Coach Miller's Career

[Alazius]

The University of Idaho is proud to announce the hiring of Scott Miller to be the new head coach of their football program. This comes as little surprise though, as most people suspected they were already in contact with a candidate when they suddenly fired their old coach. Miller is, however, a bit of a mystery, as he's never held a position higher than offensive coordinator, and that was on a Division 1AA school, UC Davis. He was at UC Davis for a while though, and Idaho must feel like he deserves a shot, reportedly giving him a contract worth more than a million dollars, a rather frightening thought considering some of the coaches they overlooked to hire him.

[Alazius]

Initial Thoughts Well, Idaho is a program on the rise, and both the alumni and myself believe that we can steadily improve. I'm worried about the low expectations on the team, and as to whether they are because of years of bad records, or merely because I'm a rookie head coach. Regardless of that, though, I will do my best to bring this program to glory and praise, both on the football field and in the classroom. To help accomplish that, I've spent a good amount of my budget on training staffs and tutors to help our kids. The majority of the remainder of my budget is going to recruiting, and we have a little stored up should hiring new coordinators become necessary. It likely will, though, because these guys are not good at developing players. We look to run the option on offense and the 3-3-5 on D.

[Alazius]

Positional Breakdown (And Depth Chart) Well, as a bottomdweller (with the 2nd easiest schedule in the land), we lack a great deal of talent, but what is there is greatly appreciated. QB: A relatively weak position, with no one that really stands out, especially when it comes to throwing the ball. 1. Nick Rock, Jr. 1.5/2.5; A fairly fast quarterback with good hands and decent running ability, the best thrower of the group. 2. James Lehr, So. 1.5/2.5; The best runner of this group of quarterbacks, also blessed with the strongest arm, not that that's saying much. He has trouble with accuracy though, and doesn't have Nick's hands. 3. Cade Covert, So. 1.0/2.0; Basically a clone of Nick, but with much worse hands, and an all around worse arm. HB: We have a solid starter, but lack really good depth. 1. Robert Elkins, Sr. 2.5; A very fast and disciplined runner, he lacks ideal power and has a bit of a fumbling problem, but should work out exceptionally well in the option, especially since he doesn't have the endurance or durability to be a 20 carry a game kind of back for the whole season. He's not very agile though, and lacks good acceleration. 2. Kevin Williams, (So.) 1.5/2.5; A fast runner with the best hands of this group. His speed can't compare to Robert's, but he's much more agile and has better acceleration. He can't power through defenders, but he should be able to get by some, even though he lacks running ability. Also our starting wingback. 3. Earl Brown, So. 1.5/2.5; A pure downhill runner, he lacks the speed to make it to the tackles, but has the ability, though not the strength, to get through defenders. FB: A weak position, and a concern as we hope to continue running the option. 1. Madre Samuels, So. 1.0/3.0; This guy has huge potential, but right now he can't get going and can't change direction. He'll hold on to the ball and can power through defenders, but he lacks discipline. 2. Richard Harris, (Fr.) 1.0/1.5; A lot like Madre, but slower, with a better ability to get going and better running instincts and route running, albeit with worse hands. He's also much weaker, the weakest of our fullbacks in fact. 3. Leon Carolan, Fr. 1.0/2.0; He's intelligent and disciplined, and he has a good work ethic. He also can jump and run block, but those are his only good qualities right now. WR: Weak right now, but with decent potential. 1. Jim Doran, Jr. 1.5/3.0; This tall (6'4") reciever has good hands and runs routes far better than anyone else on the team. He's a bit slow, but has good agility. 2. Tom Conklin, (Jr.) 1.5/2.0; Another tall (6'4") receiver, this one has good speed and agility, and can accelerate fairly well. While he can go up and get the ball, and has amazing instincts, his route running and hands leave many things to be desired. 3. Brian Curtis, Jr. 1.5/2.0; Continuing the trend of tall receivers, Brian is 6'5" and very disciplined. He's not as agile as Tom or Jim, but he's faster than Jim and runs better routes and catches better than Tom. A great 3rd receiver for us, he'll likely be seeing a lot of time spelling the starters. 4. Johnnie Hopkins, So. 1.0/2.5; The shortest of this group, he's 6'1", still nothing to worry about though. He has good speed and agility and while it takes a while for him to get started, he has decent hands and runs decent routes, meaning that he's a surprisingly talented 4 receiver for a 2 receiver offense. TE: The little used tight end position has a good freshman, but little else. 1. Jimmy Lucas, (Fr.) 1.5/2.5; Good hands, route running, agility and acceleration (for a tight end) place this 6'5" tight end at a high ranking in my book. He's strong, and while slow and bad at blocking, he has an amazing work ethic, and will likely see the field a bit more because of that. 2. Steve Harper, Sr. 1.0; He's more disciplined and intelligent than Jimmy. He's also a better blocker, but he's 5 inches shorter and much worse at the receiving aspect of the job. 3. Glenn Mitchell, (So.) 1.0/2.5; Similar to Steve, but with worse hands and strength. He's also leagues behind Jimmy. OT: A weak position, with 2 juniors starting and few decent backups. 1. Jesse Farrior, Jr. 1.5/2.5; An average blocker, with average strength and bad footwork, although he can handle occasional outside blitzers. 1. Izell Hill, Jr. 1.5; Our other starter is also an average blocker, with less strength and better footwork, though worse at handling fast outside rushers. 