Insley Keeps UI’S Hands Full

Nevada football coach Jeff Tisdel is prone to gushing.

Trevor Insley, though, gives him justifiable reason.

Insley is the nation’s leading receiver with 99 catches and 1,461 yards. He has passed former teammate Geoff Noisy as Nevada’s all-time yardage leader. He is only 112 yards from surpassing Division I-A record-holder Marcus Harris, a Wyoming grad.

“Oh, he’s better than Noisy,” raves Tisdel, whose Wolf Pack entertain Idaho on Saturday. “Trevor might be a half-step faster, he’s strong and he catches everything.”

Including double teams. Nevada opponents have latched onto the senior, especially after All-Big West tight end Darin Higgins retired with post-concussion problems.

“He’s been doubled some, but he still finds a way to get open and make catches,” Tisdel said. “Cle (Brooks) has performed well and that’s taken some pressure off Trevor.”

Idaho, of course, will attempt to foil Insley, who had 10 catches for 182 yards against the Vandals last season.

“Obviously, pass rush has a lot to do with it and not being too predictable in pass schemes so they (don’t) know before the snap what we’re doing,” Idaho coach Chris Tormey said.

Tisdel estimates Insley has dropped “six, maybe seven” passes in his career. Idaho, meanwhile, had an unusually high 10 drops last week.

“It’s like he has Superglue on his hands,” Tisdel said. “His concentration level is super.”

Sharing the driver’s seat

Idaho and Boise State are the only teams that control their own destinies in the Big West race. If either wins out, it wins the conference. They meet Nov. 20 in Martin Stadium.

If Nevada wins all of its remaining games, it will still need a BSU loss somewhere. Idaho has the advantage of having played four Big West games to Nevada’s and Boise State’s three. However, Idaho plays at Nevada, which has thumped the Vandals the last two years.

“We just have to take care of our business,” Tormey said.

“I know Chris made the statement on his conference call that he feels he’s still in the driver’s seat,” Tisdel said. “I don’t think anybody’s in the driver’s seat. In my mind, (the team with) one loss is going to win the conference.”

No fibbin’

Idaho quarterback John Welsh returned to practice Tuesday, not quite two months after fracturing his fibula.

“He can throw. It’s a question of moving to be able to throw,” offensive coordinator Phil Earley said. “He’s still hobbled, but that’s to be expected.”

UI coach Chris Tormey said Welsh “did well. He didn’t take a ton of reps, but he got in a quite a few throws.”

Meanwhile, Boise State defensive tackle Jon Rydman broke his fibula in the season opener. He was set to return to practice the week of Oct. 16. However, while celebrating a Bronco touchdown against Eastern Washington on Oct. 9, Rydman aggravated the injury.

He’d been sidelined until Tuesday. He’s expected to play 6-10 snaps Saturday.

Second-guessing

Utah State led 27-23. Demario Brown was en route to a 239-yard rushing day. The Aggies faced third-and-1. Coach Dave Arslanian called … a bootleg by quarterback Jeff Crosbie?

“We took a chance,” Arslanian said. “We had been watching that end and he had been leaving the whole side exposed. They got penetration on us. If we get outside the penetration, it’s gone forever.”

Instead, it went forever backward as Crosbie was sacked for a 14-yard loss. USU punted and Boise State’s Gavin Reed ripped off a 77-yard touchdown run a couple of plays later. BSU went on to win 33-27, taking advantage of a Brown fumble in the fourth quarter.

“Every week it seems like we beat ourselves,” Brown said.

Notes

New Mexico State has lost 19 straight games to Utah State. The teams play Saturday in Logan, and USU (2-6) is a 3-point favorite over NMSU (4-4)… . Arkansas State’s Cleo Lemon, sidelined with a knee injury during an Oct. 16 loss to Idaho, returned in the closing minutes to direct a game-winning TD drive against Louisiana-Lafayette… . Idaho might want to consider skipping the eighth game on next year’s schedule. In 1997, Utah State drilled Idaho 63-17. In 1998, Nevada hammered Idaho 58-23. In 1999, New Mexico State thundered Idaho 42-14… . Demario Brown needs 386 yards to pass Abu Wilson as Utah State’s leading rusher. Wilson is about to be passed by Nevada’s Chris Lemon for fifth on the Big West’s all-time list… . Just North Texas’ luck. It has a bye week before facing TCU. That gives TCU’s LaDainian Tomlinson, the nation’s second-leading runner, an extra week to rest his sprained ankle.