Tag: Idaho Vandals

Iowa football offers former Idaho WR, blue-chip transfer portal target

Another offensive transfer portal target has emerged.

Former Idaho Vandals wide receiver Jordan Dwyer reported an offer from the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday afternoon.

It’s the latest transfer portal development for Iowa as first-year Hawkeye offensive coordinator Tim Lester looks to continue filling out his offensive personnel with talented playmakers.

Dwyer enjoyed a breakout 2024 season with the Vandals. The 6-foot, 195 pound wide receiver racked up 1,192 receiving yards on 78 grabs and had 12 touchdown grabs.

Playing at the FCS level, Dwyer recorded five games with 100-plus receiving yards this past season.

Dwyer tallied 29 receptions, 489 receiving yards and five touchdowns during the Vandals’ final three games of the 2024 season. That included Idaho’s two FCS playoff games.

Dwyer ends his time at Idaho with 109 catches for 1,651 yards and 18 touchdowns in 31 career games.

According to 247Sports, Dwyer is a four-star transfer portal target. 247Sports ranks Dwyer as the nation’s No. 7 wide receiver and as its No. 17 player overall.

A native of Puyallup, Wash., Dwyer signed with Idaho as a three-star prospect, as the No. 39 player from Washington and as the country’s 222nd-ranked wide receiver.

Iowa officially signed former Auburn quarterback Hank Brown out of the transfer portal on Monday. The Hawkeyes also hosted former Northern Illinois wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph over the weekend.

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A look back at the short, rich history between Oregon Ducks and the Boise State Broncos

The Oregon Ducks have never beaten the Boise State Broncos. Can that change this year?

It’s impossible to predict how a college football season will go, through the beginning, middle, and end. But, I don’t think anyone expected the Oregon Ducks’ 2024 season to start the way it did against the Idaho Vandals. The Ducks won the game, 24-14, but they looked flat. Now, they have a chance to get their season back on track against Boise State this weekend.

Unlike the Idaho Vandals, the Boise State Broncos don’t have an extensive history against Oregon. The two teams met for the first time in 2008, and they’ve played twice since then in 2009 and 2017. The Broncos are 3-0 in those games.

Oregon finished the 2008 and 2009 seasons with 10-3 records, which is impressive after falling to a Group of Five opponent so early in the season. 2008 was capped off with a Holiday Bowl win over Oklahoma State, and in 2009 Oregon lost to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. A year later, the Ducks made it to the BCS National Championship game, where they lost to Auburn.

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2017 was the last time the Ducks played the Broncos, and it was a tumultuous year for Oregon. The Ducks finished 7-6, losing to Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl. It was Willie Taggart’s first and only season as head coach of the Ducks, and he left for Florida State before Oregon’s Bowl game. The Ducks Las Vegas Bowl loss was Mario Cristobal’s first game as Oregon’s head coach.

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Staring down the fourth game between these two schools, Oregon doesn’t have an easy task ahead of them. Boise State is one the top unranked teams right now in college football, and they are the favorite of many to secure the group of five’s bid to the College Football Playoff this season.

The Ducks are 18.5-point favorites in this week’s game, but with how they looked against Idaho, they’ll need to look like a team reborn this weekend to cover that spread. Still, Oregon has a great chance to open up their season 2-0 and log their first-ever win against the Boise State Broncos.

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Joel Klatt shows concern over Oregon, drops them out of rankings after Week 1 win

Klatt says that Ducks were very sloppy in Week 1, and is concerned about them going forward.

Any Oregon Duck fan who watched the Week 1 game against the Idaho Vandals certainly felt uneasy about what they watched unfold.

The Ducks claimed the victory. But it was never as easy as it should have been against an Football Championship Subdivision school that entered the contest as 49-point underdogs. With a 24-14 win, Oregon’s offense — and the offensive line in particular — showed it has much to improve upon if the Ducks are going to reach those College Football Playoff expectations that many hold going into 2024.

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Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt made note of the Ducks’ struggles and listed them as one of his most concerning teams after the first week of action. Klatt simply declared in two words that the Ducks were “very sloppy.” It’s a fair assessment, considering Oregon had eight penalties for 60 yards, and over 60% of their offensive drives ended without points being put on the board.

Klatt also mentioned the Clemson Tigers and Colorado Buffaloes among his most concerning teams in Week 1.

It wasn’t enough for Klatt to express concern over Oregon and say it was sloppy. He also dropped it out of his top 10 rankings for the week. Going into the game, the Ducks were ranked at No. 4, per Klatt.

Fortunately, it’s a long season, and the Ducks will have a number of opportunities to bounce back from this, starting on Saturday against the Boise State Broncos.

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Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty goes off for 6 TDs a week ahead of Oregon matchup

The Oregon Ducks face off with the Boise State Broncos next week, following Broncos RB ashton Jeanty’s stellar Week 1 performance.