2. Charles Lee, (Fr.) 1.0/2.5; This beast topping 300 lbs isn't exceptionally strong, but he's a good run blocker and is decent in pass protection. He has great speed and acceleration for a 300 lb man, but has the agility you'd expect. 3. Terrell Osborne, Jr. 1.0/1.5; He's strong, with the worst footwork and blocking ability of the 4, he's the best after Lee. OG: Our strongest position on the line, with 2 good players and a small amount of depth. 1. Shaun Johnson, Sr. 2.5; A strong, durable, disciplined lineman, Shaun has good agility and above average blocking abilities. 1. Chris Nix, (So.) 2.5/4.5; Though weaker than Shaun, he has much better total footwork and is a much better blocker. 2. Joe Opara, Sr. 1.5; He's strong and has good footwork, but his below average blocking ability really holds him back. 3. Steve Saimes, So. 1.0/2.5; Weak, with decent footwork. He's not a particularly good blocker either. C: A position with potential, but not a great deal of starting ability right now. 1. Kareem Donahue, So. 1.5/3.5; While strong and an average blocker, he has bad footwork. 2. Ken Warner, Fr. 1.0/2.5; Also an average blocker, he's much weaker, while having only marginally better footwork. 3. Junior Grant, Fr. 1.0/2.0; Stronger than Ken, but the worst blocker of the group. Also with the worst footwork. DE: The most noticable of this defense's big uglies, with 2 out on the field at any given moment, they're not terrible at what they're supposed to do, stop the run. 1. Arnold Williams, (So.) 2.5; While his strength is not a strong point, he's a good pass rusher and tackler. He's average against the run, but has good speed and footwork. 1. Macey Hardy, Jr. 1.0/2.5; A big run stopper. He's a bit weaker than Arnold, but is similarly good at tackling. He's not gonna acquire many sacks in his career though. 2. Matt Allen, Jr. 1.0/1.5; A big guy who's not particularly good at stopping the run, nor pass rushing, nor is he very strong. He's a decent tackler though. DT: A strong starter and 2 weak backups is why we're in a 3 man front in the first place. 1. Rusty Dukes, Sr. 2.5; Obviously a failed boxer for Nintendo, Rusty is a strong, instinctual player that's good at tackling. He's also pretty good at both stopping the run and rushing the passer. 2. Byron Brown, (Fr.) 1.0/2.5; Another strong player, he's merely average at tackling, stuffing the run and rushing the passer. 3. Dwight Robinson, Fr. 1.0/1.5; Not particularly strong or good at stopping the run, he's a pretty good pass rusher. MLB: A weak position, but with good depth. 1. Chisom Brown, (Fr.) 1.0/3.5; A speedy, strong linebacker that's good in coverage, Chisom isn't a very good pass rusher, run stopper or tackler, but is good everywhere else. 2. Mercury Boyette, (So.) 1.5/2.0; A solid tackling pass rush expert, Mercury is a bit slower than Chisom, although he has good foot work and is good at stopping the run. 3. Leonard Swiney, Sr. 1.5; Strictly below average at everything, he's a good emergency player. OLB: The position with our best player, and likely our worst player as well. 1. Terrence Scott, (Jr.) 3.5; A very fast, strong pass rusher, Terrence also excels in coverage, stopping the run and tackling. He's undisciplined and lacks an ideal work ethic, but is by far our best player. 1. Harry McCareins, Sr. 1.0; A fast, weak pass rush specialist. He's not a good tackler, but is good in coverage and against the run. 2. Dorsett Lane, Sr. 1.0/2.0; This converted defensive end is fast with good strength and pass rush ability. He's a bad tackler, like Harry, but is good in coverage. He's not good against the run, though. 3. Reggie Dickinson, (Fr.) 1.0/1.5; He's slow and weak, and average in coverage and against the run. He's an average tackler, but he can't rush the passer. CB:Our strongest position alongside guard. 1. Corey Roberg, Sr. 2.5; Average speed, but great agility and acceleration. Weak and undisciplined, although average in coverage, with average hands and tackling ability. 2. Bryan Lary, Jr. 2.5; Slower, but stronger than Corey, he also is slightly less agile and worse at accelerating. He's better in coverage and at tackling though, and is much better at going up and getting the ball. 3. Scott Powell, Sr. 1.5; Average speed and coverage ability combined with bad agility and average acceleration make Scott a hard player to give much time to, but he's disciplined, has good instincts and can jump, so he'll be playing a bit. FS: Here and strong safety things get a little bit tricky, as I've mixed positions up without actually changing them. 1. Wilmont Ferguson, Sr. 2.0; He's very fast and good in coverage, but is a bad tackler. He's got good acceleration and agility, but lacks endurance. 2. SS Dave Carothers, Sr. 1.5; His speed, hands and instincts are his best assets, but he's a smart player and makes a good backup free safety. 3. Rod Wightkin, Fr. 1.0/1.5; A fast player, with below average coverage and hands, but with average tackling. SS: Again a bit mixed up. 1. FS Rod Wightkin, Fr. 1.0/1.5; His speed and tackling are near the top, and strong safeties don't have to be good at coverage, and he's above average for my group. 2. FS Lance Logan, Jr. 2.0/3.5; While he's agile, he's very slow and only an average tackler and average in coverage. He has good instincts but is best suited as a backup. 3. Chris Rasheed, Fr. 1.0; Agile, but very slow and bad in coverage. He's a good tackler, though. K: Horrible here. 1. Doug Vines, (So.) 1.0; Average kicking strength with below average accuracy and average kickoff length. He is very disciplined though, for what it's worth. 2. Nick Joyce, Sr. 1.0; Slightly more accurate than Doug, but with half the leg and worse at kickoffs. P: Not much better here. 1. Dee Kimbrough, So. 1.0/2.0; Average power, below average accuracy, but good instincts. 2. Nemiah Hayes, Fr. 1.0/1.5; His name is his best asset, and even that's not very good.

