Tormey Delays Decision On Qb

Idaho’s starting quarterback for Saturday’s game against North Texas will be Greg Robertson. Unless it’s Ed Dean.

Dean’s gimpy ankle has improved and he’s practiced this week. He sprained his ankle during the Washington State game on Sept. 18.

“He (Dean) told me it’s made the most improvement the last three days,” Robertson said Tuesday. Robertson took every snap in the 28-13 loss to Wyoming last Saturday.

“He wasn’t even close last week, but the medical report is that he’s a lot better,” coach Chris Tormey said. “We’ll just see how it goes in practice.”

Tormey said he won’t make a decision until later this week, perhaps the obligatory “game-day” call.

Offensive tackle Rick DeMulling (kneecap) will be out 2-6 weeks. But Tormey said, knowing DeMulling, he expects it to be closer to two weeks.

Bronco booter

In two weeks, Nick Calaycay has gone from being a backup, walk-on kicker to BSU’s top scorer. Calaycay’s chance came when Brett Thompson missed his first two field-goal attempts.

Calaycay made 2 of 2 in BSU’s win over New Mexico and came back with 4 of 5 in a victory over Utah last Saturday.

Calaycay isn’t on scholarship yet, but maybe he has something else in mind. “He deserves to be mayor of Boise right now,” coach Dirk Koetter said.

Insley benched

Nevada did the unthinkable - it benched Trevor Insley. That’s Insley, the punt returner, not Insley the receiver with 67 catches. He had his worst game of the season last week, catching only 11 passes.

Insley returned six punts in Saturday’s win over UNLV and that was about six too many for coach Jeff Tisdel.

“That made me realize it more,” Tisdel said. “It wasn’t magnified much in the first four games, then you see him taking shots.”

Good Ags, bad Ags

New Mexico State’s 3-0 start has been sullied by two straight blowout defeats. The Aggies have given up 100 points the last two weeks.

A bigger problem than their leaky defense has been the offense. A couple of solutions might be available Saturday when they entertain Nevada. Chris Barnes and Kenton Keith, NMSU’s top two running backs, are both expected to return from shoulder injuries.

Meanwhile, Utah State is one of the conference’s surprises. The Aggies pushed BYU to OT before losing. They also stayed within shouting range of Utah and Georgia.

The biggest difference might be the maturation of sophomore quarterback Jeff Crosbie. He’s passed for more than 200 yards in 8 of 9 career starts and had a career-best 311 yards on Saturday. His only sub-200-yard game was his first start, against Idaho, last year. He was 9 of 28 for 178 yards.

Home sweet home

Wondering where North Texas and Idaho will be stationed during the second half of Saturday’s doubleheader?

Idaho will suit up in Moscow and bus over. The Vandals will spend halftime in Smith Gym, where some chairs and greaseboards are set up. They’ll return to Moscow immediately after the game.

North Texas is staying in Spokane and will travel to Pullman to dress before the game. The Mean Green will use the visitor’s locker room at half and after the game.