Fast Break
College football
Smith lands at Arkansas
Former Idaho coach John L. Smith has hooked up with former assistant Bobby Petrino and will coach special teams at Arkansas.
The Razorbacks introduced Smith on Friday and said he would also help with the defense.
“I have had the privilege to work with (Smith) on a number of occasions previously,” said Petrino, the Razorbacks head coach. “He is an outstanding football coach and an outstanding person.”
Petrino was an assistant under Smith at Idaho and Utah State. At Idaho, Smith became the winningest coach in Vandals’ history with a six-year mark of 53-21. He then spent three seasons at Utah State before moving on to Louisville and Michigan State. He was fired after the 2006 season at Michigan State.
Before becoming a head coach at Idaho, Smith spent two years (1987-88) as the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Washington State under Dennis Erickson.
College football
Apple Cup after Thanksgiving
The Apple Cup will be played one week later than usual in 2009, according to schedules released by both Washington State and Washington.
The annual rivalry game between the schools will be played Nov. 28, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, in Seattle. It will be the season finale for the Cougars, who have won four out of the last five Apple Cups.
The Cougars’ 12-game schedule includes the season and Pac-10 opener on Sept. 5 against Stanford in Pullman. Their non-league schedule includes Hawaii at Qwest Field in Seattle on Sept. 12, Southern Methodist University the next Saturday in Pullman and Notre Dame on Oct. 31 in San Antonio.
Conference home games include Arizona State on Oct. 10, Nov. 14 against UCLA and Nov. 21 against Oregon State. The Cougars have a bye on Oct. 17.
Washington has two bye weeks – Oct. 31 and Nov. 21. The Huskies open with LSU on Sept. 5, face Idaho at home on Sept. 12 and close the season Dec. 5 at home against California.
College football
Ena joins Vandals staff
Eti Ena has joined the University of Idaho staff as defensive line coach.
Ena, a graduate of Eastern Washington University and Inchelium High School, comes to Idaho after three seasons at Eastern Oregon University. He was the Mountaineers’ assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator last season after serving as defensive coordinator, linebackers coach and strength and conditioning coordinator in 2006 and 2007.
Prior to his stint at Eastern Oregon, Ena was the assistant defensive line coach at Eastern Washington (2004-05) and assistant linebackers coach (2003) for the Eagles.