[Alazius]

Schedule and 1st Game Well, our schedule looks to be easy, with no big conference teams, but will likely end up with more than a few losses. Week 1: at Arkansas State Week 2: vs. Middle Tennessee State Week 3: vs. Florida International Week 4: vs. Hawaii Week 5: Bye Week 6: at Utah State Week 7: vs. Louisiana Tech Week 8: vs. Fresno State Week 9: Bye Week 10: vs. New Mexico State Week 11: at San Jose State Week 12: at Boise State Week 13: at Nevada Week 14: Bye Week 15: Bye Well it's our 1st week, and we play Arkansas State at their place. They're favored by 5. 1st Quarter: We start the game with a kickoff, and they get decent field position, their 28. They had a good drive going, but it stalled out in our territory, and their 46 yard field goal missed wide right. Conversely we go 3 and out, and then to add insult to injury, they run it back to 8 yards from where we punted. We manage to force a 3 and out though and get the ball at our 20. The first play from scrimmage we get to midfield though, as Rock bullets a pass out to Doran who gets a few yards after catch. Following a loss of 4 by Elkin and a false start penalty, Rock lobs the ball to Williams, who catches it and runs for 59 yards and the score. Idaho 7 - ASU 0 OLB Terrence Scott just made an amazing play. After he failed to sack the quarterback on the blitz, he made the tackle, and forced the fumble, of tight end Artis Mackenzie who caught it, and Chisom Brown recovered. They get it right back, though, as normally sure-handed Kevin Williams drops the ball. At the start of the drive, both their starting and backup quarterback go down, and neither looks like he'll return. Starter Joe Scibelli injured his finger, while backup Bill Beebe injured his shoulder. However, they give the ball to Lacy, their starting tailback and he takes it the distance. Idaho 7 - ASU 7 The quarter ends with an interception on their side of the field. 2nd Quarter We take a clock killing drive to their 9, and kick the field goal through. Idaho 10 - ASU 7 Terrence Scott then picks a ball off, giving us the ball at our 40. We make a drive, relying on passes on 3rd down to get us 1st downs, and eventually a touchdown. Idaho 17 - ASU 7 3rd Quarter After we punt the ball back to each other, Rock takes a run outside, and then fumbles where it's recovered by ASU. A few plays later, Lacy has a touchdown. Idaho 17 - ASU 14. Then our kick returner fumbles the ball and they get it at our 15. They miss a gimme field goal, but Rock quickly throws the ball away in an interception and they get it at midfield. 4th Quarter ASU gets a touchdown as it's miracle 3rd stringer continues to be very good, throwing the entire drive from his 10. Idaho 17 - ASU 21 Rock leads the Vandals back down the field, and hits tight end Jimmy Lucas for his first catch and touchdown of the game. Idaho 24 - ASU 21 The game ends as ASU tries to get another score. Final Score: Idaho 24 - Arkansas State 21 Well, it's always nice to start off the season 1-0, even if you're going up against a team that's not very good to do it. We can't really say that we're that good ourselves, and we'll be worse once the injury report roles in no doubt.

[Alazius]

