Saturday, September 14, 2019
Here is the Top 25 at mid-season:
1. Clemson (34) 6-0
2. Virginia Tech (25) 7-0
3. Florida State (1) 5-0
4. Florida Atlantic (1) 5-0
5. Georgia 5-1
6. Ohio State 4-1
7. Alabama 4-2
8. Texas 6-0
9. Penn State 5-1
10. Oklahoma State 5-0
11. Michigan State 5-1
12. Nebraska 7-0
13. Notre Dame 4-2
14. Washington 3-2
15. Stanford 4-2
16. LSU 6-1
17. Houston 5-0
18. Oregon 5-1
19. USC 3-2
20. Michigan 2-3
21. Northwestern 5-1
22. Miami 2-3
23. Georgia Tech 4-1
24. Oklahoma 3-3
25. Maryland 4-2
Senior receiver Jante Boston finally finds the end zone to help Idaho get over the hump this season.
Finally!
Idaho snaps 3 game losing streak by edging Fresno State, 38-35
October 6, 2018 9:15pm
Moscow, ID -- The Vandals rode the back of Dylan Thigpen and had some role players step up and make some key plays to put Idaho over Fresno State 38-35 in the Kibbie Dome Saturday night.
"I'm just proud of our guys", said Vandals head coach Buddy Lee. "All week I told them to believe, and when times looked shaky, they didn't fold."
Idaho senior quarterback Mason Petrino was very efficient, going 10 for 15 with 104 yards and a touchdown in which he found senior wide receiver Jante Boston in the end zone when they needed it most. But it was their bell cow, running back Dylan Thigpen, who was the true cog in the offensive machine. He finished the day with 307 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns.
All wasn't perfect for Idaho, though. Their defense still let the Bulldogs march up and down the field at will. But a key stop in the second quarter gave Idaho the opportunity to get ahead in the shootout. They kicked a field goal before halftime and now it was a race to see who would score last. In the fourth quarter, Bulldogs quarterback Marcus McMaryion forced a pass into coverage and fourth string cornerback and junior Tevin Duke intercepted it. This gave the Vandals breathing room to run down the clock. They marched down the field thanks to Thigpen and went up by 10. Fresno State scored again, but time had run out. It was a nailbiter to the end.
Idaho (2-4) travels to Arkansas State (1-4) next.
In the top 5 just two weeks ago, Oklahoma has now lost two games in a row and are now ranked #19.
Virginia Tech has quietly climbed to #2 with a 35-19 win at North Carolina. They are now 6-0.
Georgia Tech has made it into the top 25 with a 34-28 overtime win over Miami.
Clemson remains unbeaten at 5-0. They play Boston College next week.
Ryquell Armstead scores one of his three touchdowns on the day.
Defenseless and Helpless
Idaho drops its third loss in a row, losing to Temple 42-31
September 29, 2018 10:20pm
Moscow, ID -- Vandals head coach Buddy Lee had no answers in the post-game press conference after Idaho lost to the Temple Owls 42-31 Saturday night.
"I..... I don't know what to tell you", Lee stammered after watching his defense give up 461 yards. "We've tried every way we can to stop an offense, but we're just not doing it."
Temple employed a running attack to start off the game. Idaho seemed ill-equipped to handle it, so the Owls kept at it. Running back Ryquell Armstead finished the day with 239 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Vandals had absolutely no answer for him.
Idaho had a decent offensive showing. Running back Dylan Thigpen had 173 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. The only real mistake was on quarterback Mason Petrino, who tried to force a pass into the end zone but was picked off by Temple safety Delvon Randall.
Temple improves to 3-1, while Idaho drops to 1-4. The Vandals face Fresno state next week.
These teams have only faced each other one time, in 2013, when the Vandals edged out a victory on the Owls 26-24. Both teams have new coaching staffs now and this looks to be a fresh matchup.
While the Owls are on the winning side of things so far, they have only faced one solid opponent in Notre Dame who beat them 44-9. And sophomore quarterback Anthony Russo is putting up less than stellar numbers. He had 5 touchdowns, but also has 5 interceptions. Senior wide receiver Ventell Bryant looks to be a legitimate threat, though, as he has already amassed 323 yards through three games. And the one thing Temple holds over Idaho's head in this matchup is their turnover differential rate, which is zero, while Idaho's is -12.
The Vandals are counting on a continuation of their improvement, especially in the ground game. Head coach Buddy Lee said in an interview this week that practices went well over the bye week and his guys are really looking forward to getting back on the field and showing Temple what they're capable of.
Friday, September 13, 2019
Ohio State was stunned by Nebraska Saturday when the Cornhuskers defeated them 20-17. The Buckeyes drop from #2 to #11 while the Huskers are now #25.
