Lentils and Football Part 253: All Pistons Are Firing as Vandals Start 2030 with Impressive Win
While there were fewer offensive fireworks than expected, there wasn’t much that didn’t go Idaho’s way on Saturday. Head Coach Merlin Gibbs and his squad started their journey towards another National Championship with a very convincing 49–3 victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils in front of a packed stadium at the Kibbie Dome in their 2030 season opener on Saturday night.
Welcome to Lentils and Football, an alternate history of the Idaho Vandals. In the early 2010s events began that lead to the Vandals to be the first college football team to voluntarily drop from FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) to FCS (Football Championship Subdivision); Lentils and Football imagines a world where these events went very differently with the hiring of fictional coach Merlin Gibbs. This story is told via the NCAA 14 video game and a bit of imagination.
There was a little extra something to this one beyond just the usual first-game-of-the-year excitement. Arizona State is led by their Senior QB and one-time Idaho recruit Duncan Peters. There didn’t appear to be any bad blood on the field. No one within the Vandals’ program really faults Peters for bolting once Kellen Myrick was brought into the fold, but unfortunately for the Sun Devils the Idaho fans don’t feel the same way.
While there isn’t much doubt that the Vandals are going to blow the doors off of plenty of teams this year, we saw a bit of a slow and steady approach from Kellen Myrick and the offense. That was a likely a result of the Sun Devil defense putting everything they had into limiting Idaho’s ability to create big plays.
With Myrick beginning his third season as Idaho’s starting QB, it was time for his experience to start paying dividends according to Coach Gibbs.
“For all the good things we have at our disposal, they all take a back seat to a QB that has learned from his mistakes and has figured out how to apply himself to get better. The supporting cast that’s around Kellen is as lethal as we’ve ever had, but if he doesn’t know how to best utilize it, then it doesn’t serve anyone. That goes for our defense too. We’ve been on a pretty hot stretch for a few seasons and there’s a lot of pride within that group. No one wants to be a part of the unit that gets labeled as the ones that were there when you get knocked off your pedestal, and while I don’t think any of us have anything against Duncan personally, no one likes getting the short end in that situation. Nothing wrong with being competitive and using whatever is at your fingertips to motivate you. Our defense played hungry today, and I hope that carries over to whoever we’ve got next week.”
The positive plays for the Arizona State offense were few and far between on Saturday. The Vandals would sack Duncan Peters six times during the game, and added in another 10 tackles for loss that kept the Sun Devils squarely behind a boulder-sized 8-ball.
Before the defense could go to work for the Vandals, they needed the offense to give them a leg up, and although it took a bit longer than most were expecting, once they got it they never gave it back. All seven of Idaho’s scores on Saturday would come on the ground, and I bet you all can guess who was responsible for them.
It was just before the midway point of the 1st quarter when Kellen Myrick would take it himself as he scrambled in for a 2 yard TD, which was already the 40th of his career. Cleveland Goolsby would have to wait until the first play of the 2nd quarter for his first trip to the endzone this season, but he plunged in for a 2 yard score of his own (the 56th of his career) that had the Vandals out in front by a score of 14–0 while the Sun Devils were sitting with a negative yardage total.
Arizona State tried their best to stop the bleeding, and they did manage to string together a couple of first downs that got them into Idaho territory, then RB D.J. Maxwell would get loose for a 31 yard run that put the Sun Devils on the doorstep. The Vandal defense would tighten up and kept Arizona State out of the end zone, which would turn out to be a reoccuring theme for the day. The Sun Devils would make four trips to the red zone on the day, and the 29 yard field goal by Dan Norman that finished off this possession was all the scoring they would be able to produce.
The calendar may have turned to a new year and the time may have been dwindling away in the 1st half, but it was still the same old Vandals as Kellen Myrick would complete his two longest passes of the day on back-to-back plays. A 28 yard connection to Desmond Novak followed by a one-handed grab by TE Billy Swinton for 24 yards moved Idaho inside the 10 yard line, then Goolsby punched in a 1 yard TD with :17 left before halftime.
Scoring late in the half is nothing new for anyone involved with the Idaho football program. It’s a topic we’ve touched on many times of the years. According to Coach Gibbs it has become the torch of identity that gets passed down from one team to the next.