Week 2 As was expected, the injury report brings bad news. Rusty Dukes is out for a few months, and Macey Hardy is questionable. He'll be in a reserve role, which leaves us pretty thin on the line, but it'll be better to let him get better than risk the injury getting worse. Our upcoming opponent is Middle Tennessee State, 0-1 coming off a loss to UCLA. We're the favorites, by 8 points, and considering that their best players are their 2 quarterbacks, their lines, and their corners, and none of them are very good, I'd say we've got a good chance if we just follow the gameplan of running the ball. Week 2: MTSU @ Idaho [B]Quarter 1[/B] The game starts out on a short kick by Marvin Brown, MTSU's kickoff specialist. It's returned by Lance Logan to the Idaho 41, but MTSU's flagged for piling on, giving Idaho the ball at MTSU's 44. It all amounts to nothing though, as Idaho fails to pick up a first down, even with a try on 4th down. Damon Lee gets a huge play to backup running back Brian Chapman, getting 45 yards on a screen pass. They fail to get anything afterwards, with Lee going 0 for 3, and Marvin Brown trots out to attempt the 40 yard field goal. It's in there to give the Blue Raiders a 3 point lead with over 10 minutes left to go in the quarter. [B]MTSU 3 - Idaho 0[/B] Brown kicks the ball to the endzone this time, and Wilmont Ferguson takes it out, and gets it to his own 16 before being brought down. The Vandals are really moving the ball with their running game, primarily due to senior Robert Elkins. After a 24 yard run by Elkins, Lehr makes his first attempt, and his lob is complete to Jim Doran for 43, setting up the Vandals at the Blue Raider 3 yard line. Fullback Madre Samuels receives the first carry inside the 5, and manages to pick up the touchdown with over 7 minutes left. [b]MTSU 3 - Idaho 7[/b] Doug Vines gets a great kickoff, getting it 2 yards deep in the endzone, and for some reason, Brian Chapman decides to bring it out, but only manages to get to his 7 before he's brought down. Lee quickly gets his team a first down, but fails to advance his team beyond their own 26, and they have to punt, which is fair caught. His defense attempts to make up for it, and after an offsides penalty, forces a 3 and out. Kimbrough boots it 43 yards to Fred Lusk, who returns it to his own 30, before Lance Logan hits him, knocking the ball free. It's a fumble, and it's recovered by backup linebacker Brendad Manoa of Idaho! After 2 short gains by Elkins, a handoff to Kevin Williams is called, but he loses 6, placing Idaho in the far field goal range, but Doug Vines is trotted onto the field anyway. He attempts the 50 yarder, it's long enough... But it's wide right. Lee starts out the drive with a 25 yard pass to Fred Lusk, no doubt trying to get confidence back in his slot receiver. The quarter ends with a screen play going 33 yards before being called back by a holding penalty. [B]2nd Quarter[/B] Matt Allen responds to giving up 2 huge plays by getting sacks on back-to-back plays. Lee then tries to scramble on the next play, and picks up good yardage, but doesn't get his team back into field goal range, and so they punt. McNabb gets it to Idaho's 7 before it bounces out of bounds. Nick Rock then comes out and completes a 14 yard pass to Jim Doran, getting Idaho out of the shadow of their own posts. The Vandals fail to move the ball any further though, and are forced to punt. Kimbrough hits a boomer, knocking it [I]54[/I] yards downfield, where Lusk returns it to his own 27. Idaho has a couple chances to get off the field early in the Blue Raider's drive, but fails to do so the Blue Raider's reach midfield, thanks to solid 3rd down running on the part of Middle Tennessee State. McNabb gets the punt down the Idaho's 16 yard line, and that's where Idaho will start from. Idaho manages to get a nice gain on first, but fails to gain another yard, resulting in yet another 3 and out in this surprisingly defensive first half. Kimbrough has a terrible punt though, not even getting it to midfield. They then manage to force a 3 and out from MTSU as Chapman can't get the running game started, and nose tackle Dwight Robinson brings down Damon Lee on 3rd down for a sack. Idaho gets the subsequent punt on their own 14. James Lehr comes out and attempts his second pass of the day, this one complete to Kevin Williams in the flat, who evades a linebacker and manages to take it 43 yards before being brought down. If he keeps this up, he may be forced to start, as that's 2 43 yard passes in 2 attempts this game. The Vandals fail to get another first down though, and are forced to punt. Kimbrough kicks a beauty though, as it's downed at the MTSU 6. The Blue Raiders drive starts off well, with a 10 yard pass in the flats. But it's jerky, with big gains being brought back by big penalties like tripping or offensive pass interference, and so they have to punt it back before even picking up a second first down. It is a good one, though, as McNabb boots it 43 yards to the Vandals 44 yard line. The Vandals start the drive with the ball on their own 44, with a minute and 15 seconds on the clock, up by 4, and with a clear shot to go up by 2 scores with little time left in the first half, and seeing as how they'll be kicking off to the Blue Raiders to start the second half anyway, they may as well go for it. They do, and Nick Rock gets a first down before they try a deep ball, and Tom Conklin has it! He has one man to beat, defensive end Tiki Beverly, but he loses it. Beverly knocked the ball out and jumped on it, that's a costly turnover right there. Fortunately for the Vandals, Lee just takes a knee to end the half. [B]3rd Quarter[/B] The 2nd half starts nicely for the Blue Raiders, with a 20 yard return to their own 31. They get a drive going nicely, until they get stopped just shy of a first down