Idaho
4-8 2025 finalIdaho is the Palouse Valley program that spent 30 years in the FBS tower before crashing back to FCS in 2025, carrying a 131-year-old rivalry with Washington State and a mandate to prove the exile was temporary.
The Vandals keep the faith.
Idaho is the Palouse Valley program that spent 30 years in the FBS tower before crashing back to FCS in 2025, carrying a 131-year-old rivalry with Washington State and a mandate to prove the exile was temporary.
Idaho went 4–8 (2–6 Big Sky) in its 2025 return to FCS, under first-year coach Thomas Ford Jr. (hired December 2024). The Vandals were in full rebuild mode: transferring players, resetting culture, and attempting to establish FCS…
Offseason
69 days
until kickoff · Sun Aug 30 · 17:00 UTC
The 2026 Outlook
The Pulse on Idaho
What moved it — offseason · last 30 days
Aspiration Ladder
Brief Part III §33.4 · Idaho
The baseline expectation.
The annual recruiting proof point.
Conference qualifier or at-large.
Championship weekend. Top-4 in the country.
Idaho · Next-Season Outcome Band
Floor / Base / Ceiling
Variance assumed at ±2 wins from last-season record. Replace with the season-path projection once preview data is built.
Who We Are
Fanbase Health Index · Idaho · medium confidence
Stable (44)
Home-Field Advantage · Idaho · 2018-present
Elite
71% home win rate vs 41% on the road. margin runs +12.9 better at home.
Act IIILast Season Reviewed
2025 season · tap to expand
Recent Form · last 10 games
Cooling
Two of five. Schedule has caught up.
Big Sky Standing · 2025
8th in the Big Sky
Idaho is 8th of 11 in the Big Sky at 4-8. The path to the title is steep — the focus is on playoff positioning and rivalry wins.
| # | Program | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montana State | 14-2 |
| 2 | Montana | 13-2 |
| 3 | UC Davis | 9-4 |
| 4 | Northern Arizona | 7-5 |
| 5 | Idaho State | 6-6 |
| 6 | Eastern Washington | 5-7 |
| 7 | Cal Poly | 4-8 |
| 8 | Idaho | 4-8 |
| 9 | Northern Colorado | 4-8 |
| 10 | Weber State | 4-8 |
| 11 | Portland State | 1-11 |
Schedule Strength · Idaho · 2025
Balanced
Average opponent win rate 46% across 12 finalized games. No top-25 opponents, but mid-tier slate kept the schedule honest.
Moment of the Year · Idaho · 2025
Won 20-6 vs Utah Tech
Week 3 of 2025. The single game that defined the season's arc.
Playoff History
Recent postseason (2023): 1-1
Most recent: 2023 — loss 22-30 (home). Last 5 postseason: 1-1.
From the Archive — Idaho
2022: Lost 22-35 at Indiana
In 2022, the program lost 22-35 at Indiana — a one to file away road result, 13 points either way.
Go Vandals.