Last Laugh Could Be Vandals’

There were snickers when this one was scheduled a couple years ago: Idaho at Auburn, Sept. 11, Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Everyone just figured then-Idaho athletic director Oval Jaynes, a former assistant A.D. at Auburn, wanted to visit his old stomping grounds.

Nobody’s laughing now. The Vandals will make about $325,000 and they have a legitimate chance to win. The oddsmakers are saying Auburn by 8.

“I guess timing-wise, if you have to play Auburn, this is as good a time as any,” UI coach Chris Tormey said. “Don’t misunderstand me. They have an awful lot of great athletes and they’re going to get better every week. You can see the athletic ability on both sides of the ball, but I’d rather play them early (in the season) and when they’re in a transition year.

“I’d rather play them now then two years from now.”

The timing is close to ideal because the Tigers are coming off a messy coaching change, they’ve had a number of players run afoul of the law and Auburn just isn’t the Auburn of yesteryear.

The Tigers were 3-8 last season. They’re learning a new system under first-year coach Tommy Tuberville. They needed a long touchdown pass from a backup quarterback to upend I-AA Appalachian State 22-15 last week.

Idaho has been down this road before. The Vandals, the very definition of saucer-eyed, were spanked by then-No. 6 LSU 53-20 last year. Quarterback John Welsh later said the Vandals were guilty of giving their opponent too much respect.

“We like playing these kinds of games,” Welsh said. “We are getting better (recruits) because guys want to play a better schedule.

We really look forward to those big games. No offense to Eastern Washington, but it’s kind of hard to get up for a I-AA team that we beat up on last year and went up there and beat up on this year.”

What would a win over Auburn mean?

“We would just elevate this program to the next level and that’s what we’re trying to do,” safety Bryson Gardner said.

Welsh on the mend

UI’s Welsh, who suffered a hip-pointer against EWU, was back at practice Tuesday. “I’m a little sore,” said Welsh, who expects to be full speed by Saturday.

Welsh was injured on a scramble as he took on a tackler head-on while another jarred him from the side. He won’t shy away from contact, he says, because “linebackers and defensive backs get to hit me all day.”

Coaches have asked him to be smart when he’s in the open field, but they don’t want to curb part of his game.

“We talk to him about it, but to be honest, we don’t take a hard line because it’s part of his mentality,” offensive coordinator Phil Earley said. “It’s a fine line, but the thing is, you have a mobile quarterback and you’ve got to cut him loose and let him do it.”

Big Flop

The Big West, coming off a season in which it had a winning record against the WAC, stumbled in its first weekend. The conference was 2-5, with the two wins coming against I-AA Eastern Washington and Division II New Mexico Highlands.

The five losses to I-A teams were by a combined score of 171-33. Two of the losses were games Big West teams had opportunities to win. North Texas was host to UNLV, which had lost 16 straight games and 26 consecutive on the road, but the Mean Green wilted 26-3. Nevada, with 18 starters back, had Oregon State down 13-7 in the fourth before losing 28-13.

Higgins finished?

Nevada tight end Darin Higgins, a two-time All-Big West first-team selection, suffered the third concussion of his career against Oregon State last Saturday.

He had a CAT scan on Tuesday and will undergo additional tests Thursday. He won’t play in Saturday’s game against Colorado State and it’s possible his career is over.

Higgins was hit by an OSU linebacker after an incomplete pass. “I don’t think it was a real malicious hit, but it did come after the whistle,” said Nevada coach Jeff Tisdel. “I thought it was a little late.”

Higgins was second in the nation last season among tight ends in receiving yards (517) and fourth in receptions (34).

Notes

All 64 Vandals who made the bus ride played in Idaho’s 48-21 win over Eastern Washington last week… . Boise State cornerback Dempsey Dees is at it again. Dees, who led the conference with five interceptions last year, picked off two UCLA passes, returning one 66 yards… . … North Texas punter John Baker, one of the nation’s best two years ago before an injury-marred ‘98 season, is eighth in the nation with a 46.7-yard average. Baker, though, is just third in the Big West behind Nevada’s Norm Brady (47.3) and Utah State’s Steve Mullins (47.2).