on 3rd and 4. McNabb then boots in into the crowd, giving the Vandals the ball at their own 20. Elkins starts the drive off poorly by losing yardage on his carry, and then drops by Kevin Williams and Jim Doran force a 3-and-out on Idaho. Kimbrough again fails to get it to midfield though, and the Blue Raiders take over with good field position. Lee hits Fred Lusk for a 48 yard strike to set the Blue Raiders up on the 1 yard line, and then Don Freitas stretches a run out and dives into the endzone for the score. [b]MTSU 10 - Idaho 7[/b] After a touchback, Nick Rock fires the ball to Jim Doran, who catches it for 13. That's as far as the Vandals get though, and they're forced to punt. Fred Lusk gets a 35 yard return on the 43 yard punt though, and Idaho might as well just go for it on all 4th downs if this is how they're going to punt and subsequently cover punts. A great play by Arnold Williams puts the Blue Raiders at midfield though, as Damon Lee is sacked for a 13 yard loss. After 2 plays fail to pick up a first down though, McNabb punts it and drops the ball inside the Vandals 5. The Vandals get started running the ball and are able to get a bit going before the well dries up and they're forced to punt again. Kimbrough again hits a 43 yarder, but this time it's downed. A series of 3 and outs results before Cory Roberg knocks the ball from Don Freitas' hands and Bryan Lary falls on it, giving Idaho the ball at the Blue Raider 35. The Vandals get 6 yards before they have to try a field goal, this time a 46 yarder. And it's wide left! All Doug Vines needs to do now is kick a kickoff out of bounds and he'll have the FSU hat trick. The quarter ends with Don Freitas fumbling away another MTSU possession though, as Terrance Scott forces and recovers the fumble. [b]4th Quarter[/b] Robert Elkins starts the quarter off with an 18 yard run to get his team to the 26. His team manages to pick up only 2 yards, and they again trot Doug Vines out there to kick a fairly long one. He makes the 42 yarder though, and the scored is tied up at 10 a piece. [b]MTSU 10 - Idaho 10[/b] The Blue Raiders start the drive at their own 27 after a good return, and immediately get off to a good start, picking up 11 on a play action pass. They go back to it, however, and a blitzing Dorsett Lane blows Damon Lee out of the water, causing a fumble in the process. Arnold Williams is there to jump on it and give Idaho the ball back at the Blue Raider 32. Nick Rock is sacked on the first play of the Vandals drive, however Rock gets the Raiders defense back as he zips a ball to tight end Jimmy Lucas for 20 yards, bringing the Vandals to the 10. The Vandals get all the way to the 4 yard line, but just can't punch it in and send Doug Vines out there to kick again. It's good, giving the Vandals their first lead since the 3rd Quarter. [b]MTSU 10 - Idaho 13[/b] The Raiders get another good return, all the way out to their own 28. The Vandals can't move the ball, with 2 incompletions and a run for no gain, and have to punt the ball away. The punt only gets 28 net yards though, thanks to a good return. James Lehr agains goes out to start the drive out with a short pass, a screen to Kevin Williams this time. It goes for 31 yards, making Lehr 3 for 4 with 117 yards on the day. A few plays later, Nick Rock drops back looking to pick up a few yards with a pass, but it's picked off! Jake Bishop, the Blue Raiders star defensive end plucked it right out of the air and managed to run a few yards with it. Damon Lee starts off the drive with a quick 7 yard out. The next play he's forced to make a quick pass attempt, but is knocked down as he's throwing, and he's still down, not a good sign for the Blue Raiders. The training staff's going out there, it doesn't look like he's gonna come back. It looked like it was something with his ankle. Karim Curtis comes out and he's gonna throw the ball. And it sails right into the arms of Idaho linebacker Terrance Scott, but wait, there's a flag down. Looks like it's pass interference on free safety Wilmont Ferguson. He then makes a great throw for 26 yards, and another for 19. A roughing the passer penalty on the latter of the 2 gave the Raiders the ball on the Vandals 4. Matt Allen comes in and sacks Curtis to give the Raiders the ball at where the LOS would have been. Curtis, obviously rattled by how little time he had last play, lobs up an easy one, but it's picked off by Rod Wightkin. There's no flags on the play, and Wightkin takes a knee to give his team the ball at their own 20. The Vandals manage to take 3 minutes off the clock before their luck runs out, and they punt the ball to the Raiders with just under a minute left on the clock. There's plenty of time for Curtis to break open a touchdown though, burning the Vandals for calling deep zone with the field full of defensive backs. [b]MTSU 17 - Idaho 13[/b] The Vandals can't do anything with the little time they have left on the clock, guaranteeing their first loss thanks to late game heroics by Karim Curtis. Of course, that's what they get for getting away from their defensive plan by calling a dime defense when they've been going with their 3-3-5 and Nickel against 4 receiver sets all day. [b]Final Score: Middle Tennessee State University 17 - Idaho 13[/b] At least one thing we can take away from this game is our new starting quarterback, James Lehr. Not because of the loss, but because Rock has been 10/26 in both games so far, and Lehr's been 6/7 total. Rock probably could have made those tosses, but Lehr's looked better leading the offense. Additionally, we're going to try a few games with Tom Conklin as our starting split end. Ultimately, though, the problem lies with my running backs not named Robert Elkins, as Kevin Williams has the best average of those guys, at 1.14. This warrants a complete depth chart mix around.