Alabama got its first win of the season by defeating Colorado State 45-10.
Notre Dame falls to #20 and Michigan State rises to #4 as Sparty handily beat the Irish 40-27.
Florida Atlantic is a surprising 4-0 after dismantling Middle Tennessee State 49-14. Lane Kiffin and Co. are now ranked #9.
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Several Vandals try to chase down Dezmon Patmon to no avail. Patmon scored and racked up 102 receiving yards Saturday.
One More For The Cougars
Wazzu adds another in a long-standing streak of victories over Idaho
September 22, 2018 8:35pm
Pullman, WA — The Battle For The Palouse wasn’t the blowout it usually is, but the Washington State Cougars took care of business again and defeated the Idaho Vandals 49-42. Idaho employed a nearly exclusive ground attack and tried to shorten the game. But Washington State was able to score quickly and negate any of that effort.
“We had some trouble stopping them, that’s for sure”, said Cougs head coach Mike Leach. “But we knew that we could score, we stuck to our game plan, and came out with the win.”
Cougar Gardner Minshew II was added to the ever growing list of quarterbacks that have put up gaudy numbers on Idaho, completing 29 of 36 passes for 367 yards and 3 touchdowns. His top receiver was Dezmon Patmon, who caught for 102 yards thanks to a 49 YAC touchdown.
“We had to convert this third down or risk Idaho getting the ball back and going up by two scores”, said Minshew. “I found Dezmon and he got a really good jump on the cornerback. Not only did we convert but we scored from it. That’s what kind of year it’s been for us so far.”
Despite falling to 1-3 on the season, Idaho looked night-and-day better than their blowout loss to Oklahoma the week prior and there are definitely signs of improvement. Besides winning the time of possession battle, the Vandals were ahead of the Cougars in total offensive yards, first downs, and 3rd down conversions. On top of that, running backs Dylan Thigpen and Roshaun Johnson along with quarterback Mason Petrino ran for a combined total of 442 yards. Petrino also cleaned up his passing efficiency, completing 8 of 9 with a touchdown and no interceptions.
Going toe-to-toe with Wazzu for most of the game, Idaho finally made some fatal mistakes that ultimately cost them. One was a fumble by wide receiver Jeff Cotton that led to a Washington State score in the third quarter which gave them their first lead. The other, a failed pitch to Thigpen in the fourth quarter that resulted in a turnover and subsequent Washington State touchdown, sealed the win for WSU. But there is a lot for Vandals head coach Buddy Lee and company to be proud of.
“No, it’s not a satisfying feeling”, said Lee in the post game presser when asked about the close game. “I stated earlier this week that we wouldn’t be embarrassed again. There was no question about that. We still need to win games for this to be any success at all.”
But Lee did offer some positive feedback on the state of the team.
“We have to remember that we are in probably the toughest portion of the schedule right now. We won’t always be up against powerhouses. Our guys are mastering the system more and more each day and it’s going to get better. We just have to keep working. We have a bye week next, and I think it’s the perfect time to put this loss behind us and spend some time honing our skills.”
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
The Battle of the Palouse - Washington State and Idaho have a rivalry that dates back to 1894. Just miles from each others’ campuses near the Washington-Idaho border, these teams are more rivals in location rather than competition. Washington State leads the series 82-16-3. In fact, Wazzu has won the last 9 meetings, the latest being a drubbing of the Vandals, 56-6, in 2016.
Wazzu head coach Mike Leach will no doubt have his Air Raid offense in full swing on Saturday, as they currently have the #1 passing offense in the nation. Quarterback Gardner Minshew II is more than capable of carving up the Idaho defense. Vandals head coach Buddy Lee said in an interview this week that they will not be embarrassed like they were the week prior against #4 Oklahoma. It will be interesting to see what he has up his sleeve for Leach and company.
In terms of talent, that was the most outmatched my team has been in my entire coaching career. So this is new territory for me. I tried the safe and high percentage passes, and we couldn’t catch. I tried to run the ball, but we just weren’t fast enough to cover any ground on them. We were already blown out at halftime, so I told the guys to play loose and see if we could make anything happen. But it only resulted in more turnovers. And as far as defense goes, we just don’t have any.
The only thing I see left to do is to instill discipline. We will employ a ground attack on our next opponent and be disciplined. We will be outmatched by this Washington State team, so the plan is to shorten the game, be efficient in our yards per carry, and convert first downs. Back to basics. If we can win, so be it. But if we can’t win, at least we will make it close and hard-fought. We will not be embarrassed like that again.
Alabama fell to #12 with a close loss to now #24 Texas A&M. That puts the Crimson Tide at 0-2 and they are scrambling for answers in Tuscaloosa, I’m sure.
