For a pair of teams that have not reached the playoffs and know their season is ending, Idaho’s game against Idaho State looks both forward to a better future and back to a year that might have been.
The Vandals (4-7, 2-5 Big Sky Conference) hope to send their seniors, who have been to the Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinals the past two years, out with a win.
Idaho State (5-6, 4-3) wants to reach a .500 season and plant a flag that it is on the right track and better days are coming.
Here are three things to watch as the Vandals and Bengals meet for the Potato State Trophy in this season’s final game.
1. Who is in charge of Idaho’s offense? Matt Linehan led the Vandals to their final bowl win as a Football Bowl Subdivision team in the 2016 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. As a quarterback, he was the game’s most valuable player. Following a brief career in professional football, Linehan returned to his old school in 2022 to become the receivers coach, recruiting coordinator and eventually offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach this year. But UI coach Thomas Ford Jr., following Idaho’s 28-14 loss to UC Davis on Nov. 8, acknowledged that Linehan would be moving from the press box, where most offensive coordinators call plays, to the sidelines, to give him a different vantage. The Vandals lost their subsequent game to Sacramento State, 23-20. Ford has not said whether Linehan’s role with the team has changed as the Vandals wrap up this season and look ahead to a crucial recruiting deadline Dec. 3 with the first signing day.
2. Both Idaho and ISU are among the better defensive teams in the Big Sky: The Bengals are sixth in the league, giving up an average of 27.9 points per game. The Vandals are right behind them, giving up 28.6 ppg. Idaho also ranks sixth in total offense allowed (405.1 ypg) while ISU is ninth at 440.7 ypg. Idaho’s secondary will be depleted, however, as starting safety Hayden John has been ruled out with an injury, and backup Matt Irwin is a game-time decision with another injury.
3. In a long-ago era of power football, watching the offensive guards was a good way to get an indication of where a play was going to go: Idaho’s senior left guard, Nate Azzopardi, declined to explore the transfer portal when the Vandals had a coaching change following the 2024 season when Ford replaced Jason Eck, who moved on to become head coach at New Mexico. As a senior, Azzopardi is a three-year captain and is on the Shrine Bowl 1,000 watch list. He has experienced both lows and highs as a Vandal, beginning his career in the 2021 COVID-era spring season, in which Idaho finished 2-4, and reaching the FCS playoffs from 2022-24, including the quarterfinals in 2023 and 2024. Azzopardi is playing his final game. Line play is not as electric as watching a running back turn the corner or a receiver catch a long pass. But whatever Bengals defensive linemen are matched up against the proud Vandal senior better bring a lunch. It is going to be a long day, and watching Idaho’s offensive line could be a treat.
