Vandals kick off with a conference game

Idaho at Cal Poly • Tonight, 7 p.m. • TV: ESPN • Radio: 107.1 FM, 1230 AM 

By MARK NELKE 

Sports editor 

The first game of the season is always a big game because, well, it’s the first game of the season. 

This year, the season opener takes on added importance for Big Sky Conference football teams.  

All but one team open with a conference game, rather than a “warmup” type game to ease into the season, or a money game to ease the budget. 

Tonight, Idaho plays at Cal Poly at 7 p.m. at Alex G. Spanos Stadium on ESPN in a Big Sky game. 

“In this league, you never know which game could be the conference championship, since we don’t have a true conference championship game,” second-year Idaho coach Thomas Ford Jr. said earlier this week, in his weekly meeting with area media.

OK, so tonight’s game in San Luis Obispo might not be the de facto conference title game, but you get the drift on the importance.  

A loss, and the team is already behind the 8-ball in the conference. 

Both Idaho and Cal Poly are coming off 4-8 seasons. For the Vandals, it was their first losing season since 2021; for the Mustangs, it was their most wins since going 5-6 in 2018. Their last winning season was 7-5 in 2016, under Tim Walsh, which included their last trip to the FCS playoffs. 

“At the end of the day, we’re not focused on last year, and I’m sure they’re not either, with a new staff,” Ford said. 

Indeed, Cal Poly is under new management, after former Eastern Washington and Washington State coach Paul Wulff went 10-24 in three seasons, and former EWU coach Beau Baldwin went 4-21 in three seasons before that. 

Tim Skipper, who finished last season as interim head coach at UCLA, takes over at Cal Poly this season. In 2024, Skipper was interim head coach at Fresno State, where he coached future Idaho quarterback Joshua Wood in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise. 

With a new head coach and new coordinators, Vandal coaches are studying film of games from their previous stops. 

“It will be pretty much wait and see until we get there,” Ford said. “Any time you face a new staff, there’s a lot of unknowns.” 

Cal Poly returns a pair of first-team All-Big Sky linebackers in Mikey D’Amato and Kenny Olson. 

Quarterback Ty Dieffenbach transferred to UCLA, but Bo Kelly saw action in eight games last season, completing 63 of 113 passes for 706 yards and seven touchdowns with two interceptions in 2025. 

Joshua Wood, Idaho’s dual-threat quarterback, missed two games last year with a sprained knee. 

As for what Ford is looking for from Wood ... 

"Being efficient,” he said. “Not relying so much on hero-ball plays. And continuing to be a running threat.” 

Idaho lost the two games Wood missed last year. This year, the Vandals brought in a more experienced backup in Israel Carter, as most of the other QBs were either freshmen or redshirt freshmen. 

Ian Shoemaker, Idaho’s new offensive coordinator, said the receiver room is deeper than it was during spring ball, as the Vandals brought in three wideouts from the portal over the summer. 

"We have to be physical,” Shoemaker said. “Run the ball downhill, first and foremost, develop the RPO and play-action off of that. That is my vision— be physical first, and not be tied to six-man drop-back.” 

As for Idaho turning 4-8 into a winning season, the Vandals need to "be good in those end-of game-scenarios,” Ford said. “The three games we lost by three, we had opportunities defensively to get a stop in the two-min situation. Having people on the field that have been in that situation is different from last year.” 

Shoemaker said the Vandals are trying to put together an offensive plan that is flexible enough, based on what they’ve seen from previous tape. 

And if adjustments need to be made? 

“Draw it up in the sand,” Shoemaker said. “We are close to the beach, right?”