UI Off To ‘Death Valley’
Idaho will pipe crowd noise into its practices this week, trying to simulate the hostile environment it will encounter against Louisiana State on Saturday night. The Vandals might need to add some expensive speakers to reach the proper decibel level.
Sport magazine recently listed Tiger Stadium, nicknamed “Death Valley,” the most feared road site in college football, as voted on by Division I-A coaches.
As luck would have it, the Vandals will get the full flavor of the Tiger Stadium crowd. Saturday is LSU’s homecoming.
“We’ll talk about the importance of focusing and blocking things out,” UI coach Chris Tormey said. “Eleanor Roosevelt said, ‘Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.”’
Words of wisdom, for sure, but she didn’t have to line up against LSU. One of Tormey’s mentors, Washington coach Jim Lambright, wasn’t fond of his 1983 trip to Baton Rouge. Lambright was an assistant under another Tormey mentor, former UW head coach Don James, for that game, won by LSU 40-14.
“I think the worst place we’ve played was LSU,” said Lambright, as his Huskies prepare to travel to Nebraska.
“It’s nastier than anyplace else. I think six of our players either fell down on the way to the game through fear or just weren’t available at full speed.”
According to a Baton Rouge newspaper, former Idaho basketball coach Kermit Davis, now an assistant at LSU, told Tormey: “What in the world are you trying to do other than getting a lot of guarantee money? Idaho has always done very well against I-A teams, but I’m afraid they’ll be overmatched physically by LSU. Plus the heat might kill them.”
Idaho doesn’t keep official attendance records, but it appears the Vandals will play before their biggest crowd ever (80,000) on Saturday.
Tiger tales
Tormey heaped heavy praise on the sixth-ranked Tigers - and rightfully so.
“It wouldn’t surprise me at all if LSU won the national championship,” he said. “They might have the best offensive player (running back Kevin Faulk) and defensive player (nose guard Anthony McFarland) in the country.”
Idaho center Jeremy Wallace, from Post Falls, gets the pleasure of blocking McFarland. UI guards also will see a lot of McFarland, but it’s not clear who will be available Saturday. Brett Morton has been bothered by back spasms and Cleve Aiono sprained his ankle versus Washington State. Anthony Fuertes played most of the WSU game.
LSU has played three Big West teams in recent seasons, whipping Utah State 38-17 in ‘93, North Texas 49-7 in ‘95 and New Mexico State 63-7 in ‘96.
Doggone it
Kicks, the black lab that, draped in a No. 1 jersey, has faithfully fetched the kicking tee at Boise State home games the last four years, is out of work.
It seems that kicker Todd Belcastro, a Mead High grad, has gone to a tee that rests flat on the ground. Kicks can’t get his chops around it.
Kicks’ day is coming, however. On Oct. 10, when the Broncos host North Texas, Kicks’ jersey will be retired. We presume that means only that no other pooches will be allowed to wear No.1, since backup QB Nate Sparks wears No. 1.