The Idaho football team would probably rather forget September happened. The Vandals lost three of the four games they played (by 17, 30 and 24 points), and as quarterback Brian Reader said earlier this week, "We’ve had only a couple really good halves as (an offense)."

But, hey, it's now October and the Vandals still have a lot to play for. That includes this afternoon at Virginia (12:30, ESPN3 webcast). Read on for more.

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My preview of the game is here. Talking to Reader and other players this week, they were adamant that the Vandals can reverse the ugly stretches of football that have popped up in every game (including a 44-14 win over North Dakota, an FCS team). The Vandals' national ranking in key statistical categories tells the story quite well:

• They are 117th out of 120 FBS schools in rushing offense (67 yards per game) and 109th in total offense.
• They sit 114th in pass defensive, giving up more than 300 yards per game through the air.
• They are 115th in sacks, with just two on the year. "That's not healthy," Akey said.

Still, Reader said the Vandals' confidence is "coming back up."

"We had a rough second half last week but we had a good first half," the senior QB said. "So we know what we can do. We’ve just got to do it in every game from here on out — every single quarter, every single play there is in a game."

What about Reader himself? He has alternated between showing bursts of efficiency -- 15 straight completions against North Dakota, last week's 9-of-12 start -- with long bouts of inaccuracy. "I’ve got to have that confidence every time I go out because people are trusting me to have confidence, just like I’m trusting everybody else to have confidence in themselves and me."

Asked if his confidence has wavered, Reader had a telling answer: "Yeah, but at the same time, when it happens, I really have to strive to keep that confidence up. I can’t let it sink down at all, because if I do, everybody does and we’re unproductive as an offense."

It's also clear, as Akey said after last week's loss to Fresno State, that the Vandals still need "to grow up a little bit." Justin Veltung and Tre'Shawn Robinson agree.

"When something little happens, it’s like a domino effect," Veltung said. "People's heads go down. So we’ve just got to keep it together."

"I see the same thing (as Akey)," Robinson, a defensive captain said. "I see we need to play the full game and play four quarters. We can’t play one half of a football game. There’s 60 minutes in a game and you’ve got to play all 60 of them.

Added Robinson, "In the games that we’ve lost, there really wasn’t a team that drove on us. A lot of it was big plays. We’ve got to reduce the big plays. … In that aspect, you grow up and learn that if there is a big play, rebound right back and respond to that."


 

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