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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Vandals glad to have long week finished

MOSCOW, Idaho – There are no mulligans in football. There’s no way Idaho can go back a week, pack the Kibbie Dome with fans and tee it off against Hawaii again.

Seven days have gone by since Idaho’s humbling 24-0 initiation into the Western Athletic Conference. Five days have passed since it was learned that 0-4 Idaho had somehow received votes in the Harris Interactive poll. Four days have elapsed since punter T.J. Conley suffered a broken leg in practice and was lost for the season.

It’s been a long week for the Vandals, who are probably thankful they can focus on football when Utah State visits the Kibbie Dome today at 2. The Aggies (1-1) will play their WAC opener.

The Vandals should be overstocked with motivation to put the preceding week in the rearview mirror. It’s homecoming, it’s a matchup versus a similar opponent and it’s an opportunity to purge the sour taste from their collective mouths.

“As long as I’m around this office, our morale is going to be good,” head coach Nick Holt said. “That’ll never be an issue.”

Utah State’s morale received a boost in the form of a non-conference victory last Saturday over UNLV, which defeated Idaho on Sept. 10.

Quarterback Leon Jackson appears to be settling into the job. He had 87 yards rushing against Utah and passed for 212 yards and two scores against UNLV.

“He handled and managed the game a lot better,” first-year Aggies coach Brent Guy said. “Leon is going to continue to get better and better.”

Meanwhile, Idaho quarterback Steven Wichman had the roughest outing of his short UI career.

He struggled with his reads and his accuracy, prompting coaches to consider inserting 2004 starter Michael Harrington.

“There are some things that need to be corrected,” Holt said. “He was getting down on himself. Talking to him, he was pushing the button too hard and not getting into the flow of the game – trying too hard, maybe. He knew he missed some things coming off (the field). He needs to play better and we need to coach better.”

Receiver Daniel Smith, who missed the second half against Hawaii with a concussion, is questionable. The patchwork offensive line remains thin, but tackle Nate VanderPol (knee) might see limited duty.

Conley, a backup quarterback, was practicing at safety Tuesday when he broke his right leg. The Vandals are short-handed at safety with Jevon Butler in Seattle following the death of his mother.

With punter Conley out, Michael Barrow, who handled punting and kicking chores last season, will return to double duty.

Utah State has been dangerous on punt and kick returns. Tony Pennyman raced 92 yards for a touchdown on a kick return against UNLV. Kevin Robinson returned two punts and one kick for TDs last year.

The Aggies and Vandals have a number of similarities.

It’s been a while since either had a .500 season or better – Idaho in 1999 and Utah State in 1997.

They both traveled the I-A backroads – USU was a I-A independent in 2001 and 2002 – before landing membership in the WAC.

Idaho lost 14-7 at Logan last year and beat the Aggies 20-13 at home in 2003.

Notes

There will be a moment of silence prior to the game for former Vandal linebacker Ron Linehan, who died last week at age 55, and the Utah State students and professor that died in a van accident Monday. The Aggies will wear a special decal with a yellow A on their helmets in remembrance of the victims.