Idaho’s Wichman player of week

Well, there shouldn’t be any questions this week about who will be the University of Idaho’s starting quarterback.

Steven Wichman shined in his starting debut, completing 19 of 30 passes for 390 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-31 road loss to UNLV late Saturday night.

The performance earned Wichman, a junior college transfer from San Joaquin Delta in Stockton, Calif., the designation of being the first Vandal honored as the WAC offensive player of the week.

“He has a hell of an arm,” said head coach Nick Holt, whose team visits Washington on Saturday. “He can throw the ball and he’s accurate. He’s a leader and he’s competitive.”

All of which pretty much stands as a job description for a starting quarterback. Wichman came off the bench in Idaho’s season opener, a 38-26 loss to Washington State, and took every snap against UNLV. His performance didn’t crack Idaho’s top 15 single-game marks – that would have taken 409 yards – but it was the most by a Vandal since Brian Lindgren passed for 402 yards and 408, respectively, against North Texas and New Mexico State in back-to-back October games in 2003.

“No, it didn’t surprise us, but his being a gamer … he made some plays with people around him in the pocket,” said co-offensive coordinator Nate Kaczor. “We knew he had good pocket presence and knew he was fairly accurate throwing down the field, but I guess to see it to that degree was nice.”

Wichman was at ease throwing deeper passes, particularly in the middle of the field. UI receivers, aside from a couple of drops, made several nice catches in traffic and the running game, which lost starter Jayson Bird to a broken collarbone on the first series, still produced 100 yards.

“One, he’s capable of making those throws,” Kaczor said. “Two, if you study a lot of film of people throwing downfield, very seldom is the quarterback standing back there with nobody around him. When you run routes that are deeper, the protection is going to collapse to a certain extent. With his poise, it doesn’t bother him.

“He made a couple of nice intermediate throws so he can make those, too.”

And he’s just scratching the surface, coaches suggested.

“He realizes he can make plays and I think he has confidence in himself,” Kaczor said. “At the same time, he needs to remain hungry, very hungry, because there are a lot of things he can improve.”

Hawaii picks QB

Hawaii has a bye week to prepare for its WAC opener against Idaho in Moscow on Sept. 24. The Warriors have been throttled by a combined 74 points in losses to USC and Michigan State, respectively, but they’ve settled on a quarterback.

Sophomore Colt Brennan has been tabbed the starter over freshman Tyler Graunke. Brennan was 23 of 31 for 219 yards and two touchdowns against MSU. Both QBs have been battling injuries – Brennan a sprained right (throwing) shoulder; Graunke a sprained ankle.

Broncos rest up

Boise State, rebounding from its dreary opening loss to Georgia, led most of the way before bowing to Oregon State 30-27. It’s the first time BSU has started 0-2 since 2001, coach Dan Hawkins’ first season. The Broncos, who have a bye this week, have lost three straight games, dating back to the Liberty Bowl last season, for the first time since 1997.

“We try not to get caught up in the highs or lows; this crew hasn’t seen a lot of lows, and we try to focus on what we can control,” Hawkins said. “Nobody likes losing, especially these guys and the coach, but I think they understand that we have to play a little better and cleaner to win these types of games.”

Quarterback Jared Zabransky, who had six turnovers in the first half against Georgia, had an interception and a fumble, but he also threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns. He had 127 yards passing in the first quarter.

“He’s still not at the top of his game. I think he’d be the first to say that,” Hawkins said. “He’s a battler, a tough guy and a competitor and those are some of the things we love about him.”

Bulldogs-Ducks, take three

Fresno State visits Oregon in Autzen Stadium on Saturday for the third time in coach Pat Hill’s tenure. Oregon knocked off the Bulldogs 28-24 in 2002 and 43-40 in overtime in 1997.

“We enjoy playing these games; that was our deal when we got here,” Hill said. “It’s a great environment to play in.”

The Bulldogs will probably be without tackle Garrett McIntyre, the WAC preseason defensive player of the year, who has a high ankle sprain. Hill called McIntyre the “pulse” of the defense.

Notes

Fresno State’s Clifton Smith was the WAC special teams player of the week after returning two punts for touchdowns against Weber State. Three of his six career returns have gone for TDs. “This game there’s going to be different athletes coming down the field,” Hill said, “but he has the ability to take it to the house, as they say.” … New Mexico State linebacker Jimmy Cottrell had 19 tackles against Colorado to earn his second straight defensive player of the week honor. He leads the nation at 18.5 tackles per game… . San Jose State and Utah State join BSU and Hawaii with byes this week.