Vandals, Bulldogs set to clash

Week 4 of the college football season, and this should be the biggest crowd of the year so far to see the Idaho football team. There’s little doubt about that, after just over half the Dome was full for the first two games of the year.

Read below for more on the Vandals’ encounter with Fresno State (2 p.m., WAC Network).

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My preview of the game is here . It’s Dad’s Weekend at Idaho, and already the streets and downtown are busier than usual. That’s one of the reasons to expect a larger crowd for the game. But there are others.

It’s also the WAC opener for both teams, and it’s the last time Fresno will play the Vandals as a member of the same conference. Next year the Bulldogs will be off to the Mountain West.

The Vandals have yet to beat Fresno since joining the WAC in 2005. But this probably is the best opportunity. FSU is starting a first-year QB in Derek Carr (the brother of David Carr, former FSU great and NFL top pick) and it’s struggled giving up big plays this season.

But are the Vandals capable of getting big chunks of offense at a time? So far this year, they haven’t shown consistency passing down the field or breaking through on the ground.

With all the injuries Fresno has suffered in the secondary, particularly at safety, I’m guessing offensive coordinator Steve Axman will take some shots deep early in the game. (If you’re curious, through three weeks the biggest pass play for Idaho has been a 51-yarder in the opener on a double pass from third-string QB Logan Bushnell to Mike Scott.)

I asked Robb Akey about Fresno’s secondary and what it means for the Vandals’ game plan. “Well, you hope that would bode well for us,” he said. “Guys are starters for a reason. But they’re a well-coached football team and they’ve got talented players. Guys they are going to bring in are going to be talented. You would hope those things would work to our advantage, and at the same time we’ve got to be more effective running the football. And we need our throw hits to be effective.”

Another key thing to watch : Can the Vandals get pressure on Carr from their defensive linemen? UI still has no sacks from its defensive ends this year and only two overall (from Michael Cosgrove and Tre’Shawn Robinson).

Defensive end Andre Ferguson, who played well last week, said Idaho’s defense has been “subpar” so far. The inconsistency of the D-line has been especially vexing. “It’s been very, very frustrating for the D-line to get going. Off of spring ball and summer and all that we’ve worked for, to see it not pay off has been very frustrating. So that’s kind of lighting a fire under our butts to tell us we’ve got to get after this game to make it happen. So I’m excited.”

Ferguson saw some snaps with the first-team defense in practice and could see more time with Benson Mayowa not producing at rush end so far. Ferguson is a fifth-year senior who has watched his role ebb and flow the last few years. But he stood out to Akey last week. Does that mean more playing time?

“I definitely feel that me just sticking to the right assignments and less mental errors and just doing my job will definitely help me get more playing time,” Ferguson said. “I’ll definitely be happy when that happens. … Benson is also a great player, so I can’t take anything away from him. But at the same time, it’s a good battle because he makes me better.”

One last key : Can the Vandals at least slow down rugged tailback Robbie Rouse? He was hurt last year when FSU came back to beat Idaho, but he still had 83 yards — and he’s second in the WAC this year in rushing.

“It’s going to be a necessity this week with Fresno,” Akey said. “That’s their attitude anyways — they are going to run the ball. They are a physical team. They’ve got a talented running back and they’ve got some depth there. So that’s going to be critically important to this week’s ballgame. And then they’ve still got some speed on the outside too. That’s what they do — they go bang, bang, bang and then they try to take the home run shots. They hit a couple of those against Nebraska.”

You can follow me on Twitter throughout today’s game: @SR_JoshWright .