A different feel watching Vandal football these days

When I took over the Idaho beat from Trevan Pixley this summer, I knew that I was going to have to do a lot of research to get reconnected with the Vandal football team.

I was someone who would keep an eye on what Idaho was doing, but would have never called myself a fan of the team. The amount of times I have been to the P1FCU Kibbie Dome to watch the Vandals play over the past 20 years could easily be counted on one hand and the last time was seven years ago.

My father and I went with my then 8-year-old son, Chase, to Dads’ Weekend on Oct. 28, 2017, when Idaho hosted Louisiana-Monroe. When I sat down to write today’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback column, there was a long period of time where I struggled to even remember anything about that game. A lot of that was because the atmosphere was forgettable.

The things that I can remember from that experience was my father teaching my son the Vandal fight song and having Chase dance around and point any time Idaho earned a first down. We had a lot of empty seats around us and while the official box score said 10,705 were in attendance, it did not feel that way.

The Vandals jumped out early in that game and had a 28-7 halftime lead before eventually taking down the Warhawks 31-23 to improve to 3-5 on the season. Current receivers coach Matt Linehan had three touchdown passes as the senior quarterback on the team.

Fast forward to last Saturday, my first Idaho game in nearly seven years, and the atmosphere was completely different. The attendance numbers show that only around 700 more people attended the rematch between UAlbany and Idaho than the 2017 contest between the Warhawks and Vandals, but the decibel level would disagree.

There is always an added buzz to a team that is winning. Turn on a Chicago White Sox home baseball game to see how dire it can get when a team in a strong market struggles. However, I don’t think the winning percentage is the only difference at play here.

What coach Jason Eck is building in Moscow is something special.

That build starts with the personalities that Eck and his coaching staff have recruited to Idaho. There is a sense of pride and determination with every player that I have had the pleasure of talking to this fall. Teammates hold each other accountable, but are also there to lift a teammate up.

The energy level that the Vandals showed in a near-upset of Oregon in the season opener and the win over FBS-foe Wyoming were one thing. The energy level that they showed in the home opener at the Kibbie Dome was on a whole different level.

As I sat in the press box, it was fun to watch students and fans file into the stands and feel the slow build of energy that they brought with them. The first appearance of the band got the place rocking and there is just something fun about an active Kibbie Dome atmosphere.

The layout of that building allows for 10,000-plus to create a very loud environment. It was the kind of environment that you could tell the Idaho players fed off of.

Of course there were times that the energy that the Vandals brought onto the field got to be a little too much. There were a few unsportsmanlike penalties called on Idaho that were solely from players being a bit too amped up.

Mistakes aside, the Vandals are bringing a product to the field that just has its own energy to it. It is hard not to get excited when you watch the Idaho defense fly all over the field and swarm to a ball carrier. It is easy to get consumed in the energy that Eck brings to the offense with his use of trick plays and aggressive mentality. Not to mention a special teams group that has proved with a punt return touchdown on Saturday that it can break one open at any moment.

There is so much give and take when it comes to a team on the field and the fans in the crowd. For years, it felt like the players on the turf were giving it everything they had, but because of bad results or maybe a bad aura to the team, the fans did not return the favor. The Eck-era feels different.

Last Saturday was my first Vandal football game in nearly seven years and it was an absolute blast. The best part is there were still plenty of open seats to be filled and make the next home game that much better.

Isbelle can be reached at 208-848-2268, risbelle@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyIsbelle.