When Paul Petrino came to coach Idaho football, one of the big things he wanted to accomplish during his tenure in Moscow was to win at home. He said he was here as an assistant when Idaho went on its last big home winning streak and he wants to continue the streak with him now at the helm.
Tony Marcolina | Argonaut
Wide receiver Dezmon Epps runs past defenders during practice Wednesday at the Kibbie Dome. The Vandals take on Texas State for Dads’ Weekend 2 p.m. Saturday in the Kibbie Dome. Epps’ 51 catches and 582 receiving yards lead a struggling Idaho football team.
Petrino and the Vandals will look to get that home winning streak started when they host the Texas State Bobcats Saturday at the Kibbie Dome for Dads’ Weekend.
But it has been a rough three weeks for the Vandals. They’ve had several players injured, including their top two quarterbacks as well as many other key players on both sides of the ball.
That means that guys need to step up like quarterbacks Taylor Davis and Matt Linehan. Even though Linehan is redshirting, Petrino is having him run with the first team offense during practice and Linehan has been signaling in plays on the sideline during games. His redshirt would have to be burned if he is to see playing time, though.
“(Linehan) took a lot of reps. He took reps with the ones last week too. If something happens, he’s got to be ready to go,” Petrino said.
The quarterbacks aren’t the only ones who have been stepping up. Many younger players are getting the opportunity to produce for the team such as wide receiver Deon Watson and cornerback Desmond Banks. Even with the flashes of improvement from the younger guys, the Vandals have only been able to win one game.
Offensive coordinator Kris Cinkovich doesn’t seem too worried, though. He still thinks the Vandals have a lot of potential.
“It’s a little slow right now, but I promise you next year we’re going to be flipping this whole town around,” Cinkovich said.
Last year, the Vandals met the Bobcats down in San Marcos, Texas and lost 38-7. Idaho was unable to stop the option offense Texas State was running.
The Bobcats lost quarterback Shawn Rutherford to graduation, who was very instrumental in the team’s option attack. Rutherford has been replaced this season by freshman Tyler Jones, who is also a duel-threat quarterback who can hold his own.
Jones has 594 yards through the air but more significantly, he ranks third on the team with 262 yards on the ground.
One of Texas State’s key wins was a 42-41 victory over the Wyoming Cowboys. The Vandals traveled to Wyoming earlier this season and lost 42-10 against that same Cowboys squad.
Idaho wants to come out and get redemption from last year’s loss against Texas State.
“It’s definitely motivation, they beat us by a good chunk last year, so we definitely want to come back and get a win at home,” Idaho wide receiver Najee Lovett said. “We got to start early. (The) past couple weeks we haven’t come out good, so I think we need to come out early and score some points and not wait to the end to kind of turn it up.”
The Vandals need to come out and get players like Lovett as well as wide receiver Dezmon Epps, running back Richard Montgomery and running back James Baker involved early if they want to be competitive. Texas State ranks No. 41 in the nation in points allowed. They only give up an average of 23 points per game.
Knowing the Bobcats are going to be a tough opponent, Lovett said the team still is gaining confidence, even when times are tough.
“The confidence is definitely there, even last week it was a blowout, we saw some good things,” Lovett said.
Rick Clark can be reached at [email protected]