Notre Dame was knocked down to #15 when Purdue whipped them, 56-20. That puts Georgia (1-1) back in the top 5.
#1 Clemson stayed unblemished as they took care of #18 Miami, 38-21.
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Kennedy Brooks scores one of his four touchdowns on the day.
Walloped In Norman
Oklahoma destroys Idaho, 70-3
September 15, 2018 3:45pm
Norman, OK — The Idaho Vandals had nothing for the #4 Oklahoma Sooners as the Crimson and Cream laughed them out of the house Saturday, defeating them 70-3. Sooners senior quarterback Jalen Hurts put on a clinic, completing 34 of 42 passes for 260 yards and 4 touchdowns. What’s more, he ran for 128 more yards and a touchdown.
“We had to make sure to get the finer points down and the wrinkles ironed out before we go into conference play”, said Hurts. “I think we accomplished that today even though it was just Idaho.”
Sooners sophomore running back Kennedy Brooks scored four touchdowns on the ground as well.
“We were in the zone”, said Brooks. “The holes seemed like alleyways and nobody could stop us.”
Idaho, on the other hand, looked more like they were stuck in quicksand, managing only 163 yards of offense and never crossing the goal line. Senior quarterback Mason Petrino, ending with an abysmal 22.9 quarterback rating, completed only 23 of 51 passes and had 4 interceptions.
“Oklahoma earned the right to say anything they want about us”, said Vandals Head Coach Buddy Lee when asked about Hurts’ post-game comments. “We couldn’t throw, couldn’t catch, couldn’t run. And we couldn’t stop anything. There’s nothing really more to say. The only thing we can do is hit the practice field.”
Idaho (1-2) needs to shake this off quickly as they travel to Washington State next.
Monday, September 9, 2019
These two teams have never met before, so there isn’t much of a rivalry. It’s more like a tune-up for the Sooners. Quarterback Jalen Hurts has been very efficient in his first two games since transferring to Norman. Look for him to have a big game against a very soft Idaho defense.
The Vandals seemed to have found their sweet spot by employing a ground attack. At least, they had success running against Old Dominion. Oklahoma is a very different animal.
With a win at Michigan, Notre Dame moved into the top 5 to join Clemson, Ohio State, Washington, and Oklahoma who are 1-4 respectively.
Alabama, on a bye, looks to crack back into the top 5 with a win at Texas A&M next week.
Florida Atlantic stunned #16 Auburn, beating them 41-20 in Jordan-Hare stadium.
Sunday, September 8, 2019
Lloyd Hightower intercepts a Blake LaRussa pass to seal a Vandals victory, and give Idaho its first turnover of the season.
Redemption In The Kibbie Dome
September 8, 2018 5:32pm
Moscow, ID -- The Idaho Vandals redeemed themselves in the face of a blowout loss in week 1 by defeating the Old Dominion Monarchs 34-24 in the Kibbie Dome Saturday. Quarterback Mason Petrino did not throw for a touchdown and he did have two interceptions, but he did rack up 306 yards through the air and 108 on the ground.
"We had to take it to the ground", said Petrino as the passing game yielded 8 dropped balls and no effectiveness at all. "In the second half, we got our poise and balanced it out."
Idaho, down by 10 points in the second quarter thanks to several drops by the wide receivers and one from tight end Connor Whitney which was intercepted for a touchdown, began to make some headway by running halfback Dylan Thigpen over and over until the Old Dominion defense started to crack. Then a surprise run by Petrino on the zone read scored the Vandals' first points of the game.
"I'm proud of our guys that they didn't let the early adversity shake them", said Vandals head coach Buddy Lee. "We found our groove running the ball until we could finally get the pass going in the second half."
And pass they did, as Petrino found wideout Jante Boston open often for a total of 154 yards. Idaho chipped away at Old Dominion's lead until they finally went ahead in the fourth quarter 27-21. On the Monarchs' final drive to regain the lead, LaRussa was picked off in the red zone by cornerback Lloyd Hightower. This sealed the victory for the Vandals.
Next up, Idaho travels to Norman, Oklahoma to take on the #4 Sooners.
These two teams have only met one time, in 2013, and Old Dominion won that contest 59-38. ODU does not look to have the talent that North Texas had, so Idaho definitely has a better shot at victory this week. It's still going to be a chore as the Vandals have yet to prove themselves as victors.
Vandals head coach Buddy Lee, in a surprising change, has switched to the 3-4 defense. This is an extraordinary challenge to take on while the season is in progress.
"We couldn't stop anything using the best defense these guys know", said Lee. "We might as well not stop anything while learning the new system we will have in place next season anyway."
It will be interesting to see if these guys can believe in the new system with such a difficult task at hand.
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