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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Game Day in Moscow

The streets and hotels are just a tad bit busier than normal in Moscow with Vandal and Bronco fans streaming into the Palouse for tonight's Idaho-Boise State clash. Gametime is 6 p.m. on ESPN2 and, we should mention, ESPN 3D.

Read on for links and more.

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We had our preview in this morning's S-R, focusing on the Vandals' emphasis on execution. The Idaho Statesman has its BSU gameday coverage, which you can find here. And the Boise paper also had this look at Jonah Sataraka. The Idaho Press-Tribune also had this preview.

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The Vandals are anywhere between a 34.5 and 35.5 underdog, according to oddsmakers. Obviously, most think this will be another Boise State blowout. But for the Vandals to keep it close, here are a few things they must do:

  • Grind out yards on the ground. Idaho ranks 116th in rushing (83.2 yards per game). But the numbers aren't just substandard because Deonte Jackson has yet to show the explosiveness he had as a redshirt freshman and Princeton McCarty has been hurt. Idaho's 32 sacks are accounted for in the rushing stats -- and the Vandals have been forced to abandon the run early in three of the last four games because of huge early deficits.
  • Minimize errors. I mentioned this in my preview, but Idaho racked up 14 turnovers in its three toughest tests of the year (at Nebraska, at Hawaii and Nevada). As Nate Enderle said, the Vandals are going to have to be close to flawless against a team that pounces on its opponents quickly. The question is, even if Idaho plays flawlessly -- which it has yet to come close to this season -- will it be a ballgame in the third quarter?
  • Give Enderle time. Only Colorado State, Washington State and Rutgers have been worse in protecting their quarterbacks than the Vandals. The offensive line has been shaky from the start, and it hasn't helped that Tevita Halaholo and Sam Tupua have battled injuries. The Vandals should be healthy along the O-line, but keep in mind: Boise State is No. 2 in the nation with 31 sacks. Said left tackle Matt Cleveland, the most experienced UI lineman, "They have a really good defensive line, and I think of all the sacks they have this year, only one was from a non-defensive line player. They can rush the passer, and it’s going to take a lot of focus during plays and during practice and preparation off the field and watching film."

Lastly, I thought Nate Enderle had an interesting answer this week when he was asked if the Vandals have played their best game yet. "No, hopefully we haven’t," the QB said. "You want to be playing your best at the end of the year. You want to be in full swing by now, but you want to be getting better and better week to week. So four weeks (left), if you feel like you’ve shown all that you've got, it could make some trouble for you."

Have the Vandals shown all they've got? Considering that injuries are starting to mount -- the key blows were losing JoJo Dickson and Daniel Hardy -- and the defense has started to slip, it's possible UI peaked in the nonconference portion of their season. What are your thoughts?

We'll be posting updates throughout the evening on twitter.com/SR_JoshWright.



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