Although the Oregon Ducks got their desired result in week one, beating the Idaho Vandals 24-14, Idaho challenged Oregon in ways most people didn’t expect. The Ducks have a lot to iron out before they reach the tougher parts of their schedule, which isn’t far ahead.

Oregon’s week two opponents — the Boise State Broncos — present a solid challenge. The Broncos aren’t ranked in the AP Top 25, but they are one of the top Group of Five teams in college football, and a potential playoff team/. Historically, the Ducks have struggled with Boise State, losing all three previous meetings with the Broncos.

In their first game, the Broncos’ defense experienced some struggles, allowing 45 points to Georgia Southern, but on offense, they were spectacular. Running back Ashton Jeanty had a performance that will make Oregon fans nervous headed into week two, rushing for 267 yards and 6 touchdowns on 20 carries.

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2024 is Jeanty’s third season with the Broncos after coming in as a 4-star recruit in the class of 2022. It took Jeanty no time to become an impact player at Boise State rushing for 821 yards as a freshman and 1,347 as a sophomore. Jeanty is efficient as well, averaging 6.1 yards per carry over his career.

Oregon’s run defense was one of the few bright spots in Saturday’s game, allowing just 49 rushing yards on 20 attempts, but Elisha Cummings, the Vandals’ top RB, was still able to average 5.4 yards per carry.

Several concerns about the 2024 Oregon Ducks arose during the Idaho game, and although it was early in the season, the Ducks still have to do the work to fix their issues. Without the luxury of an easy opponent in week two, the Ducks will have to adjust quickly, and if they don’t bring a good gameplan for Ashton Jeanty, he could embarrass Oregon’s defense.

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Brandon Johnson earns Ducks Wire Player of the Game in Oregon debut

A look a Oregon Ducks transfer CB Brandon Johnson’s spectacular week 1 performance.

The Oregon Ducks season opener did not go as planned.

On Saturday before the game, Oregon was favored by 45.5 points over the Idaho Vandals, but with under six minutes to go in the fourth quarter the Ducks found themselves ahead by just three points, leading 17-14.

There were a lot of issues with the way the Ducks played, particularly on offense. The offensive line struggled for all four quarters, and quarterback Dillon Gabriel had several miscues. Wide receiver Tez Johnson was a bright spot, catching 12 passes for 81 yards and 2 touchdowns, but the standout player in Oregon’s season opener was cornerback Brandon Johnson. He is the Ducks Wire Player of the Game.

Johnson, a nickel corner who transferred this offseason from the Duke Blue Devils, kept the Ducks in the game as Idaho continued to put pressure on them. In the first half, the Vandals were driving, threatening to tie the game 7-7, when Johnson contorted his body and bobbled the ball before securing an interception in the Oregon end zone. The Ducks capitalized off the turnover, embarking on a long drive that ended in a Jordan James touchdown.

Johnson’s impact didn’t stop there. On the Vandals’ final drive in the first half, QB Jack Layne took a shot to the pylon to Tony Harste, but Johnson was draped all over and broke up the pass. In the second half, on a critical third down, Johnson got into the backfield to blow up a screen pass, making the tackle for a two-yard loss and forcing a punt.

Johnson’s performance was spectacular, and he’ll be valuable for Oregon next week and all season, but the Ducks have a lot of work to do ahead of Boise State. And although the offense was Oregon’s main problem area on Saturday, the defense needs work as well.

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Oregon Ducks 3 Keys to Victory against the Idaho Vandals

Here’s what Oregon needs to do in order to find success against Idaho on Saturday.

The wait is finally over. At 4:30 on Saturday afternoon, the Oregon Ducks will kick off their 2024 season at home against the Idaho Vandals, marking the start of what we all expect to be a great season.

For months, the speculation has been that the Oregon Ducks will be one of the top teams in the country, equipped with the best roster in the history of their program. The Ducks have a long way to go and a lot to do in order to realize that potential, but they are in great shape ahead of their week one opener.

Oregon’s matchup with Idaho is a bit of a layup to begin their season. The Vandals finished in second place in the Big Sky Conference last year, but they’re still nowhere near Oregon’s level.

For that reason, this week’s “Keys to Victory” will be adapted to “Keys to Success.” Below are the three things Oregon needs to do against the Vandals to ensure they’re on the right path for the rest of their season.

An Unwavering Front-Seven

Photo Courtesy of Ethan Landa

The Ducks made several improvements to their defensive line this offseason, and they have one of the strongest linebacking groups in college football. So against an offense like Idaho’s, the Ducks’ front seven should be dominant on every snap, allowing nothing in the run game, and wrapping up Jack Layne — the Vandals QB — when he drops back to pass.

A Smooth Run Game

(Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)

On the flip side, I want to see the Oregon rushing attack chugging for all four quarters on Saturday afternoon. The Ducks have elite RBs and a fantastic offensive line, so they should have no trouble trampling the Vandals. There will be some wrinkles to iron out since it’s the beginning of the year, but I want to see those issues adjusted too quickly.

