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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

It Will Be A Rush To Judgment Matchup Will Probably Turn On Who Has Better Ground Game

Jim Meehan Staff Writer

When he was an assistant at Washington, Chris Tormey used to love to watch No. 8, Huskies running back Napoleon Kaufman.

Today, Tormey, the first-year head coach at Idaho, will be asking his defense to corral another No. 8, Idaho State’s Alfredo Anderson.

“He is the premier skill guy in the league,” Tormey said. “He reminds me of our No. 8 (Kaufman, who now plays with the Oakland Raiders). He has the same kind of explosiveness at this level that Napoleon had in the Pac-10.”

No. 13-ranked Idaho tiptoes into Big Sky Conference play at 11 a.m. against an ISU team that is ranked No. 24, unbeaten at 3-0 and will play before an anticipated near-sellout crowd of 11,000 at Holt Arena. Prime Sports will televise the game live.

In boiling down the keys, everything seems to gravitate back to the running game. Whoever has the most rushing yards at the end is the likely winner. It makes for an interesting showdown considering UI and ISU rank among the stingiest in run defense.

The speedy Anderson not only averages a league-best 148 rushing yards per game, but he’s a dangerous kick/punt returner and rates with the conference leaders in receptions.

“He’s up about 10 pounds to 180,” ISU coach Brian McNeely said. “He’s more durable.”

“I don’t think we’ll change (alignments) much,” said UI linebacker Dave Longoria. “We want to keep doing what we’ve been doing. We’re definitely going to have to keep him contained.”

“I’m sure they’ll have a special plan for Anderson,” Tormey warned.

ISU has worries as well. Idaho running back Joel Thomas returns after missing a 66-3 rout of Sonoma State two weeks ago. Thomas used last week’s bye to recover from knee surgery and he should be at or close to 100 percent.

The Vandals’ offensive line encounters ISU’s sizable defensive tackles, talented ends and speed at linebackers and in the secondary.

“You always have to control the line of scrimmage to win a football game,” Tormey said. “We’re most experienced on the line.”

Still, the jury remains out on both Idaho and ISU. The Vandals (1-1) were sluggish against Oregon State of the Pac-10 and devoured Division II cream puff Sonoma State.

ISU has defeated three I-AA opponents, none to be confused with Top 25 teams.

The Vandals have dominated the series, winning the last seven by mostly wide margins. But McNeely said this is his best ISU team in his four years.

“It’s time to jump in with both feet,” McNeely said.

After two bye weeks in the first month of the season, UI’s Longoria is glad to be busy on a Saturday.

“We’re expecting a tough game, but I feel like we’re ready,” said Longoria.

Notes

ISU cornerback Brion Bethel, charged with misdemeanor battery last week, is expected to play. … The Vandals, who called themselves “Road Warriors” while experiencing success away from Moscow in recent years, have lost four straight road games. Of course, they were at difficult venues - Montana, Boise State, McNeese State and Oregon State. …

The Vandals had a scare in practice earlier this week when tight end Andy Gilroy went down with an apparent injury. “He was grabbing his ankle,” Tormey said. “But it turned out he just got kicked in the back of the leg.” Gilroy missed the Oregon State game with a sprained ankle.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Vandals at Idaho State