...Every game Idaho has played so far they have trailed. Of course they are 10th nationally throwing the ball. That's all they do so they can keep up.
Simply doing it a lot won't get them to 10th; they also have to do it fairly effectively.
There is no doubt that passing offense was Idaho's strength. There is also no doubt that defense was their weakness. Ohio's offense looked better last week, but it was partly due to Idaho's defense, and only partly due to progress by the offense.
Eastern Illinois will have a significantly better defense than Idaho. They held Minnesota to 338 yards of offense even though the game was never close (they lost 42-20 after trailing 35-0). SIU managed 379 yards against them while beating EIU 38-21. Illinois State beat them 34-15, but only got 326 yards of offense. In their one win, over Austin Peay, AP only got 224 yards of offense.
What caused those losses? One thing that hurt them was turnovers. Against Minnesota they lost 3 turnovers (2 fumbles and a pick) to one. Against SIU they lost 2 (both int) and got 1. Against Illinois State they gave up 5 turnovers (a fumble and 4 picks) to one.
EIU will not be an easy win. This week we'll find out just how much the offense has improved from Week 1-2. I think Ohio will win, but I also think that for Ohio to win, the defense will need to create some turnovers. I think Ohio will win about 27-17.