Some Flash from Dillon Gabriel and the Offense

I can’t have three boring keys to victory, these are the Oregon Ducks after all. Speed and flair will always be the identity of the Oregon offense, and with Dillon Gabriel leading the way this season, the Ducks should have plenty of flashy plays ahead of them. To get the ball rolling early, I want to see some deep completions and some shifty runs from Gabriel in Saturday’s game.

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Idaho Vandals unveil new ‘Ice Storm’ uniforms for Week 1 game vs. Oregon Ducks

Both the Ducks and Vandals will be rocking new uniforms on Saturday afternoon in Eugene.

The Oregon Ducks aren’t the only ones breaking out new uniforms on Saturday afternoon in Autzen Stadium.

The visiting Idaho Vandals announced this week that they will also be unveiling a new set of uniforms for the Week 1 showdown, declaring that the ‘ice storm’ is coming.

The Vandals’ new uniforms are very clean, fit with all white tops and pants with the vandal yellow helmet. They also have black numbers with a yellow trim to go along with it.

Meanwhile, the Ducks will be rocking their Gang Green uniforms, part of the new Generation O jersey line, but with a twist, Instead of all-green uniforms, Oregon will have yellow facemasks, making it just the second time in program history that they have worn such a look. The first time was in 2022 in Week 1 against the Georgia Bulldogs.

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Ultimately, the combination of these two uniforms, green and yellow plus white and yellow, will be very visually appealing on the Autzen turf on Saturday afternoon.

The game is set to be aired on Big Ten Network on Saturday afternoon, and the Ducks are currently favored by 44.5 points.

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Previewing the Idaho Vandals defense ahead of Week 1 game vs. Oregon Ducks

Idaho will bring an experienced and talented defense to challenge the Ducks on Saturday.

The Idaho Vandals were picked third in the Big Sky Conference this season largely due to their experienced defense.

Their game plan for 2024 is to play an overwhelming defense with an offense just good enough to put enough points on the board to propel them into the FCS playoffs.

Last season the defense was definitely good enough to lead the Vandals into the playoffs as it gave up just a little over 22 points per game. Idaho finished with a 9-4 record, and its season ended in the second round of the FCS playoffs, with a 30-22 loss to Albany.

But this year got off to a good start with three members of the Vandal defense being named to the preseason All-Big Sky team, leading the conference.

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Sophomore Dallas Afalava and senior Keyshawn James-Newby anchor a deep defensive line unit. Afalava and James-Newby both were credited with five sacks last season to tie for the team-high.

Afalava was named an FCS Football Central Preseason All-American. Both players were named among the top-25 returning FCS players at their respective positions.

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James-Newby had 38 tackles, seven for loss and five sacks last season and is expected to have an even bigger season in 2024.

In the third level of the Vandals defense is senior defensive back Tommy McCormick, who was also named to the preseason team. He is the leading returning tackler for Idaho and has earned All-Conference honors each of the last two years. He accounted for 62 tackles and five pass breakups.

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Oregon Ducks unveil ‘Gang Green’ uniform combo with a twist for Week 1 vs. Idaho

Gang Green with a twist? The Oregon Ducks have done it again.

The Oregon Ducks are doing Oregon Duck things for the Week 1 matchup against the Idaho Vandals on Saturday afternoon inside Auzen Stadium.

On Wednesday evening, Oregon unveiled the uniforms they will wear for the matchup. They are breaking out their new “Gang Green” kits from the Generation O line, which was unveiled this summer.

However, the Ducks put a little bit of a twist on the “Gang Green” look. Instead of having everything green, as we saw during the unveiling this summer, Oregon is throwing a yellow face mask on the helmets, giving it a little bit of a pop.

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The face mask goes well with the yellow numbers and accents on the jersey. It was modeled by offensive lineman Marcus Harper ahead of the game.

Gang Green With a Twist

We saw the Ducks wear something similar to this in 2022 in Dan Lanning’s first game as the head coach of Oregon, going up against the Georgia Bulldogs down in Atlanta.

This game against Idaho is expected to go differently than that one. Oregon is favored by more than six touchdowns and is expected to get through this contest with minimal trouble.

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Dan Lanning offers injury update on freshman CB Dakoda Fields

True freshman corner Dakoda Fields is expected to miss some time this season due to a knee injury he suffered this week.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning held his mid-week press conference ahead of the season opener with Idaho and he had to announce some bad news.

Freshman corner Dakoda Fields, a 6-foot-2, 190-pounder out of Gardena, Calif., will be out for a little while with a knee injury and there’s no timetable for his return yet.

It’s a definite blow to the secondary as Fields, a four-star recruit, was expected to play some this year, but with this news, he will likely wind up redshirting the 2024 season.

The Ducks have been a bit lucky on the injury front so far as they are relatively healthy as Oregon prepares for Idaho on Saturday. Hopefully, for Oregon’s sake, the injuries stay far and few between as they head into the Big Ten Conference for the first time in 2024.

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