Busy bye for Idaho
Rivalry Week starts today for the Idaho football team.
The Vandals return to practice after four days off because they don’t play this weekend. Although the focus is mostly fundamentals, a few things will get accomplished with next week’s game at Boise State in mind.
“We should feel better going into the Boise game than we have the last few weeks,” coach Robb Akey said.
While the players rested, the coaches have been busy.
Most were on the recruiting trail. Offensive coordinator Steve Axman and defensive coordinator Mark Criner were getting a jump on game plans for the Broncos, and Akey was out showing Vandals fans how much he believes in his team, including a social function in Liberty Lake Friday night.
After falling to 1-9 with their eighth straight loss last weekend, Akey said, “I’ve got to make sure we beat bye. That means getting their bodies feeling good and we take care of the classroom and things like that.”
Although this Boise State game has been returned to Rivalry Week, Akey isn’t quite ready to declare the game the Broncos have won the last eight times a rivalry.
“That rivalry was an Idaho tradition – it went for about 13 years,” Akey said, referring to the 13 straight games the Vandals won from 1981-93. “It’s not a rivalry now. It’s a Boise State tradition. My first responsibility is to make that a rival game again and I’m excited about it. It’s on rival weekend again.
“We’re going to make that a big deal.”
Mailman delivers
Former NBA all-star Karl Malone, known during his playing days as “The Mailman,” is assisting the Louisiana Tech basketball team, which is a benefit to the football team.
“Any time you have an ambassador like Karl who supports your program it’s helpful,” Tech football coach Derek Dooley said. “Here’s a guy who is a Hall of Famer who started out in Ruston, La. It shows anybody who has that kind of ability can come here and have a tremendous experience, go on have a great professional career and come back and be proud of the university. That’s what Karl has done.”
Hawaii Patriots
Hawaii coach June Jones tuned in for last Sunday’s New England-Indianapolis showdown, but he probably thought he was watching Warriors game film when the Patriots had the ball.
“So, I find it interesting now when I turn on the game (New England) is running our offense,” Jones told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
As an NFL assistant and head coach, Jones said his teams never lost to Belichick’s.
“When I got my head job in Atlanta, he was the head coach at Cleveland,” Jones said. “We would go to Cleveland and spend two weeks there and practice against him. The reason he wanted to practice against us was because he couldn’t stop us and he kind of always wanted to know and watch how we did things.”
Backfields in motion
The game of the week pits Fresno State (6-3, 5-1 WAC) at Hawaii (8-0, 5-0), one of three undefeated teams in the nation. Both teams enter with key injuries at running back. Freshman Kealoha Pilares, who leads the Warriors with 294 rushing yards, sprained his knee three weeks ago.
“It’s really weak,” Pilares told the Honolulu Advertiser. “I can’t really make cuts.”
Fresno State rushes for an average of 197.2 yards, 24th in the nation, but Ryan Mathews sprained his ankle in last week’s win over Utah State.
Quick kicks
Louisiana Tech is hoping the No. 2 jinx continues. The Bulldogs are 36-point underdogs against No. 2 LSU on Saturday. Since Week 5, four No. 2s have lost – USC, Cal, South Florida and Boston College. … Hawaii’s last four games – Fresno State, Nevada, Boise State and Washington – will be televised on ESPN2. BSU has won nine straight TV games. … Utah State’s Kevin Robinson broke the school record for career all-purpose yardage last Saturday. His 6,058 yards eclipsed Emmett White’s 5,872. Robinson needs eight catches to surpass Kevin Curtis, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, and become USU’s all-time receptions leader.