|
|
 Idaho
Vandals of John L Smith and Dennis Erickson
Sep.
2. 3:30 pm.
East Lansing, MI.
Record/Rank: 4-7
2006
Schedule
| 9/2 |
at
Mich St |
L,
17-27
|
| 9/9 |
at
Wash St |
L,
10-56
|
| 9/16 |
IDAHO
ST |
W,
27-24
|
| 9/23 |
at
Oregon St |
L,
0-38
|
| 9/30 |
at
Utah St* |
W,
41-21
|
| 10/7 |
N
MEX ST* |
W,
28-20
|
| 10/14 |
at
La Tech* |
W,
24-14
|
| 10/21 |
BOISE
ST* |
L,
26-42
|
| 10/28 |
at
Hawaii* |
L,
10-68
|
| 11/4 |
NEVADA* |
L,
7-45
|
| 11/18 |
at
Fresno St* |
L,
0-34
|
| 11/25 |
SAN
JOSE ST* |
-
|
HOME
GAMES IN BOLD CAPS
* WAC Conference Game
ALL TIMES EASTERN |
2005
Results (2-9
overall)
| 9/1 |
at
Wash St |
L,
26-38
|
| 9/10 |
at
UNLV |
L,
31-34
|
| 9/17 |
at
Washgton |
L,
6-34
|
| 9/24 |
HAWAII* |
L,
0-24
|
| 10/1 |
UTAH
ST.* |
W,
27-13
|
| 10/8 |
at
Nevada* |
L,
14-62
|
| 10/22 |
FRESNO
ST* |
L,
10-40
|
| 10/29 |
at
N Mex St* |
W,
38-37 2ot
|
| 11/12 |
LA
TECH* |
L,
38-41
|
| 11/19 |
at
Boise St* |
L,
35-70
|
| 11/26 |
SAN
JOSE ST* |
L,
18-26
|
HOME
GAMES IN BOLD CAPS
* WAC Conference Game
ALL TIMES EASTERN |
Gamebreakers
Pos - # - Name (Yr.)
QB
- 8 - Steven Wichman (Sr.)
RB - 44 - Jayson Bird (So.)
RB
- Brian Flowers (Jr.)
WR - 19 - Wendell Octave (Sr.)
WR - 15 - Tracy Ford (So.)
WR - 3 - Matt Askew (Sr.)
LG - 50 - Jade Tadvick (Sr.)
OT - 68 - Nate VanderPol (Sr.)
DL - 91 - Siua Musika (Jr.)
LB - 17 - Robert Davis (Sr.)
LB - 31 - Josh Bousman (Jr.)
SS - 49 - DJ Dykes (Jr.)
CB - 6 - Stanley Franks (Jr.)
back
to top
Strengths/Weaknesses
OFFENSE:
9 returning starters
DEFENSE: 7 returning starters
Rating
Scale
(5 = strong, 1 = weak)
|
POSITION
|
RATING
|
|
OL
|
3
|
|
WR/TE
|
3
|
|
QB
|
3
|
|
RB
|
3
|
|
DL
|
2
|
|
LB
|
2
|
|
DB
|
2
|
|
K/P
|
2/2
|
|
K/P
RET
|
2
|
|
COACH
|
4
|
back
to top
History
vs. Idaho
first
meeting
back
to top
|
 The
Skinny on the Vandals 2006:
Phil
Steele: 101st nationally/6th WAC
Street & Smiths: 8th WAC
College FB News: 107th nation
Schedule Strength: 87th
Coach: Dennis Erickson (1st year Idaho, 145-56-1 overall)
Series: first meeting
Website: www.uiathletics.com
Factoids: Wow. We get to play JLS' alma mater. Whoopie.
At least this is the Idaho team that doesn't have a blue field. Moscow,
Idaho is also 2,500 ft above sea level and gets 48 inches of snow a year.
Best Player: Damn I spent a lot of time figuring this
out. So, I went to the Idaho boosters to see who they talk about the most.
It looks like OL Jade Tadvick is their best player, now that PK Mike Barrow
is out for the year with a torn ACL this summer (see biggest weakness
below). Besides, anyone named Jade who weighs 315 lbs, looks like an auto
mechanic and is majoring in "General Studies" gets the nod.
You could say the QB, but every senior QB in the WAC throws for a zillion
freaking yards and will still suck against a Big Ten team.
Best 2005 win: The double-OT win at New Mexico State,
just inches from the Mexico border (well, 30 miles anyways).
Worst 2005 loss: Anytime you give up 70 points, its your
worst game of the year. That was at Boise State.
2006
season clincher: If they can find a way to pull out a win at
Louisiana Tech on Oct 14, they may see their win total double to 4.
2006 biggest pitfall: Dennis Erickson is going to get
flogged with 100 lashings in Spartan stadium on Sept. 2. These boys are
out of their league.
2006 biggest creampuff(s): The other Spartans - San
Jose State, is rated #112 by Phil Steele, lower then themselves at #101....
