How leery of No. 3 Oregon should Boise State be? Maybe Idaho just provided an answer

Boise State’s next opponent struggled Saturday vs. the No. 7 team in the country.

The No. 7 team in the FCS Top 25.

Oregon, ranked No. 3 in the preseason AP Top 25, used a good defensive effort to force three turnovers and post a 24-14 win over Idaho in Eugene — in the same stadium where the Ducks will welcome the Broncos next Saturday night.

The Vandals were a 44-point underdog, but they stood strong to put a genuine scare into Oregon. They trailed just 14-7 late in the third quarter and were within 17-14 with 9:45 to play before the Ducks were able to secure the victory.

“This is only going to be a positive if it’s going to be a starting point to us getting a lot better as time goes on, and growing as a team and continuing to improve,” Idaho coach Jason Eck said in postgame remarks.

Oregon transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel, previously the starter at UCF and Oklahoma, completed 41-of-49 passes for 380 yards and two touchdowns, but Idaho’s defense did not break often. The Vandals had four sacks and pressured Gabriel regularly, caused the Ducks to turn the ball over on downs twice and forced a fumble by Gabriel to end another drive.

Linebacker Jaxton Eck, son of Idaho coach Eck, had 14 tackles and a tackle for loss to lead the defensive effort. Defensive back Tommy McCormick had 11 tackles, and all nine of DB Andrew Marshall’s tackles were solo. Lineman Keyshawn James-Newby had two sacks.

“I didn’t want to give up big plays,” Jason Eck said. “I thought if we could keep (Gabriel) from getting big plays, maybe we could get some turnovers and things. ... He didn’t throw it to us at all. I thought maybe he would.”

Idaho trailed 14-0 at halftime but got TD drives on back-to-back possessions in the second half, one covering 36 yards after a turnover on downs and one covering 75 yards. QB Jack Layne was 11-for-25 for 168 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, and also ran for a score.

The Vandals had just 217 yards of offense.

This story was originally published August 31, 2024 at 9:31 PM.