Saving Idaho From The FCS: NCAA ‘14 Dynasty

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Around The NCAA

Week 2 Action

A good amount of the top 25 are on a bye. But here are the scores of the top 10 teams who played:

#3 Oklahoma 31, West Virginia 14

#4 Ohio State 35, San Diego State 7

#5 LSU 33, Northwestern 3

#7 Florida 27, Pittsburgh 10

#8 Notre Dame 35, Purdue 34

#9 Texas 56, BYU 10

#10 Georgia 27, South Carolina 7

Next week will have some great action at the top, as #1 Clemson faces #25 Miami and #2 Alabama takes on #12 Texas A&M.

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Recruiting Update:

Lucky for us, there are a lot of good guys in the trenches who we have a great shot of recruiting. Even some skill position players are interested in helping build this program. Here are the highlight players that we may have as Vandals in the future:

Travis Rawlins ⭐️⭐️⭐️
OT / 6’5” 266 lbs / Port Angeles, WA

A top 50 tackle in the country, Idaho was at the top of this kid’s list. He would like to stay close to home and he also likes his chances of starting immediately. His specialty is run blocking and he was knocking over defenders on three different levels in the first game of this high school season. He would be the cornerstone of our running attack for years to come if we landed him.

Everett Murray ⭐️⭐️⭐️
G / 6’4” 284 lbs / American Falls, ID

Everett is great on the interior, especially in the run game. He likes his chances of playing early here and knows coach Fitz well as do most players from Idaho. He said he’s curious to see that fire from the other side.

Matt Hughes ⭐️⭐️⭐️
DT / 6’5” 297 lbs / Lakeland North, WA

We wanted run stoppers in the middle, well now we’ve got our sights set on one. Matt has us second on his list, but it looks like we’re winning him over from Wazzu due to the playing time he’ll get here. Coach Leach seems to put all of his resources and energy into quarterbacks and receivers, and we’re playing right into that with our recruiting pitches.

Wesley Martin ⭐️⭐️⭐️
DT / 5’ 11” 288 lbs / Greenville, OH

Wesley wants to play, and this destination almost guarantees that to happen. This kid can play the run, but isn’t a terribly bad pass rusher as well. He’s built like a block and will eat up space more than anything. We’re pretty much a lock with him.

Paul Birch ⭐️⭐️
DE / 6’5” 248 lbs / Shelbyville, TN

Paul requested a brochure from us last year, so we thought we’d go down to Tennessee and check this kid out just in case. Turns out, the Kibbie Dome is a draw for him. He thinks it would be cool to play in this dome, much to our excitement. Plus, he’s explosive off the edge. He can be a really good fit for our defense.

Cedrick Bryant ⭐️⭐️
DE / 6’4” 256 lbs / Del City, OK

This guy would be a JUCO transfer and he is interested in playing time as well. That’s the one advantage we have here - playing time. He’s a little more polished than Birch, so we would have our pass rushers set for the next couple years if we signed both of them.

Kenyon Rhodes ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Athlete / 6’4 213 lbs / Beverly Hills, CA

This kid is talented! He could do many things, but projects to be a receiver. It looks like he could be a diva, and he seems to want to come to Moscow to be a big fish in a small pond. As long as we can figure out a way to feed him the ball, he could be a star for us.

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By Tex Colorado September 13, 2019 7:01pm

Since it’s the bye week, I thought it would be a good time to showcase this interview I had with Vandals #3 wide receiver and unsung hero Cutrell Haywood. From Stockton, CA, this ever-dependable guy in the slot promises to produce results on the field - next year.

Colorado: What brought you to Idaho from the Golden State?

Haywood: Well, Coach Petrino promised that I would get some good playing time and be the future of the Idaho receiving corps, but then we got a new coach and we don’t pass that often, but I think after Jeff [Cotton] and Jante [Boston] graduate, that puts me in the driver’s seat to shine.

Colorado: Do you still think it’ll be enough being the #1 on the team, given Coach Fitz’s reluctance to pass the ball?

Haywood: Coach just needs to see improvement from our receivers. It’s really on us since we’ve dropped so many passes in practice and in games. But I’m going to work hard and step up into that leadership role, and prove that we can catch footballs.

Colorado: That was an impressive win in week 1 against a better North Texas team. But then you guys laid an egg against Temple. Is this team more like what we saw in week 1 or 2?

Haywood: We’re definitely not that week 2 team. We just need to believe in ourselves and more wins will come.

Colorado: Let me rephrase that. What’s the identity of the 2019 Idaho Vandals?

Haywood:

Colorado:

Haywood:

Colorado:

Literally no one:

Haywood: Exactly.

So there you have it. Cutrell Haywood with a tight-lipped approach on how he sees this season playing out. Obviously coached by the mysterious Pat Fitzkennedy, in more ways than one.

[Deuce2223]

I use to live in Lewiston Idaho for 3 years and through my work I had season tickets to both Washington State Football and Basketball and Idaho Football and Basketball games.

So funny story, not sure if they still do this but I am sure they have to as bad as their team is. You get 2 free beers in the Beer Garden when you show them your ticket because even the school knows you got to have some drinks in ya in order to watch Idaho Football. Most of the time by half time the team is losing so bad that fans leave to go back outside to get more beer that they just never come back.

