Fresh off OT win, Idaho braces for a ‘little scarier’ defense this week in FCS playoffs
The University of Idaho football team was held to a season-low 293 total yards of offense and needed some special teams magic to edge Southern Illinois in overtime last week.
The defensive pressure is about to get more intense.
The fourth-seeded Vandals (9-3) host No. 5 Albany (10-3) in the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs at 8 p.m. Mountain time Saturday at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
“We have a great Albany team coming out here,” Idaho coach Jason Eck said during a news conference. “Their defense, I think, is outstanding. I think they probably are a little scarier, a little better than Southern Illinois’ defense, which Southern’s defense did a great job against us.”
Albany leads all of FCS with 47 sacks this season, an average of 3.62 per game. Senior defensive ends Anton Juncaj and AJ Simon have combined for 26.5 of those sacks, but 11 different players in all have registered at least one sack for the Great Danes.
“Our O-line against their D-line is going to be a challenge for us. We’re gonna really have to step up and play our best football,” Eck said. “The D-ends, especially, are the best one-two combo of D-ends we’ve played.”
Albany also leads the country in turnovers gained (27) and run defense (75.9 yards per game). Eleven different players have grabbed at least one interception, and 10 have forced one fumble or more.
Albany — the school is part of New York’s state university system and is located in the capital — has the No. 8 overall scoring defense (16.85 ppg) and ranks No. 8 in total defense (296.8 yards).
In addition to first-team all-conference ends Juncaj and Simon, senior linebacker Dylan Kelly was named the Coastal Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year and is one of three finalists for the 2023 Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the FCS national defensive player of the year. Kelly has 148 total tackles, including 8.5 for loss, as well as two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.
On offense, Albany does not possess quite the same firepower as Idaho. The Great Danes averaged 30.5 points and 361.8 yards per game compared to the Vandals’ 33.2 points and 417.2 yards. However, Albany sophomore quarterback Reese Poffenbarger leads the nation with 33 touchdown passes and has the Great Danes on a six-game winning streak entering Saturday’s quarterfinal.
It marks a huge comeback for Albany, which finished the 2022 season 3-8 and this year made the playoffs for just the third time in program history (2011, 2019).
“When you’re down to eight teams, there’s no fluff that’s left,” Eck said. “These are all very, very good football teams that are left. Credit to (Albany’s) staff. I know they didn’t win as many games last year, but they really had a nice turnaround, and they’re playing outstanding football. You don’t see a lot of errors. They play very hard. They’re very physical. It’s a very good team.”
A crowd of 9,224 turned out last week for Idaho’s first home playoff game in 30 years. Eck said the Vandals will need the same kind of support to fend off the Great Danes on Saturday night.
“I think our fans could really be a factor in this game, and we need you to come down,” Eck said. “Whether you’re from Spokane, Boise, Coeur d’Alene, we need everybody.”
This story was originally published December 6, 2023 at 4:00 AM.
