Coach Talks; Idaho Glistens Weber’s Arslanian Rallies Team, But It’s Usually UI That Responds

Weber State football coach Dave Arslanian annually trots out a pep talk for Idaho.

Last year, he explained to his players that the Wildcats had UI right where they wanted ‘em. It was Weber’s last game of the season and surely the Vandals would be looking forward to rival Boise State the following week. Idaho won 79-30.

Two years ago, Arslanian told his team that Idaho was ripe for an upset because it was an early season contest. Idaho won 56-0.

Arslanian has a new approach this year. “We can never time it right for those guys,” he said on the eve of today’s 11:05 a.m. PDT Big Sky Conference clash with the Vandals in Ogden, Utah.

“We’re just going to take our medicine and go on.”

Believe that, Vandals, and Arslanian will show you some swamp land for sale near the Great Salt Lake.

To be sure, Idaho has dominated the Wildcats over the years, but the Vandals have also dropped six straight road games.

Weber, 3-1 at home this year, has an inexperienced quarterback - Roger Cook replaced Bryan Martin, who suffered a season-ending injury two weeks ago - but the receiving trio of Pokey Eckford, Joel Pelagio-Williams and Norvel Young is the team’s backbone.

And Idaho lost safety Montrell Williams to injury last week. He’s replaced by Bonners Ferry’s Travis Coffey.

“They’re going to throw the ball. that’s not going to change much,” UI coach Chris Tormey said. Minus Williams, “we won’t change our defensive philosophy drastically.”

It isn’t easy to break down this game.

Consider:

Idaho scored 49 points in the first half but had just 50 total yards in the second against Montana last week.

Weber State ranks near or at the bottom of every defensive category in the Sky, but held Montana State to only 90 total yards last Saturday.

So, who’s duping whom?

“We know we haven’t put together a full game yet,” Tormey said. “What we do the next four weeks will determine how good we are.”

“I guess it depends on which teams show up,” Arslanian said.

Idaho’s offense appears to have a big edge against Weber, which surrenders an average of 401 yards and a league-worst 31.3 points per game.

Outside of the second-half stall against Montana, the Vandals have been explosive the last two weeks. Tormey points to several factors - the development of quarterback Eric Hisaw and freshman receiver Robert Scott, and solid line play.

“The thing that’s helped us is Eric’s ability to run. The last three weeks, we’ve been running more spread formations and more shotgun, trying to spread the defense out,” Tormey said. “If they spread out too much, he might just take off and run.”

Scott’s emergence “takes the pressure off (receiver) Dwight McKinzie,” Tormey said. “Now they can’t double-cover Dwight all the time.”

Arslanian is preaching that his team show up at kickoff.

“We have to get off to a good start,” he said. “When we haven’t done well, people jumped on us early. And when Idaho gets momentum going, it doesn’t seem to end.”

His words carry precedence. Idaho led WSU 51-8 at half last year; 27-0 the year before that.

Notes

Tormey said tight end Andy Gilroy should be fine for today’s game. He’s been limited the last two weeks after suffering a partially collapsed lung. … Weather forecast: No rain and temperatures in the mid 60s. … Weber cornerback Ian Franklin is outstanding in coverage and will probably line up against McKinzie, which could open space for Scott.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Vandals at Weber State Kickoff: 11:05 a.m., Wildcat Stadium, Ogden, Utah Records: Idaho is 2-2 in Big Sky, 3-3 overall; Weber State is 2-2, 4-4. Coaches: Idaho, Chris Tormey (3-3, 1st season); Weber State, Dave Arslanian (38-37, 7th season). TV/Radio: No TV; KJRB (790 AM) in Spokane, KVNi (1080 AM) in Coeur d’Alene, KRPL (1400 AM) in Moscow and other stations on Vandal network; pregame time varies according to station.