[Alazius]

Updated Depth Chart QB: James Lehr Nick Rock Cade Covert HB: Robert Elkins Kevin Williams Earl Brown FB: Madre Samuels/Richard Harris (They'll be splitting time) WR: Tom Conklin Jim Doran Brian Curtis HB Kevin Williams TE: Jimmy Lucas Steve Harper Glenn Mitchell OT: Jesse Farrior/Izell Hill Charles Lee Terrell Osborne OG: Shaun Johnson/Chris Nix Joe Opara Steve Saimes C: Kareem Donahue Ken Warner WB: Jimmy Lucas Kevin Williams Earl Brown DE: Arnold Williams/Matt Allen Macey Hardy Dwight Robinson DT: Byron Brown Dwight Robinson Macey Hardy MLB: Chisom Brown/Mercury Boyette (Splitting Time) Leonard Swiney OLB: Terrence Scott/Harry McCareins Dorsett Lane Reggie Dickinson CB: Cory Roberg/Bryan Lary Scott Powell Steve Floyd FS: Wilmont Ferguson SS Dave Carothers Rod Wightkin SS: FS Lance Logan Dave Carothers FS Rod Wightkin Chris Rasheed

[Alazius]

Well, coming into our 2nd home game, we're underdogs against a pretty good Florida International team. They've got a good tailback, split and tight end and a good quarterback offensively, and a pretty mediocre 4-3 defense led by their nose tackle and strong safety. Week 3: Florida International University Panthers at the University of Idaho Vandals [b]1st Quarter[/b] Doug Vines kicks the ball deep to Duane Edwards, the Panthers star tailback, and he decides to take it out. It quickly becomes obvious that it was a bad decision, as he's taken down around the 7 yard line. QB Zuriel Stewart gets them out of a bad situation with an 11 yard pass, but on the play Matt Allen is injured, and his return doesn't look likely. If it's serious, they may have to have one of their light linebackers play in a 3-point stance. The next play, 232 lb Mercury Boyette is out there in a 3 point stance next to 290 lb Byron Brown and 265 lb Arnold Williams. Mercury Boyette proves he can stand up to FIU's tackles though, as on 3rd down, he manages to pick up a sack of Stewart and forces a punt. And it's a beauty, going 57 yards before being downed. 1st and 10 at their own 19 for the Vandals. Elkins picks up 7 on his first carry of the game, and the Vandals get a few more carries before picking up a first down. Lehr gets 2 attempts, and completes 1 of them, to Madre Samuels for a first down. James Lehr tries a couple option plays after that, but the Vandals can't pick up another first down, and there's more bad news for them, as Izell Hill went down clutching his wrist, and it doesn't look like he's real likely to return either. They better start hoping that they didn't catch the injury bug for this game. Kimbrough gets a beauty of a 26 yard punt, and it's returned 3 yards to the Panthers' 33 yard line. The Panthers start out with a handoff to Calvin Braxton who manages to pick up a gain of 4 before being hit hard. He's still down though, and he's pointing to his chest, looks like it might be a sternum injury, and he's unlikely to return. The Panthers are able to drive to the Vandals' 35 though, before being forced to punt. The punt is quite good though, and the Vandals will be taking over with the ball at their own 3. Lehr goes back looking to throw the ball, and he spots an open Tom Conklin way downfield. He throws it up, and it's complete all the way down to the FIU 46, a 51 yard completion. Following a false start penalty, Lehr gets a couple opportunities to try and pick up a quick first down, and manages to pick it up on his second attempt, a 19 yard pass to Tom Conklin, who's been looking quite good as their split end. The Vandals then pick up another first down by rushing, and then Lehr completes an 11 yard pattern to Brian Curtis for his first catch of the season. Elkins picks up 6 on his carry, but a false start penalty puts the Vandals at the 9 with a second down, and Lehr tries to get another pass out to Brian Curtis, and it's complete again, this time for a touchdown! Vines misses the extra point, though, and the Vandals are only up by 6. [b]FIU 0 - Idaho 6[/b] Vines proceeds to kick it high and short, and the Panthers get a good return, getting the ball on the Vandals' 32. Follow that up with a 21 yard pass, and the Panthers have amazing field position. They get a touchdown out of it, and go up by one as the quarter ends. [b]FIU 7 - Idaho 6[/b] [b]2nd Quarter[/b] Darby's kick is good, and Hopkins takes it out of the endzone for very little, being brought down around his own 10. Lehr gets a 33 yarder to Jim Doran though, making up a lot field position. They fail to get much going after that and Kimbrough punts it out of the endzone. The Panthers get the ball to their own 44 before having to punt it back, and Carl Long gets a good return, and tack on an extra 15 yards due to Unnecessary Roughness, and the Vandals have the ball at their own 48. Chris Nix, one of the Vandals' guards goes down on the next play with some sort of thumb injury, and again his return is unlikely. Rock goes in and completes a pass to Jim Doran for 34 yards, giving the Vandals 1st & 10 on the 11. James Lehr then goes in and gets hit hard, he's pointing to his chest, and it looks like we have another injury to a sternum. He's probably not going to return from that, and so we'll likely have Nick Rock for the rest of the game. Rock can't do anything though, and Vines is forced to try a field goal, which is good. [b]FIU 7 - Idaho 9[/b] After a good return by Duane Edwards out to the 27, Mercury Boyette again leaves Zuriel Stewart in a heap on the turf from his down lineman spot. I think he may like rushing the passer a wee bit. Stewart quickly tosses a pass out for a 21 yard gain, effectively nullifying the sack. Stewart then drops back, and he's looking at Larry Carswell the entire way, and he looks wide open. Looks can be deceiving, as he's picked off by Wilmont Ferguson, he must not have recognized the zone. Chris Nix comes back onto the field, that's good, and the Vandals let Elkins carry the ball a few times to let the Panthers know that they can't stop the running game, but then they come out in a Pro Set, and it's a screen! Elkins takes the ball and makes a defender miss, but it pops loose! It looks like Idaho will recover, and Shaun Johnson's picked it up, and he's running with it. He gets the first down, but I can't imagine that they drew the play up that way but it's a