Eastern Still Relishes Idaho Rivalry
Some of the venom in the Idaho-Eastern Washington football rivalry vanished when UI coach John L. Smith left for Utah State two years ago.
Some of the flavor faded when Idaho left the Division I-AA Big Sky Conference for the I-A Big West this season.
Thankfully, some remains.
“It’s always been something that our players feel very deeply about and our coaching staff is very intimate about,” said EWU coach Mike Kramer, who puts his 6-2 Eagles up against 3-4 Idaho at 3:05 Saturday afternoon in the Kibbie Dome.
“Over the years it’s been a really important measuring device for us and our program.”
Rarely has EWU measured up in the win column. Idaho leads the series 12-3.
Kramer’s and Smith’s staffs didn’t exchange Christmas cards.
“We recruited a lot of guys that line up in (Idaho’s) Silver and Gold,” Kramer said. “When John L. was there, their staff was so arrogant about recruiting Washington kids.” Kramer claimed UI told recruits they’d be dropped if they even visited EWU.
The staffs had a run-in following a banquet in Spokane a few years ago, but Kramer declined to go into details.
“There’s a little machismo involved. A confrontation occurred that was funny, but also serious,” he said. “That was in another era.”
Kramer believes much of the animosity was eliminated when UI hired Chris Tormey to replace Smith. Tormey and Kramer were teammates at Idaho in the 1970s.
“He’s one of my best friends in coaching,” Tormey said. “A lot of our kids know their kids. A lot of our kids come from the state of Washington.”
Tough call
Idaho’s Tormey disagreed with a referee’s call that went against the Vandals in the 35-28 loss to Utah State last Saturday.
Idaho was leading 28-21 in the third quarter and driving when the referee ruled Tom Pace fumbled and USU recovered at the Aggies’ 15-yard line. Tormey felt Pace was down before the ball was wrestled away.
Tormey sent videotape of the play - and several others - to the Big West office. He might not agree with the Big West’s response, either.
“We understand it was a very big call, especially at that point of the game, but I guess there’s enough doubt in this situation that I can’t really say decisively one way or another,” said Jack O’Cain, Big West supervisor of officials.
“On normal speed, it looks like the Utah State player wrestled the ball away when he (Pace) was on ground. When you break it down, there are some doubts.”
Coaching carousel
There was considerable buzz in Logan last week that Utah State coach John L. Smith might become involved with Fresno State.
FSU is replacing the retiring Jim Sweeney, who should earn his 200th coaching win against Boise State on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Boise State’s Tom Mason is hoping to have the interim removed from his coaching title. The guess here is BSU will not make Mason head coach.
BSU’s program has slipped considerably. Pokey Allen inherited a bad team from Skip Hall and went 3-8 in 1993. Next came the miracle season in which BSU lost to Youngstown State in the I-AA championship.
After a 7-4 mark last year, BSU is 1-7 this season with Allen on leave because of a recurrence of cancer. His prognosis isn’t promising.
The BSU job is attractive fine stadium, big booster base. The Broncos could pursue Al Borges, UCLA offensive coordinator, former Vandal coach Keith Gilbertson, or possibly Northern Arizona’s Steve Axman, and make a quick turnaround.
Notes
Idaho will honor former Vandal Dan O’Brien, the Olympic decathlon champion, at halftime Saturday. UI’s outdoor track and field facility will be renamed in O’Brien’s honor. … Ticket prices for the UI-EWU game will be family friendly. A family of five (two adults and three children, or one adult and four children) can attend for just $18… . North Texas is making a quarterback change - again. The Eagles started the year with Jason Mills, then went to Damon West. Now it’s Josh Gulley’s turn. He was the Eagles’ QB for the final five games of ‘95.
, DataTimes