Biggest weakness: PK. In mid-July, Idaho lost their All-American
kicker, Mike Barrow, to a torn ACL from a pick up basketball game at home.
Now, they rely on the scrubs to kick for them.
Biggest strength(s): Yet another high-falutin', gun-slinging
offense comes to East Lansing, which means we will see lots of passes
all game long in Spartan Stadium. These guys will throw 70 passes on September
2, no matter what the score is. Just watch.
 Chance
to win: Rating scale -
Besides the
fact I don't like Dennis Erickson, the reality is that this is a mismatch.
Idaho is out of their league here. They'll get a wake up call from MSU
and can learn from an offense run similarly, but with better players and
to perfection. MSU's defense is superior based on talent alone: it's just
a mid-tier Big Ten against a lower-tier Woosie Athletic Conference team.
No chance here for Idaho. If the Vandals stay within 2 TDs, the ES would
be shocked. On a hot day in East Lansing, watch MSU's offense sizzle against
a suspect Idaho defensive line -- Ringer should be able to duck and weave,
with the battering ram of Caulcrick able to roll over into paydirt time
and again. That will also open it up for Stanton to throw to his 6-foot-plus
talented and tall wideouts. It will be tough for an angry MSU team at
home to be kept below 50 points. Make it MSU 52, Idaho 14.... And, Idaho:
after you visit MSU, can you take Mr. Smith back with you? He'd make a
great Vandal mascot.
Projection: The problem with Idaho is simple: unless
you are from the potato state, who really gives a shit? This is a program
that fails to inspire much other than the occasional "underdog"
chance against the upper-tier WAC foes. The last time this team did anything
was under John L Smith... which says a lot since that joker has now taken
over the reigns at MSU. Thanks, Idahoans, we should have asked you first.
Anyhow, this year, Idaho has some experience and should be improved under
the new coach, Mr. DUI hisself, Dennis Erickson. He has the weapons on
offense to mix it up, and has enough WAC depth on defense to improve on
the poor records of recent years. Losing an All-America PK is tough, but
they should win three games at home (Idaho St, NMSU, SJSU), and maybe
steal a win or two on the road (La Tech, Utah St). Make it a 4-8 record
for the Vandals in 2006...
back
to top
2005
Statistics
| MSU |
OFFENSE |
VANDALS |
| 372 |
Points |
243 |
| 33.8 |
Points/Game |
22.1 |
| |
|
|
| 5470 |
Total
Yards |
3692 |
| 497.3 |
Total
Yards/Game |
335.6 |
| |
|
|
| 2220 |
Rush
Yards |
862 |
| 201.8 |
Rush
Yds/Game |
78.4 |
| 453-4.9 |
Attempts
- Avg. |
350-2.5 |
| |
|
|
| 3250 |
Pass
Yards |
2830 |
| 295.5 |
Pass
Yds/Game |
257.3 |
| 381-252-13 |
Att-Comp-Int |
423-239-19 |
| 66.1% |
Comp
% |
56.5% |
| |
|
|
| -1 |
Turnover
Ratio |
-6 |
| |
|
|
| 68-534 |
Penalties
- Yds |
95-864 |
| |
|
|
| 284 |
1st
Downs |
203 |
| 25.8 |
1st
Downs/Game |
18.5 |
| |
|
|
| 69-146 |
3rd
Down Conv. |
59-172 |
| 47% |
3rd
Down % |
34% |
| |
|
|
| 5-16 |
FG
- FGA |
16-19 |
| MSU |
DEFENSE |
VANDALS |
| 316 |
Points |
419 |
| 28.7 |
Points/Game |
38.1 |
| |
|
|
| 4505 |
Total
Yards |
4631 |
| 409.5 |
Total
Yards/Game |
421.0 |
| |
|
|
| 1811 |
Rush
Yards |
2016 |
| 164.6 |
Rush
Yds/Game |
183.3 |
| 453-4.9 |
Attempts
- Avg. |
417-4.8 |
| |
|
|
| 2694 |
Pass
Yards |
2615 |
| 244.9 |
Pass
Yds/Game |
237.7 |
| 378-229-8 |
Att-Comp-Int |
346-206-13 |
| 60.6% |
Comp
% |
59.5% |
| |
|
|
| 58-478 |
Penalties
- Yds |
94-801 |
| |
|
|
| 238 |
1st
Downs |
230 |
| 21.6 |
1st
Downs/Game |
20.9 |
| |
|
|
| 67-150 |
3rd
Down Conv. |
60-153 |
| 45% |
3rd
Down % |
39% |
| |
|
|
| 5-9 |
FG
- FGA |
12-19 |
Score
by Quarters
| Team |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
OT |
Total |
| Idaho |
40 |
63 |
46 |
86 |
8 |
243 |
| Opp |
79 |
114 |
110 |
109 |
7 |
419 |
| MSU |
105 |
114 |
73 |
74 |
6 |
372 |
| Opp |
68 |
89 |
63 |
90 |
6 |
316 |
|
