Idaho will face Lehigh in the first round of the FCS playoffs for the first time since 1993

Two teams from opposite coasts. The last time they played was 31 years ago. Now they will meet again in the second round of the Football Championship Division Subdivision playoffs.

Idaho’s 77-14 win over Pennsylvania’s Lehigh University at the Kibbie Dome in 1993 is probably a happy story for Vandals fans. But it has little to do with the team Idaho will face Saturday in Moscow, which posted a 9-3 record while going 5-1 in the Patriot League and a first-round loss to FCS a week ago Made a comeback against the favored Richmond.

According to Idaho coach Jason Eck and the Vandals players, the Mountain Hawks are a solid bunch that can’t beat themselves but aren’t physically superior to the Vandals. A matchup like this could lead to big plays, and Idaho is more than capable of producing them. Ideally, the vandals can explode like fireworks gone wrong, with explosions coming from all directions. But if the game comes down to two players facing Lehigh, watch out for wide receiver Jordan Dwyer and defensive end Keyshawn James-Newby.

James-Newby, a first-team All-Big Sky Conference member and finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, which honors the best defensive player in FCS football, has 54 tackles this season, including 8.5 tackles for loss and 9. 5 sacks before this game. He was asked by Eck to get another sack. While James-Newby wasn’t the biggest rusher at around 240 pounds, he was also dealing with a chronic shoulder injury that might require surgery after the season. James-Newby says his attitude in dealing with the injury is to not let it affect what he does on the field and to play freely.

“The more you think about it, the harder it becomes to deal with it.” Not only does he plan to meet Eck’s challenge, but he’s also hoping for two or three sacks against Lehigh and his freshman quarterback Hayden Johnson.

“First we have to stop the run, then we can have fun,” says James-Newby.

He characterizes the Mountain Hawks as “fundamentally very solid.” But they’re not the greatest team we’ve ever faced. We shouldn’t take them lightly, but the defensive line is expected to pack a punch. No hate. “No disgust,” he says. But the Vandals believe they are the better team.

Dwyer made a team-leading 60 receptions for 837 yards and eight touchdowns. He is a member of the All-Big Sky second team, and Eck points out that unlike the Big Sky’s All-Conference first team, Dwyer played with three different starting quarterbacks as Idaho fell deep in the quarterback rankings this season due to injuries Members who had to reach the finish line before him had to advance.

“Ever since I’ve been playing football, I’ve had a feel for big plays,” Dwyer said. In Idaho’s quarterfinal game against Albany a year ago, he caught a 36-yard pass from Gevani McCoy for a touchdown in a game that ended the Vandals’ season 30-22.

Dwyer avenged that loss by scoring two touchdowns this season as Idaho defeated the Great Danes 41-13.

His resume also includes touchdown catches against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents Washington State and Indiana.

“It’s a great feeling to get a touchdown in the playoffs. It’s great to do it in front of home fans,” he says.

It’s an enviable talent to suddenly take your game to a new level and change a game.

However, James-Newby says the ability to do that comes from the foundation of playing your best on every play and being able to take advantage of offensive linemen who are either out of position or not as focused as you .

“Urgency and consistency. If you have both, good things will come your way,” he says. In the volatile chaos of clashing lines of attack and defense, “some things are uncontrollable,” he admits. “But if you can, don’t let them make the choice.”

For Dwyer, who tries to outrun defenders in the secondary, the moment is even more exciting.

“Sometimes I think I can make a big impression here,” he says. “Sometimes it just happens.”

Idaho fans have grown accustomed to seeing James-Newby suddenly emerge from the melee at the line of scrimmage to run down a quarterback like an apex predator stalking its prey, and they’re equally thrilled when They watch as Dwyer almost magically throws off a defender, as if he is darting through the end zone turf to score a touchdown.

In the second round of the playoffs, pitting a pair of 9-3 teams that don’t have much experience together, neither team has any doubts about their abilities. Idaho’s game against Lehigh could be determined by one team’s ability to convince the other that it is the best team. For the Vandals, James-Newby and Dwyer are good choices to make the big play and help Idaho win.