After two weeks on the road, the Vandals' first game day in Moscow is here. Today's 2 p.m. matchup with Northern Illinois actually starts a stretch of four straight Saturdays on the Palouse for Idaho, counting next week's game at Washington State. But that doesn't mean it gets any easier for the Vandals.

We have a look at Idaho-Northern Illinois and a Q&A with Vandals' defensive end Quinton Bradley, whose main goal today is to try to bring down Huskies quarterback and Heisman hopeful Jordan Lynch.

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KICKOFF: 2 p.m. at Kibbie Dome

RECORDS: NIU 1-0; UI 0-2

RADIO: 1080-AM; the game isn't televised

OVERVIEW: The Vandals open their home schedule with the best nonconference team to come to the Kibbie Dome in years. Northern Illinois is ranked No. 30 in both major polls (based on the votes it's receiving) following a win at Iowa to start the season and reaching a BCS bowl last year. In his first year as starter in 2012, Lynch became the first FBS quarterback to pass for more than 3,000 yards and run for more than 1,500 yards in a single season. "He does a great job of managing the game and taking the ball and putting the game in his own hands," UI defensive coordinator Ronnie Lee said. Lynch and the Huskies' talented receiving corps, led by Tommylee Lewis and Da'Ron Brown, will likely try to try test the Idaho secondary down the field. The Vandals have given up four pass plays of at least 40 yards and over 700 passing yards in two games. Another unit that has struggled is the Idaho's offensive line, which has allowed 12 sacks, most in the FBS. Offensive tackle Cody Elenz, who missed the Wyoming game with a knee injury, was suited up in practice this week. If he plays, he'll help protect two quarterbacks: Chad Chalich is still UI's starter, but JC transfer Josh McCain will continue to get snaps, coach Paul Petrino said. Chalich has completed 69.5 percent of his passes and has yet to throw an interception.

LINE: Northern Illinois by 29

KEY MATCHUP: Idaho's offensive line vs. Northern Illinois' defensive front. If the Vandals are going to be competitive, they'll have to surpass their season touchdown total (2). And that means the O-line will need to take a big step. As mentioned above, it's given up 12 sacks -- some of those have been on the line, some have been on the QBs, Petrino said -- and last week it didn't run block very well. 

NORTHERN IllINOIS PLAYER TO KNOW: We hit on Lynch, the Huskies' star, in the overview. So let's focus on his primary receiving targets -- Tommylee Lewis and Da'Ron Brown. Lewis was the second-leading receiver last year; Brown is a redshirt junior who had just 17 catches last year. Both had impressive season debuts at Iowa, combining for 12 receptions for 174 yards -- including a 33-yard TD catch from Brown and a 40-yard TD catch from Lewis. So the Vandals have to be mindful of the Huskies' deep threats while trying to contain one of the best running QBs in the country. Not an easy task.

INJURY REPORT: The Vandals came out of the Wyoming loss relatively injury-free. Cody Elenz (knee) missed last week and safety Trey Williams (knee) has yet to start after an injury that haunted him in fall camp.

WHAT IT MEANS: This is Paul Petrino's home debut as Vandals coach, and the first time fans will get to see the new 30-foot-by-50-foot video board in the Kibbie Dome. Plus, NIU is the best nonconference home opponent Idaho has had in at least a decade.

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Q&A: Quinton Bradley

We asked Quinton Bradley, the Vandals' talented redshirt sophomore defensive end, the following questions after Wednesday's practice. Bradley had a big fall camp but has yet to break through this season. Through two games, he has just half a sack and five tackles.

Thoughts on Jordan Lynch?

He’s a running quarterback. He likes to run north and south. I think we’ve just got to be stout on the line so he doesn’t feel like he has an opportunity to get out of the pocket. We’ve got to play the run the better. We’ve struggled with it right now, but as we’ve been practicing today, we got a sense of what we can do and what he will do.

What do you take away from the Wyoming game? In the first quarter, you held them scoreless.

We’ve got to build off of it. Coach said we’ve got to maintain what we did in the first quarter all the way out to the fourth quarter. So if we maintain our sense of urgency and our sense of pressure on the QB and on the running backs, I think we’ll have a good chance of doing it the whole game. Just work hard the whole game, basically.

Have the first two weeks been frustrating overall for the defense?

It’s been very frustrating. A lot of things that were happening we weren’t expecting. Teams would go hurry-up on us, and we weren’t ready for it at the time. I think our conditioning is way better than it was. … I think now we’re back in our Dome, you try hurry-up now, we’re ready for it.

This is one of the better teams you’ll play at home in your career, right?

I like it. I’d rather every team (we play be in the) SEC. I’d rather play all those types of teams, because that’s what’s going to get you noticed — excelling against those types of teams. You want competition to better yourself, so them coming here to play us? I like it, I respect it, I want it to happen. I want to make myself better. Not only myself, my team.

How do you grade yourself through two weeks?

I could do better. I could have more sacks. I need to work on my pass rush, my moves. I need to get to the quarterback a lot faster. I’m getting to them way too late. You know, I get there (and) the ball’s gone. I need to help my defense out by sacking the quarterback. A lot of those big plays could have been stopped if we sacked the quarterback. So work on my pass rush and get to the QB.

With Lynch, what makes him challenging in terms of getting sacks?

He’s dangerous as far as if I come too far up the field, that crease, he can run under it. I just got to be more aware of where he is ... the leverage of where I’m at and where he’s at. I’ve got to be more aware this game because he will run. So as long as I can keep him contained, I think we can get him.

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