CALDWELL — After nearly a month away from Simplot Stadium, the Yotes return home this weekend in hopes of breaking the program’s first multi-game losing streak since 2018.
Following back-to-back losses to Montana Western and Southern Oregon, the College of Idaho gets another ranked opponent on Saturday, this time in the form of No. 10 Montana Tech. The Yotes dropped from No. 9 to No. 19 in the latest NAIA Top 25 rankings.
The College of Idaho is looking to avoid a three-game losing streak and 0-2 start to Frontier Conference play.
Defense is where the Yotes have to improve if they want to end this losing streak. Both the pass and run defense have been exploited recently, allowing 87 points combined in the last two weeks. Explosive plays have doomed the College of Idaho, which has led to falling behind early.
“We’ve had a lot of explosive plays on us that hurt us early,” linebacker Willie Nelson said. “We also had a lot of positive plays that showed how our defense can play if we come ready. The goal moving forward is to make more of those plays rather than give up the big explosive ones.”
The positive moments Nelson pointed out were about players knowing their assignments and communicating the play. The Yotes have been satisfied with their scheme and gameplan, it’s just come down to execution.
Going into last week’s game, the feeling around the defense was that they were overthinking on plays. Head coach Mike Moroski saw some of that again this week, but hopes with another game under their belt, those problems can be ironed out.
“There were too many big plays,” Moroski said. “Some of that is fit, some of that is inexperience, some of that is the beginning of the emotionality of trying too hard. Guys have all the right kind of pride and high expectations for themselves. Sometimes when you have that pressure or perspective, you try to do more than you need to.”
Whereas the Yotes were behind multiple scores against Montana Western for most of the game, they were only behind by one possession in the third quarter against Southern Oregon. Trailing 21-13, the College of Idaho was set to get the ball back, but a roughing the punter penalty extended the Raiders’ drive. They made the Yotes pay, scoring a touchdown on the drive.
The Yotes never got the ball back again while down by one possession.
Although they’ve faced a deficit for a majority of the last two games, it hasn’t thrown them off their game plan. Moroski is confident in not chasing points or making drastic changes to chase the lead.
“I think it’s important to not panic,” Moroski said. “I think it’s important to stay the course. Obviously, there’s always adjustments to be made which we have been good at.”
Quarterback Andy Peters has thrown for over 230 yards and at least one touchdown in the last two weeks, so the College of Idaho knows they have the passing attack to climb back into games. However, giving Peters enough time to dissect the defense is key to getting the most out of their offense.
“Every quarterback on the face of the earth is not as good a thrower when they’re hit,” Peters said. “We have to stop that. We have to get him comfortable and feeling good about things.”
The Yotes face an opportunistic defense this weekend. Montana Tech leads the conference with seven interceptions and ranks second in sacks with eight. The Orediggers have also recorded a ranked win this season, defeating No. 3 Georgetown College in the season opener. Montana Tech is 3-0 to start the season for the first time since 2017.
The offensive line has been a strength for the Orediggers. They’re averaging 176 yards per game on the ground and haven’t allowed a sack this season.
The College of Idaho will be tested in all facets of the game once again for their homecoming contest.
Local News
Comments / 0