Idaho
seeks a rivalry-fueled upset as they travel 300 miles south from Moscow to
Boise, for the Boise State-Idaho game this Saturday. The Vandals will step
onto Lyle Smith Field at 1:30 with their first winning record since 1999 in
front of a nationally-televised audience.
Boise
State enters their 39th meeting with a 20-17-1 all-time record against the
Vandals. The last battle between the two foes ended in a 45-10 Bronco
victory in Moscow. The Vandals currently own the fourth-place slot in the
Western Athletic Conference rankings with a 4-2 conference record (7-3 overall),
right behind Nevada, Boise State, and Fresno State.
The
2009 "Akey's Army" are led by third-year head coach Rob Akey (10-25
overall), who has been able to turn last year's 2-10 team into a winning 7-3
bowl eligible squad, earning this year's CBSSports.com Midseason Coach of the
Year honors. He is also currently just one of twenty coaches on the 2009
Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Watch List (Bronco Coach Chris Petersen is
another.).
Akey is the first University of Idaho head coach since 1981 to
have no prior ties to the program. After 11 years as a Big Sky Conference
assistant coach at Weber State and Northern Arizona, Akey moved just eight miles
away from Moscow as defensive line coach of the Washington State Cougars.
He was later moved to defensive coordinator before leaving the program in 2006
to take on the head coaching duties at the University of Idaho after 19 total
seasons as a college assistant coach.
2009
University of Idaho Results (before Boise State):
2009
University of Idaho Remaining Schedule (after Boise State):
The
Rivalry:
The
Bronco-Vandal showdown has resided as a major in-state rivalry since 1971.
Both schools moved to Division I-AA in 1978 and to Division I in 1996, joining
the Big West Conference. Over the past nine years, the Vandals have
maintained a conference record of 16-47 (.254) against a Boise State record of
65-4 (.942) and have lost ten straight games to the Broncos by a total point
margin of 453-160. However, the dominance has shifted as the Vandals won
12 consecutive match-ups from 1982-1993, after Boise State controlled the prior
ten-year streak.
Vandal
Players to Watch:
- So. QB, Brian Reader, has completed 24 of 40 passes for 383 yards and 3 touchdowns after
taking over for the injured Nathan Enderle. Reader is an All-American
Junior College transfer from Monterey Peninsula JC where he lead the Lobos
to a 10-0 record and conference title while earning the Coast Conference
Player of the Year honors.
- Sr. WR, Max Komar,
is shredding the field with 874 yards on 54 receptions and eight touchdowns.
The
Vandal Running Trio:
- Sr. RB, DeMaundray Woolridge, is a Washington State transfer who leads the team in rushing with
655 yards on 114 carries and 14 total touchdowns.
- So. RB, Princeton McCarty, has 541 yards on 91 carries, two rushing touchdowns and six
receptions for 112 yards and a receiving touchdown.
- Jr. RB, Deonte Jackson, has ran the ball 68 times for 365 yards, two touchdowns and caught
seven passes for 65 yards and a touchdown. Jackson started the season
ranked fifth on the Vandal career rushing average per game list and tenth on
the career rushing yardage list.
Defensive
Dominators:
- Jr. Safety, Shiloh Keo, leads the team in total tackles (88) and interceptions (3) and has one
forced fumble. Keo was the 2008 team captain, 2007 team MVP, 2007
second-team All-WAC safety and punt returner, 2006 honorable mention
all-freshman team, and holds the school records for punt returns and punt
return yardage average.
- Jr. LB, JoJo
Dickson, has racked up 54 tackles, a sack, two interceptions, and a forced
fumble.
- Sr. Safety, Jeromy Jones, has 48 tackles two fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, and a
blocked kick.
The
Vandal Name:
The
University of Idaho athletic teams acquired the Vandal name nearly a century ago
in 1917 due to a basketball team whose defense played with such intensity and
ferocity that it was said to have "vandalized" their opponents.
