Former Wisconsin offensive lineman almost leads Idaho to upset win over Oregon

Former Wisconsin offensive lineman and current Idaho head coach Jason Eck almost pulled off a career-defining upset win on Saturday.

Eck’s Idaho team enters the 2024 season ranked No. 7 in the FCS. It opened with a trip to No. 3 Oregon — a team many believe will compete for a national title.

The Vandals held tough despite entering the game as six-score underdogs. They dropped the contest 24-14, but trailed just 17-14 with less than 10 minutes remaining.

Eck played offensive line at Wisconsin from 1995-1998. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant on Barry Alvarez’s staff from 1999-2001.

The La Crosse, Wisconsin native’s long coaching career has traveled through a chunk of the FCS, mostly as an offensive line coach. Idaho is his first head coaching gig, a position he has held since 2022.

Eck is now 16-10 as a head coach after the narrow loss to Oregon. He has the Vandals’ program trending positively after a 9-4 2023 campaign.

The former Badger was about 10 minutes and a few bounces of the football away from one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history. Keeping the game as competitive as it was is a major win for his program entering 2024.

The poor performance from Oregon is something to monitor as the season progresses and conference play begins. The Ducks will visit Madison on Nov. 16 in one of Wisconsin’s biggest games of the season.

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