Not Even Tormey Could Have Seen This One Coming

Say this about Idaho’s jump to the Big West Conference next fall: it’ll finally get McNeese State off the football schedule.

Not that you hear the Vandals complaining.

Lake Charles, La. - where the Calcasieu percolates its way to the gulf - must be lovely this time of year, particularly if the alternative is the folks’ sofa, brooding over what might have been.

If that was Idaho’s style, the Vandals would be a month-deep into a vicious funk and coach Chris Tormey would be in full woo - gathering the necessary chestnuts for the expedition into sort-of major college football.

Instead, the Vandies are back in the NCAA’s Division I-AA playoffs for the zillionth and final - time Saturday against top-ranked McNeese after being left for dead by pretty much everyone.

“After losing to Weber State, we had pretty much written off the playoffs,” admitted Tormey.

Hey. Rookie mistake.

About that time, the Vandals got rhythm, got nasty and - when a couple of other Big Sky sharks drowned - got a little lucky. In his first head coaching job, Tormey wound up presiding over three impressive season-closing victories and the most remarkable Vandals resurrection since, well, since the last time Idaho had a rookie head coach, anyway.

“There was no bag of tricks,” said Tormey. “We talked about some ABCs: accountability, belief, consistency, determination - all the words you always use in coaching.”

Good to see they still have meaning.

Tormey apprenticed for his big chance for 11 years at Washington, Don James’ Camp Consistency. But even the Wharton School of Business can’t teach you all you need to know about corporate America.

Like how to deal with a dumb schedule.

Week 1: Oregon State. Should have been a good gauge except that the Beavers turned out to be America’s most overrated team - and that’s not easy if you’re them. Idaho loses 14-7.

Week 2: off.

Week 3: Sonoma State Institute for the Criminally Mediocre. Idaho wins 66-3.

Week 4: off.

September came and went and the Vandals must have assumed they were taking a group redshirt - accounting for the losses that followed.

“You get better by playing games,” said Tormey. “We went two weeks and didn’t improve.

“If I’d known what I know now about this team, we might have done some things differently early. Without being specific, we might have made some decisions that would have helped us - if, if, if. But we could have solved problems we didn’t know existed.”

The most obvious problem, of course, was quarterback. Eric Hisaw had missed spring football rehabilitating the knee he injured midway through the 1994 season, when he was replaced by Brian Brennan.

“We left the job open to be fair to Eric and he won it, but then he didn’t play well against Oregon State,” Tormey said. “And as I’ve said before, Eric is not a great practice player and he’ll be the first to admit that. So we didn’t have much to judge him on. At the time, the decision was easy. You watched those two guys in practice and there was no question.”

The time came, however, when Idaho had to stop winning practices and start winning games.

“Now we know,” Tormey said. “In order for us to have a chance, Eric has to be on.”

But not on huge. What separates these Vandals from their ancestors is a terrific defense triggered by a cranky front four. Gobs of statistics can be cited, but here’s a beauty: in the last four games, Idaho hasn’t allowed a third-down conversion in the second half.

“We’re a solid team - I don’t know if we’re a great one,” said Tormey. “But we’re sound. We can find ways to get the ball into the end zone and we don’t need to get it in there a bunch. If we can score three touchdowns, we can beat just about anybody.”

Who’d have thought they’d have the chance to prove it?

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