very good play by the guard. Nick Rock comes out for his 3rd pass attempt and it's complete to Jim Doran, for 21 yards. It looks like James Lehr is warming up again, like he might be Rock's spell. The Vandals come out a Flexbone, and Rock tosses it out, and it's complete to their wingback, Jimmy Lucas and he gets 7 on the play. Immediately afterward, the Vandals try to run the ball a few times, and they lose big time yardage, and so they come out on 3rd and 18 with everyone in the world knowing that Nick Rock's going to throw. That doesn't mean that he can be stopped though, as he throw's a bullet right into Brian Curtis's net and he dives into the endzone for his second touchdown of the day. To prevent the Panthers from potentially getting momentum, the Vandals merely kick it through, and then Vines kicks it out of the endzone, giving Stewart and Edwards the ball at their own 20 with a minutes and 17 seconds left on the clock. Idaho's defense forces a 3 and out, and now they have the ball with 44 seconds left on their own 43. Idaho goes spread, and they get the ball out to Elkins, lined up as their 5th receiver, and he's wide open! He's going, and no one will even touch him as he goes in for his first touchdown of the season. Doug Vines goes out for the PAT and FIU fullback Steve Owens blocks his second extra point of the day! Doug Vines might need to get his confidence back after a second missed gimme. [b]FIU 7 - Idaho 22[/b] FIU chooses to just take a knee and goes into the half down by 15. [b]3rd Quarter[/b] Darby kicks it off, and it rolls into the endzone for a touchback, and the Vandals will have it at the 20. Rock hands it off to Elkins, and he's hit hard after a 3 yard gain, and he's coming off the field, it looks like he's holding his thumb. That's not good for this Vandals team, as they've not done a whole lot without Elkins on the field. Earl Brown does his best to alleviate his teammates' worries, taking a toss 15 yards before being pushed out of bounds. The offensive line seems to be blocking until the whistle blows now that they know they can't just rely on Elkins to pick up yardage on his own. They're blocking fairly well, but they can't block far beyond the line of scrimmage, and so the drive stumbles at the Panthers' 26. Doug Vines is trotted out to attempt the kick though, and the 44 yard attempt falls short. Duane Edwards and co. manage to quickly make a drive out the missed field goal, and he makes an 18 yard TD run look like child's play, and the 2 point conversion as well. [b]FIU 15 - Idaho 22[/b] Nick Rock gets the drive started with a 23 yard completion to Doran, and that propels them to several more completions, getting them all the way to the Panthers 30 before they even face a 3rd down. A pass to Jimmy Lucas gets them past that, and a pass to Richard Harris got them into the endzone. Joyce comes out for the extra point, and he knocks it through. [b]FIU 15 - Idaho 29[/b] Duane Edwards takes the kick out to his own 28, and then Rae Cunningham takes a run outside for a yard. Stewart manages to pick up a first down by running, but gets sacked the play immediately following it, and after a run for no gain, the Panthers face a 3rd and 15. Stewart isn't fazed though, and completes a 37 yarder to Ryan Everett to end the quarter. [b]4th Quarter[/b] Stewart is able to get them a little closer with a first down, but in the end, they're forced to try a 35 yard field goal, and it's good. [b]FIU 18 - Idaho 29[/b] Kevin Williams starts the drive off strong, getting runs of 22 and 19 yards on back-to-back plays. Rock then gets the ball to Doran for 18, and hits him again for 21 to get the touchdown without getting into the redzone. They managed to respond to a field goal with a touchdown in just over 2 minutes, this offense is [i]really[/i] clicking right now. [b]FIU 18 - Idaho 36[/b] The Vandals' defense quickly forces a 3 and out, and Carl Long returns the ball to his own 40. The Kevin Williams' show continues, as he gets another long run, this time for 23 yards to get him over the century mark on only his 17th carry. Following a few runs by Williams and Earl Brown, the Vandals are again threatening to score, with a 1st and goal at the 10. The Vandals run the ball 3 straight times, even after a false start pushes them out of easy running range, but they're forced to try a field goal, and Nick Joyce trots out to attempt it, and the 31 yarder is good. [b]FIU 18 - Idaho 39[/b] Duane Edwards gets the kick at his 10, and gets it all the way out to his 45, but wait, there's a flag. It looks like it's going to be unnecessary roughness on... kicker Doug Vines?!? He must want to be cut or something, as this has been some really poor play by him this game. Stewart gets a first down throwing the ball, but a false start and a sack neutralize a good 1st down run by Edwards immediately following. Stewarts then completes the 3rd down pass, but it's short and they trot out their kicker to try the 37 yarder, and it falls short. Idaho gets the ball and chooses to run out the clock, literally as FIU is trying to call timeouts and get the ball back. [b]Final Score: Florida International University 18 - University of Idaho 39[/b] Kevin Williams and Earl Brown really stepped up their play once Elkins got injured, and I hope they can keep it up if he's out for any amount of time. I really like what our distribution of plays was on this game, as we had 58 runs to only 26 pass attempts. Additionally, that passing was very efficient, as we had no picks and 5 touchdowns, and only 8 incompletions, as well as almost 400 yards through the air. Now the bad news of the injury report. James Lehr's sternum is cracked, but he'll be able to play. He'll be the backup for the upcoming game, while Robert Elkins' lacerated thumb will put him as our #3 back. Offensive linemen Izell Hill and Chris Nix are hampered by a subluxation of the wrist and a fractured thumb, respectively and so Nix will start while Hill won't be playing. Defensive linemen Matt Allen, Macey Hardy and Rusty Dukes will all be sitting out with their torn elbow cartilage, toe ligament and tricep, respectively. Because of defensive line injuries, Mercury Boyette will [i]start[/i] the game at defensive end, as he played admirably last game.