[OBinKC]

Quote: Originally Posted by Deuce2223

I use to live in Lewiston Idaho for 3 years and through my work I had season tickets to both Washington State Football and Basketball and Idaho Football and Basketball games. So funny story, not sure if they still do this but I am sure they have to as bad as their team is. You get 2 free beers in the Beer Garden when you show them your ticket because even the school knows you got to have some drinks in ya in order to watch Idaho Football. Most of the time by half time the team is losing so bad that fans leave to go back outside to get more beer that they just never come back.

Haha, that's hilarious! I know nothing about the area, so I love hearing stories to make me feel more connected to this story!

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Around The NCAA


Idaho had a bye this week, but there was plenty of action on display in the top 25. Here are the more notable games.


#1 Clemson kept their top spot by defeating the Miami Hurricanes 30-24. Trevor Lawrence looked kinda shaky this week, but it’s too early to tell if he will have a sophomore slump.


Texas A&M took down Alabama 35-24, knocking the Crimson Tide to #8 while the Aggies jumped to #7. A loss this early for Alabama spells certain trouble and it will be an uphill battle for them.


Michigan climbs to #3 with their 34-24 win at Notre Dame, who will now fall to #12.


Kent State shocked LSU with a 20-17 win, knocking the Tigers down to #18. The SEC is really being shaken up so far this season.


UCF defeated Penn State 27-16. Josh Heupel and Co. are definitely for real. The Knights move up to #11 while Penn State drops to #16.


Mississippi State cracks the rankings with a win against Auburn. That puts the Bulldogs at #21 and Auburn at #22.

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Matchup Preview | September 21, 2019
	@
Idaho Vandals (1-1, 1-0 Away)		Washington State Cougars (1-2, 1-0 Home)

The Battle of The Palouse is the name of the football rivalry between Washington State and Idaho which began in 1894. The two schools are eight miles apart and share this common region in the Northwest United States, so the rivalry was natural. Washington State leads the series 72-16-3, and won their last meeting in 2016 by a score of 56-6.


“We know it’s a rivalry that dates way back and all this history and the area and we respect that”, said Cougars head coach Mike Leach. “But at the end of the day, we have a football game to win and we’re not going to get caught up in the hype. We’re going to take care of business and move on to the next opponent.”


Things weren’t taken so non-chalantly on the other side of the aisle.


“This isn’t just a game, do you not understand??”, said a fired up Pat Fitzkennedy, Idaho’s head coach. “I know the importance of taking the Palouse! My father used to take me out to the loess hills when I was a kid and I hold this area near and dear to my heart!! I will be damned if we don’t leave everything out on the field Saturday!! THIS IS OUR PALOUSE!!!”


He then stormed out of the press room.



Washington State comes off of a 52-3 win against Cal Poly.

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Dezmon Patmon catches his school record breaking fourth touchdown in the game.



Hardly A Rival
Washington State routs Idaho, 49-10
by kyler kiwalski September 21, 2019 10:00pm


Pullman, WA -- The Battle of the Palouse wasn't really a battle at all. The Washington State Cougars struck early and struck at will on the way to a 49-10 victory against the Idaho Vandals. While the Cougs have many reasons to celebrate, the Vandals have suffered quite a few setbacks including a safety who may be out for the year and a meltdown from the Idaho coaching staff.


Idaho started the game with bad luck from the start. Returning the kickoff, senior Jeff Cotton went down with a bad wrist injury and wouldn't return to the game. But sticking to their run-first, run-often, and just run offense, the Vandals showed great ball control and a steady drive down the field. That is, until Idaho running back Khalil Forehand fumbled the ball at Washington State’s 20 yard line. This gave Wazzu the ball and they scored quickly and convincingly when quarterback Anthony Gordon found receiver Dezmon Patmon in the end zone to draw first blood. Patmon would end the day with 4 touchdown catches and set their school's record for receiving touchdowns in a game. He also ended up with 151 yards on 7 catches, averaging 21 yards a reception.


Idaho went on a very similar drive to their first one in retaliation, but were held to a field goal, making the score 7-3. That would be the closest the Vandals would get to taking the lead as the Cougars scored often with little resistance. They closed out the half leading 35-3.


In the second half, Idaho tightened up on the defense, but still had trouble getting into the end zone. They finally found the end zone when running back Roshaun Johnson came in for Forehand - who was injured in the third quarter and wouldn't return - and ran it in for a touchdown. But the most entertaining part of the day was when Vandals offensive coordinator Kris Cinkovich was spotted on the sidelines in a heated argument with head coach Pat Fitzkennedy. Cinkovich started the game in the booth, but it seemed that the argument got so intense that he had to get in Fitz's face. Rumors have circled that Cinkovich is not happy with Fitzkennedy's decision to keep the offense vanilla.



"Yes, we were fired up", said Fitzkennedy. "But this will get fixed and we'll be that much better for it."


He declined to comment further on the incident. But he did have words for Wazzu.


"I'd like to challenge them to a rematch out in the parking lot!" Fitz yelled. "We already have their number and things are going to be different the next time we play!"



The Cougs' Gordon finished 26 of 32 with 421 yards and six touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown on a read option.


Vandals quarterback Mason Petrino went 11 for 20 with 105 yards and two interceptions. Forehand ended with 88 yards and Johnson ended with 58 yards and the touchdown.



But the big news with Idaho is that Satchel Escalante went down and needed to be carted off of the field. We will know more after x-rays, but it is a collarbone injury and it could be broken.



Idaho (1-2) faces Northern Illinois next week in the Kibbie Dome.