Previewing San Diego State’s Opponents: Idaho

In year two after Dennis Erickson's departure, Idaho is looking to rebound after a disappointing 1-11 season and finishing last in the WAC.  There is not too much too get excited about with Idaho—they have been one of the worst teams in all of college football.  The Vandals have not had any significant wins in their school history.

 

Offense

The Vandals do return all 11 offensive starters, so their offense should be better then last year.  They did score 21 points per game, which is a good thing to build on from last year.  With all eleven starters back, this offensive unit will be cohesive and just another year seasoned in Division I football.

Nathan Enderle was the starter in 2007 when he played in nine games, missing the other three after undergoing surgery on his throwing hand midway through the season.  Enderle completed only 44.3 percent of his throws and threw just 10 touchdowns to 18 interceptions.  Most of those miscues were due to inexperience between both the quarterback and the receivers.  However, this upcoming year they should be better overall. 

The team did score 21 per game, which is pretty good, but turnovers were a major reason they did not get more points.  The only real bright spots in last year’s miserable 1-11 season was the performance of then-redshirt freshman Deonte Jackson, who ran for 1,175 yards and seven touchdowns.

Jackson has a chance to be a playmaker in the WAC, and in a year with the Vandals always behind, getting 1,175 yards is quite impressive.  If the team can produce a more stable passing game while keeping games close, Jackson could see anywhere from 1,300 to 1,600 yards.

Receiving is the weakest point of this team.  They have solid tight ends, but the wideouts are young, and frankly, they were not good last year.  The top returning threat is senior tight end Eddie Williams, who caught 29 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns.  Williams also ran for 81 yards and three scores on nine carries.

This position is wide open, and any of the newcomers has a chance to make a big play.  It just depends who will be able to do that.

 

Defense

The defense was terrible: They gave up 36 points per game and ranked in the 100s out 119 I-A football teams.  The Vandals return fewer than half of their starters with five, but out of those, the defensive line and ends are where the strength will be this season.  The position is young, with multiple players only being sophomores for the upcoming season, but they did play a lot and have the experience.

The Vandals lost their four starters at linebacker last season, including the top two tacklers and three of the top six.  Nevertheless, the replacements have the potential to be better than that group, but they are all new starters who had limited playing time last year.

The defense has a lot of holes to fill and hope to improve from last year's performance, which should not be too hard.

 

Early Prediction

The Aztecs have no business losing to the Vandals, but weirder things have happened.  Look for San Diego State to win by two touchdowns.