Pointed to Pocatello

The University of Michigan invades Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday to take on the Fighting Irish in a battle of two of college football’s most venerated programs.

Meanwhile, halfway across the country, former Michigan quarterback Matt Gutierrez will be quite content to lead Idaho State against the Idaho Vandals at the Kibbie Dome.

National championships won’t be at stake and the media contingent will be, oh, slightly smaller than the horde that descends on South Bend, Ind., but Gutierrez will be right where he wanted to be during his four years as a Wolverine: on the field.

“It was tough to leave

because you’re in a great, storied program and I loved it,” Gutierrez said. “It was an amazing experience. I made a lot of close friends in the community and the program, and you’ve also worked those four years to achieve something and be part of something.

“It was definitely hard to make the decision to leave, but in the end I felt it was the best thing to do. I wanted to play football my last year.”

He didn’t play much football at Michigan from 2002-2005. His career stats: 27 of 41 for 286 yards and one touchdown. He was expected to be the starter entering the 2004 season, but he was sidelined by a torn labrum in his right (throwing) shoulder. In 2005, he backed up Chad Henne, who remains the starter.

“I was happy, healthy and ready to play (last year),” Gutierrez said. “The opportunity never came.”

So Gutierrez set out to create an opportunity for himself. He researched programs at Eastern Washington, Texas State and Idaho State. EWU and ISU were his finalists, but he chose Pocatello.

“Idaho State had a lot of seniors coming back on both sides of the ball, and combined with the offense they run, and after speaking with the coaches, I felt it was the best place for me,” Gutierrez said. “I was really interested (in EWU) and I think they have a good program. It was nothing personal with the coaches or players, but I felt the situation here was better for me.”

It didn’t hurt that Idaho State head coach Larry Lewis played football with Joe Aliotti at Boise State in late 1970s. Aliotti is the dean of students and an assistant football coach at De La Salle High in Concord, Calif., where Gutierrez developed into a top prospect. Aliotti informed Lewis that Gutierrez was planning on transferring and wondered if ISU might be interested.

“Definitely,” Lewis said.

Upon arriving at ISU, a school press release hailed the 6-foot-4, 230-pound quarterback as perhaps the Bengals’ most highly decorated recruit.

That assertion was easy to support. Gutierrez ranked 96th on Rivals.com’s top 100 in 2002. Others on the list: No. 1 Vince Young, No. 2 Haloti Ngata, No. 36 Marcedes Lewis and No. 58 Kamerion Wimbley – all first-round picks in the 2006 NFL draft.

Gutierrez has thrown for 466 yards and two touchdowns for ISU, which lost 54-10 to UNLV and routed Fort Lewis 48-12.

“Without going too far, we haven’t had a quarterback since I’ve been here like him,” said Lewis, a Washington State assistant from 1989-98. “I think he fits into the guys we had at WSU. He’s different from those guys a little bit, but he’s a prototype quarterback that could make it in the NFL.”

Gutierrez’s presence has expanded Idaho State’s playbook.

“Last year we had to dial things back because we had a younger quarterback, but Matt brings a wealth of experience from a program that was very complicated offensively,” Lewis said. “He can get us in and out of things much faster than anybody we’ve had here.”

Gutierrez didn’t leave Michigan empty-handed. He will graduate from UM in December with a degree in general studies. The Big Ten school allows students to take their last 30 credits at another institution.

At ISU, it’s all “football and school,” Gutierrez said.

“The things I did know in making my decision to transfer – about the offense and the players here – have been right. I came in with an open mind, ready to work and it’s been a great experience,” he said.