Vandals look to ‘get back on the horse’

Idaho at Utah • Tonight, 6 p.m. • TV: ESPNU • Radio: 107.1 FM, 1230 AM 

By MARK NELKE 

Sports editor 

A tough loss on the road. 

A short turnaround. 

A game at a ranked Power 4 opponent just six days later. 

None of those things sounds promising, but Idaho football coach Thomas Ford found a silver lining heading into the Vandals’ (0-1) game tonight at 6 at No. 21 Utah (0-0) at Rice-Eccles Stadium on ESPNU. 

“The best thing is, it did not give us time to sit around feeling sorry for ourselves,” Ford said earlier this week, in his weekly meeting with area media. “We’ve got to get back on the horse right away.”

Ford said the Vandals tried to put Friday night’s 38-34 loss at Cal Poly — in the season and Big Sky Conference opener for both — behind them quickly. 

“Very frustrating way to lose a football game ... but I really want to focus on the positives,” he said. 

And there were several, mostly on offense. 

The resolve in scoring 18 fourth-quarter points to take the lead, after trailing 21-10. 

Joshua Wood throwing for 363 yards and two touchdowns, and totaling 405 yards of offense. 

Tony Harste catching nine passes for 180 yards and two scores. 

Owen Forsman (Lakeland High), booting four field goals, including the go-ahead 40-yarder with 1:03 remaining. 

The negatives? 

A defense that gave up more than 500 yards, some of that coming on communication breakdowns in the secondary, which was heavy on transfers and light on experience as Vandals — Ford noted Idaho missed the experience of DB Zach Wusstig, a returnee who missed last week’s game. 

“We've got to improve our tackling,” Ford said. “We've got to do a better job when the ball is in the air. We don’t want to be in these shootout games week in and week out, but in the Big Sky you might.” 

Idaho and Utah have met just once since 1964. In October 1993 Idaho, led by quarterback Doug Nussmeier and running back Sherriden May, won 28-17 in Salt Lake City. 

This year’s Utes are under new management, as longtime assistant Morgan Scalley takes over for Kyle Whittingham, who left for Michigan. 

Devon Dampier will be the second dual-threat quarterback the Vandals will face in as many weeks.  

Running back Wayshawn Parker ran for 981 yards and six touchdowns last year. In 2024, Parker was at Washington State, running for 735 yards and four TDs. 

Utah has sold out 95 straight games at Rice-Eccles Stadium, capacity 45,807.  

The Vandals, 34 ½-point underdogs earlier in the week, are receiving $600,000 from Utah for the game. 

“If we can be competitive with these guys and have a chance in the fourth quarter, we’ll feel pretty good about it,” Ford said. “Most of the offensive staff (at Utah) has moved on, but it’s going to be the same brand of football. It’s a physical football team; they’re big and they’re fast.” 

Idaho has had success lately against bigger schools — playing the likes of Oregon, Cal and Washington State tough in recent years. 

Ford notes that some of his players came from bigger schools, while others aspire to eventually play at one. 

His message? 

“You want to tell everyone in the world that you can be a Power 4 guy? Well, here’s your chance,” Ford said.