“Players graduate. Coaches leave. Play styles evolve. It’s hard to hang onto a piece or two of DNA that can be yours and no one else’s. Well this is fucking ours. We own it. We’ve sculpted it over years and years with hours upon hours of practice. There isn’t a situation in the closing seconds of a half that we aren’t prepared for just based on the multitude of scenarios we’ve ran through. I am never surprised when we score going into the break. Managing the clock and using it to our advantage when it comes to creating extra possessions and executing at a high level is exactly who we are and who we will continue to be. No doubt.”
The score was 21–3, but Arizona State would start the 3rd quarter with the ball and an opportunity to close the gap, but the 2nd half would not be so kind to the Sun Devils. Their first possession looked strong until a desperate heave from Duncan Peters was easily intercepted in the endzone by Idaho Freshman CB Deandre Smart. Being turned away in a such a drastic manner really broke Arizona State’s spirit, and the Vandal running attack took those pieces and turned them into a powder.
Cleveland Goolsby would go over, around and through the Sun Devil defense, but in the end it was Kellen Myrick who would punch it into the endzone from 6 yards out to cap off the long drive after the turnover. Goolsby would one-up his teammate with a 7 yard scamper for his third score of the day just before the end of the 3rd quarter, but still it felt like he was just getting started.
We’d see two more Goolsby TD runs before the close of business on the day, and they were sandwiched around a pair of 4th down stops by the Idaho defense that kept Duncan Peters and the Sun Devils out of the endzone.
Truly the back-breaker was when Peters tried to handle business himself, but QB draw attempt was stoned by LB Devin Tatum. The ensuing 98 yard march by the Vandals did plenty to put the Sun Devils away for good, and if that didn’t then Goolsby’s 32 yard TD run in the game’s final minute certainly did. That made it a 5-TD effort for the Senior and former Heisman winner. I know it’s only week 1, but I think we can safely say that the Goolsby vs Myrick Heisman race battle is gonna be one for the ages, but a friendly one, obviously.
Both Myrick and Goolsby topped the 100 yard mark on the ground, with each of them getting 15 carries and Myrick eventually leading the way with 110 yards compared to Goolsby’s total of 107. Goolsby would add 22 yards receiving on a pair of receptions as Myrick spread the ball around effectively through the air, completing his 21 passes to eight different receivers. Desmond Novak got plenty looks, and grabbed a team-leading 7 catches for 75 yards while Billy Swinton netted 41 yards on his 4 grabs and three other Vandals had two catches a piece.
We saw some highly productive days from both Devin Tatum and Titus Watts, as the pair finished with 9 and 8 tackles respectively. They also combined to make 8 tackles for loss with Tatum recording a sack, while DE Brandon Humphrey and DB Antonio Fry also dragged Duncan Peters down to the turf. We also got to bear witness to a breakout performance from DE Darius Wilson, who recorded 3 sacks in his first career start and appears to be positioning himself to be the next great Idaho pass rusher. DB’s Stephon Landingham, Reuben Jefferson, and Tim McKnight all recorded 4 tackles a piece and phenom DL Melvin Young made 3 stops.
“I always look at the first game as just one step of the journey. As long as we can find some firm ground and are able to pick up some speed, then we’re doing alright. We looked really good today, and I’m excited to see how we can build on it and keep putting one foot in front of the other. I have the feeling there will be a lot of teams chasing after us this year. I think this season is gonna be a doozy. Lentils and football. Can’t wait.”
News and Notes: The non-conference portion of Idaho’s schedule will roll on next week as the Vandals will make their first trip of the Coach Gibbs era to Morgantown, WV to take on the Mountaineers.
Recruiting News: With all the hype of the first game of the year and the return of Duncan Peters to Moscow, it flew under the radar a little bit but the Vandals have already snagged a pair of commitments for next season’s recruiting class.
The first is a local kid as WR Ryan Holycross out of Orofino, ID made sure to put his name on the top of the list. Dubbed “The Orofino Octopus” because of his stellar hands was obviously excited to get a shot to play for his hometown team, and couldn’t wait to tell Coach Gibbs. Word is he committed right on the phone when the scholarship was offered. He may just leave high school and wait outside the locker room like he’s waiting for tickets to a Star Wars movie.
The other newest Vandal is QB Bryce Jones out of Great Falls, MT. Jones appears to be a merging of the big-armed gunslinger that we’ve Coach Gibbs attract over the years with a little bit of that running ability mixed in. Jones stands at 6'6'’ but reportedly still runs the 40 yard dash in the sub 4.6 range. There’s a lot to like there.