[Alazius]

Next in our schedule is Hawaii, against whom we're a huge 15 point underdog, and looking at their team, I can understand it. They're incredibly fast, and their starting outside backers are the 2nd and 3rd fastest players, at any position, that we'll have faced after the game. In addition to that, Hawaii has good tacklers and will be a tough team to move the ball against. However, their offense, while it has some of that speed, isn't as much of a threat as the defense. Their biggest threats are their split end and their backs, as all 3 are good, but as they run a heavy passing offense, it's unlilkely that we'll be seeing much of their tailback. University of Hawaii Warriors at University of Idaho Vandals [b]1st Quarter[/b] Doug Vines gets the game started with a kick 2 yards deep into the Warriors' endzone. Joe Rote takes the ball out to the Warriors 12 yard line, before he's hit hard by Chip Walter, and Joe fumbles the ball! It's recoved by Terrell Osborne of the Idaho Vandals, and he returns it to the 6. The Vandals can't get any closer than the 2 yard line, though, and they're forced to attempt a field goal. Joyce kicks the 25 yarder through. [b]Hawaii 0 - Idaho 3[/b] Joe Rote again gets the ball, but holds onto it this time. Hawaii rapidly loses yards enroute to a 3 and out, and Idaho gets thei ball at their own 48. Nick Rock gets the drive started with a 31 yard pass to Jimmy Lucas, then on 3rd and 8, hits Kevin Williams for 13. With the ball at the Hawaii 6, the Vandals hand the ball to Kevin Williams 3 straight times, and he gets in on the 3rd try. [b]Hawaii 0 - Idaho 10[/b] Doug Vines then gets a terrible kickoff, and is not helped out by a good return to the Idaho 45. Thankfully, there's a penalty on Hawaii, and they only get the ball on their own 45. The Hawaii QB gets a couple of completions, before they go to the running game, however, they fail to pick up a first down after they get into scoring range, and so they trot out Rich Cannady, who misses the 46 yarder. Kevin Williams then gets off to a good start, getting runs of 17 and 20 yards. However, as the Vandals fail to get any further, they're forced to punt it, obviously placing little trust in now backup kicker Doug Vines. Fred Linton gets the carry immediately afterwards, and he's off to the races, gaining 34 yards before the ball's knocked free by Terrence Scott. It's picked up by Dave Carothers, and he takes it 46 yards to the house. Joyce trots out there for the extra point, and it's blocked! [b]Hawaii 0 - Idaho 16[/b] Hawaii gets the ball, and rapidly goes 3 and out, however, one the Vandals have the ball, they go 3 and out as well. [b]2nd Quarter[/b] Hawaii looks like they're going to go 3 and out again, but on 3rd and 19, Harold Faison completes a 22 yard pass to Samari Johnson, however that's all they get, as they fail to pick up another first down, and have to punt it away. Idaho doesn't fair much better, also getting one first down before having to punt it away. However, Hawaii's special teams has the edge on Idaho's special teams, and Hawaii gets the ball at the Vandals' 42. Faison gets the drive started with a 26 yard pass to Don Williams, and he continues to go there, including for his 10 yard touchdown pass. [b]Hawaii 7 - Idaho 16[/b] Nick Rock and Kevin Williams help get the ball to midfield, before James Lehr comes on to spell Rock, and tosses a pass out to Jim Doran for 42 yards. They pick up a couple of yards here and there, and are faced with a 3rd and goal from the 3. Williams picks up 2, and it looks like they're going to go for it! They fail to pick up the yard needed for a touchdown, though, and turn it over to the Warriors. Hawaii can't move the ball though, and they go 3 and out. Nick Rock and Kevin Williams are again moving the ball, and get well into scoring position, before Nick Rock is intercepted by Joe Rote, who goes 94 yards for a touchdown. [b]Hawaii 14 - Idaho 16[/b] After getting the ball, the Vandals decide to just run out the clock, and get it down to 7 seconds left before they have to punt it away, however the Warriors don't do anything with the ball. [b]3rd Quarter[/b] The Vandals can't move the ball, and neither can the Warriors, as 3 consecutive 3 and outs occur before the Warriors get the first first down of the second half. Faison completes a couple passes, and gets the Warriors to the Vandals' 5 before completing a screen pass to Paul Warren for the touchdown. A screen pass to their tight end gives them 2. [b]Hawaii 22 - Idaho 16[/b] Johnnie Hopkins gets a great start, returning the ball all the way to the Idaho 47. Nick Rock then launches a ball deep, hitting Jim Doran for 53 yards and a touchdown. [b]Hawaii 22 - Idaho 23[/b] Don Williams gets a great return, getting all the way to the Idaho 47. However, Hawaii can't move the ball, and is forced to punt it away. Idaho gets it at the 5, and looks like it will go 3 and out, as Kevin Williams only 7 on a 3rd and 9 catch. However, pass interference is called on Terry Kennedy, a mere play after Joe Rote is forced to leave the game with what looks like it might be a broken platella. The Vandals can't move the ball any further, though, and are forced to punt. Faison and Lynch are able to get 3 first downs before having to attempt a field goal. Rich Cannady is good on the 37 yard field goal, giving Hawaii the lead. [b]Hawaii 25 - Idaho 23[/b] [b]4th Quarter[/b] Idaho gets the ball at their own 5 due to a bad decision by Johnnie Hopkins, but a 19 yard run by Kevin Williams gets them out of that situation. Rock then completes a pass to Tom Conklin for 15, however 3 straight losses leave the Vandals punting. Hawaii gets the ball at their own 41, and gets a nice 9 yard run on 1st down. Faison then steps back and throws the ball, right to Wilmont Ferguson, who takes it back to the Idaho 48. Williams gains 18 on a run, which is followed by a couple short gains, and a 19 yard completion to Brian Curtis on 3rd and 1, giving Idaho the ball on the 6. After 2 runs sets up 3rd and 2, Rock completes the ball to Jim Doran for the touchdown. They go for 2, and Rock completes the ball to Williams for the score. [b]Hawaii 25 - Idaho 31[/b] Jason Dennis returns the ball to the Hawaii 45, and a penalty gives Hawaii the ball at Idaho's 40. Lynch runs 5 yards, but then Faison throws 2 incomplete passes. This forces the Warriors to punt, and as it booms out of the endzone, it gives the Vandals decent field position. Williams starts off with a 13 yard run, but the Vandals follow that up with a couple short gains, and the second is costly, injuring Joe Opara. Immediately following that though, Rock completes a 54 yard pass to Brian Curtis. On back to back plays for little gain, though, Jim Doran and Richard Harris both go down with injuries. Joyce has to go out and kick the field goal, which is good. [b]Hawaii 25 - Idaho 34[/b] With little time left on the clock, Faison throws a 10 yard pass, and follows it up with a 3 yarder, but 3 straight incompletions gives the ball back to Idaho. Idaho goes with 3 straight runs before attempting a long field goal which falls well short. Hawaii attempts several deep passes, but the clock runs out before they can accomplish anything. [b]Final Score: University of Hawaii 25 - University of Idaho 34[/b] Well, it's very good to get our 3rd win this early in the season, and while it's disappointing to know that we were 1 defensive stop away from having 4 wins, we're still only 3 wins away from being bowl eligible, a strong step ahead regardless of what happens in further interconference play.