Vandals to a Humanitarian Bowl victory in 1998, and who is now an assistant coach with the New York Giants Eck was in contact with him this week, as were former Vandals such as 1994 Walter Payton Award winner Doug Nussmeier and former quarterback Eric Hisaw, who started 13 games in 1994-95, and kicker Mike Hollis, who played at Idaho in 1992-93 before his nine-year NFL career.

These are storied names from the last time Idaho was a power in the Big Sky Conference and a frequent participant in what is now the FCS playoffs. The Vandals’ three-year playoff run under corner has brought back old memories as Idaho aims for the 2024 championship, starting Saturday against Lehigh.

“A lot of old vandals really care,” Eck said.