Don’t Give Up Yet

Dear Vandal fans,

The Idaho Vandals are 6-2. Sure, they had a horrible game against Nevada. Giving up 70 points is never a good thing. Is that a reason to give up on the Vandals? No.

On Halloween, it is homecoming. Idaho versus Louisiana Tech. Kibbie  Dome. Tailgating. Parade. Pancake feed.  There is nothing like the homecoming traditions at the University of Idaho.

I am one of those fans who worry about the attendance. Vandal fans sometimes stop going to games when the team plays poorly. Idaho still has a great chance at going to a bowl game. Officially, they are bowl eligible, but one more win will seal the deal. Idaho has a great chance to pick up win number seven against Louisiana Tech.

To all those Vandal fans who are questioning the ability of this team or you haven’t gotten your butt to the Dome yet this season, GO. You won’t regret it.  The dome gets loud and crazy. Who wouldn’t want to see an exciting football team?

Why should you go? I go because I love the atmosphere and the team. Go because of guys like Max Komar, who was a walk-on and is having an outstanding season. Go because of Nate Enderle, who was thrown under the bus by many Vandal fans and questioned Akey for starting him as a freshman two years ago. Now, Enderle is having an amazing season, thanks to some great pass protection. And finally, go because of Robb Akey. He has turned the ship. How could you not root for this guy? He kicked off 18 players and paid the price with the NCAA. Akey has promoted a family-like atmosphere with the team and it has shown. The players have bought into the program, which was a problem in the past.

So Vandal fans, get to the Kibbie Dome. Bring your friends and family. Pick up some Vandal gear at the bookstore (or at the game). The Vandals are back and there are only three home games to see this great turnaround.

—jazzyidahovandal

Proving the naysayers wrong

The Vandals are now 4-1 on the season and have proved a lot of naysayers wrong, even the Idaho fan base.  My prediction was four wins, double from a year ago.

I’ve followed the Vandals for ten years. As a freshman in college in 1998, Idaho football was picked to be one of the worst teams in the nation. With guys like Joel Thomas, Mao Tosi, and John Welsh, the Vandals proved everyone wrong. I’ll never forget the 98 season, because they beat BSU at the end of the season with an exciting two point conversion and then went on the Humanitarian Bowl and beat Southern Miss. Idaho beat all expectations and ended the season with a 9-3 record.

I took two years off of school, and when I came back to Moscow in January of 2002, the Vandals were a completely different team. Tom Cable was now coaching, and Idaho was in a new conference, the Sun Belt. The 2002 season was an absolute trainwreck, just like the year before. Idaho won just one game in 2001 and two games in 2002. 2002 was a terrible year. Idaho lost to former I-AA foe Montana in the Kibbie Dome. I’ll never forget that game because their fans and team showed the Vandals up and it was embarrassing.

Idaho didn’t get any better in 2003. They lost to teams like Eastern Washington and Montana (again). Tom Cable was finally fired at the end of 2003. Nick Holt was hired and the Vandals were invited to the Western Athletic Conference.  There was a little bit of hope with Idaho fans. Wrong. He coached for just two seasons. Then Dennis Erickson came back a second time to lead the Vandals. That didn’t work out either. The Dik, the nickname given by Idaho fans, put the team into the ground.

The Vandal hopeful were in the dumps. What more could be done?
Opposing fans, some Idaho fans, and the media thought Idaho would be better off in the Big Sky Conference (I-AA) Hardcore fans (like me) and the athletic director knew Idaho belonged in the WAC.  We knew I-A football meant more advertising dollars, more television exposure, and opportunities for bowl games.

I’ll never forget the newspaper columns calling for Idaho to go back to the Big Sky. Other fans and I wrote strongly worded letters to the editor. The Big Sky comments haven’t gone away at all.

When Robb Akey was hired as head coach in 2007, Idaho fans were skeptical and didn’t expect much.  The team struggled with only one win in 2007 and two wins in 2008. Akey even kicked off nearly 20 players due to criminal activity, academic problems, or they just didn’t fit in with the team. Akey made sure to get rid of the bad apples and bring in good citizens.

The hardcore fans still went to the games (there wasn’t many of us), even though we knew they would struggle. Idaho was a very young team last year and the year before. The lack of depth hurt the team and had a hard time playing entire games.

I knew Idaho would get better if the same group of players stayed around. It takes time to build a football program, especially when Akey got rid of so many players when he he was hired.
Honestly, I thought it would take at least three years for the Vandals to be over .500.
So far this season, Idaho has proven the naysayers wrong. Even me. They are now 4-1, off to their best start since 1994.

Why are the Vandals so successful this year? It is the offensive line for sure. They are experienced and average a height of 6′4″ and a weight of 308.8 pounds. It doesn’t hurt to have Mike Iupati, a Rotary Lombardi candidate and possible NFL draft pick.

The play of quarterback Nathan Enderle is quite improved from a year ago. Last season, he struggled and so did the offensive line. He didn’t have much time to throw the ball at all. This year, he has all the time in the world, thanks to an experienced and healthy offensive line

Thanks to the pass protection, receivers like Max Komar and Eric Greenwood are getting open and getting key catches at the end of games.

And I can’t forget the running backs. A good running game has opened up the passing game for Idaho, which didn’t exist a year ago. Demaundray Woolridge, a transfer from Washington State University has played very well, and Princeton McCarty has had big yard gains.

What will the rest of the season bring for the Vandals? I predict three more wins and a bid to the Humanitarian Bowl. Who knows, maybe they will surprise everyone again and have just one loss before the Boise State game.

New blog

I must say I haven’t blogged in a really long time. Recently, I changed my blog location. I deleted my personal website because I didn’t want to pay for web hosting fees anymore. Since I hardly blog anymore, why keep it?

I would like to keep blogging though.

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