Not by the numbers

By nearly every statistical measure, University of Idaho senior quarterback Steve Wichman is struggling this season.

He has four touchdown passes. He had four in one game last season. He has no 300-yard games. He had four with more than 340 yards last year. He has tossed twice as many interceptions as touchdowns. He was closer to a 1-to-1 ratio in 2005. His passer rating is down slightly compared to a year ago.

If this were fantasy football, he’d have been deactivated long ago. As it is, there was some clamor to make a quarterback change after Wichman struggled mightily against Oregon State last month.

Turns out a change within the quarterback is all that was necessary.

“That was the turning point of the season,” Wichman said. “That’s when I asked myself how I wanted to finish my senior year, how I wanted to finish for the underclassmen. Did I want to leave some type of leadership or any type of player they could look up to?”

Deep questions all. Thus far, Wichman has answered with a steady three-game stretch that has Idaho (4-3 overall, 3-0 WAC) thinking big entering Saturday’s showdown with Boise State (7-0, 3-0) at 2 in the Kibbie Dome.

“I know better than anyone numbers are overrated,” said BSU coach Chris Petersen, a reference to his oft-maligned quarterback Jared Zabransky. “And the one that matters is wins and losses. I’ve been impressed with that quarterback.”

Wichman’s statistics reflect a change in Idaho’s approach. The Vandals had nearly no running game last season, particularly after Jayson Bird was injured, but they’ve had some ground success this year. Idaho has been more mindful of clock management and field position – in part because of its improved defense. The Vandals have been in closer games or they’re protecting leads, which results in fewer passes.

“His numbers can be a little misleading,” quarterbacks coach Jonathan Smith said. “He had the one bad game at Oregon State – and it’s hard to play good at quarterback when nobody else is playing good on offense – but other than that he hasn’t had a multiple-interception game.

“We feel our best chance is to run the ball and manage the game. It’s given our defense longer breaks between series. It’s made Steve a little more solid.”

Wichman said his turnaround started with a post-Oregon State chat with head coach Dennis Erickson.

“Last year I played well when I was comfortable in the pocket,” said Wichman, a Tracy, Calif., native who played two years at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton. “The place I get into trouble is when I hurried myself. (Erickson) tried to instill confidence in me and he wanted to make sure I knew that I was still the starter. It wasn’t anything dramatic or too serious, just a little pep talk.”

Wichman, like many quarterbacks, has a gunslinger’s mentality and often tries to force passes into coverage.

“All quarterbacks are a little like that,” Erickson said. “He’d done that over a period of time and he did it a few times this year, but he knows what it takes for us to win. He’s been efficient. He’s cut down on his interceptions and he’s throwing the ball out of bounds when he needs to.”

Wichman had five games with multiple interceptions in 2005, including 12 in the final four games, but it was his costly fumble against BSU that probably stands out as a low point. The Vandals had fought back to tie the game at 21 in the third quarter. Wichman dropped back and was drilled by blitzing linebacker Colt Brooks. Austin Smith picked up Wichman’s fumble and ran 39 yards for a touchdown that triggered a five-TD eruption in 9 minutes. BSU won 70-35.

“They got me looking in the wrong spot,” Wichman said. “That was me being a young quarterback. I should have been looking over there knowing I had a hot route on that side.”

Wichman hasn’t made as many big plays this season, but he’s made substantially fewer mistakes.

“As I look back at last year we probably did too much for a first-year starting quarterback,” Jonathan Smith said. “I look at some of the things we were asking him to do and it wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t. Now he’s getting more comfortable and he’s running more in crucial situations.

“If you look at our three touchdowns against Louisiana Tech, he made two big passes to Max (Komar) by moving in the pocket and he ran for the third touchdown.”

As Idaho enters the meat of its WAC schedule, Wichman will be asked to do more.

Better opponents await, starting with Boise State’s WAC-leading defense, and Smith has noticed foes loading up to stop Idaho’s running game.

“Against Utah State his numbers were just average, but he played really solid,” Smith said. “He took pride in that. It’s getting ingrained in him that it gives us the best chance to win when he makes good decisions, but we’re going to have to make some plays in the passing game to win our next couple of games.”

Wichman said he “never felt this comfortable last year.” Some of that is his additional year of experience, some is Erickson’s influence and some is feeling more comfortable with his surroundings in Moscow.

Above all, Wichman is comfortable with the team’s surprising run of success in the WAC. Idaho is on a three-game winning streak for the first time since the middle of the 1999 season.

“We realize this game is huge for us, especially the seniors and returning players from last year,” he said. “This is what we play the game for.”