MOSCOW, Idaho — The Idaho Vandals were left reeling after a stunning 38-7 mauling by Montana State this past Saturday.
"It was a hyped up game, heavyweight fight, and we got our butts knocked out," Idaho head coach Jason Eck said.
The Vandals will look to bounce back this week against a (2-4) Cal Poly team still searching for its identity.
Jack Wagner will start at quarterback for the Vandals, who lost last week's starting quarterback, Nick Josifek, for the season to a broken collarbone.
The starter coming into the season, Jack Layne, received an X-Ray on his broken collarbone today and could return as soon as November 9 on the road at Portland State.
Coach Eck is also optimistic that starting running back Eli Cummings will play on Saturday despite leaving the Montana State game due to injury.
Nate Thomas is not expected to play Saturday, so Art Williams and DaeDae Buchanan will split reps behind Cummings.
Despite the multitude of injuries, Coach Eck is confident his team can bounce back and get a win Saturday.
"The three teams we have lost to are a combined 20-1 this season, so it is not like we have lost to bad teams," Eck said. "We are going to retain our confidence that when we do things right and play hard and execute with all 11 guys doing their job, we are going to have success. We just need to consistently do that, no matter who goes in. The standard does not dip if we have a backup go in. We have a resilient bunch, so I think we will respond well and practice well this week."
Despite the heavy on-paper advantage, Coach Eck knows his team will get Cal Poly's best shot.
"Even though I think we are probably the favorite in this game, a lot of underdogs won last week in this league, so we can't just roll our hats out and think this is going to be an easy game," Eck said.
Kick-off Saturday is set for 1 p.m. in the P1FCU Kibbie Dome.