Neither the offense nor defense won the day in the final scrimmage before the start of the season. Idaho head coach Paul Petrino said the scrimmage was good, but both sides of the ball needed to be more consistent.
The defense forced four interceptions and didn’t allow a touchdown for seven consecutive series. The offense scored 12 touchdowns and accumulated 849 total yards on 128 plays.
“We missed a couple open touchdowns and the defense got a couple stops and some interceptions, so I thought that was really good on their part — but we can’t be turning the ball over like that,” Petrino said. “Walking off the field, I would say it was pretty equal.”
After a spring in which the offense seemed to get the better part of the defense — equal shows that the team as a whole, not just the offense, has improved.
Stats from the scrimmage: Link
NOTES
Offense:
- Chad Chalich started with the first team, but Matt Linehan appeared to get more playing time. There is no official count, but Linehan finished with 11 more passes and five more rushes.
- The two quarterbacks had their good and bad moments — both finished with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
- It was Linehan, not Chalich, who used his legs to get out of trouble. He had a 24-yard touchdown run, along with two 15-yard runs.
- Finishing the scrimmage at quarterback was true freshman Jake Luton. He led the offense on two scoring drives, and completed five of his nine passes, for 65 yards and two touchdowns.
- Kris Olugbode made his case for the starting running back position. The senior racked up 158 yards on 13 carries, with two touchdowns.
- The offensive line struggled and allowed nine sacks, which is generous because the defense can’t touch the quarterback, so a lot of potential sacks weren’t called.
Defense:
- The line, linebackers and defensive backs have all taken major steps forward. The defense as a whole looks much improved, especially from where they were in the spring.
- For seven consecutive series the defense stopped the offense from scoring a touchdown.
- The defensive line had nine sacks, but like said before, it could have been a lot more.
- Defensive end Anthony Rice had a great day with four sacks and four tackles-for-loss.
- Chris Edwards, Jayshawn Jordan, Bradley Njoku and Marc Millan all had an interception.
QUOTES
Paul Petrino – Head Coach
On the quarterbacks
“They can’t turn the ball over and they can’t miss wide open touchdowns. We just got to keep getting better, we got two more weeks and we need to keep improving.”
On tight end Justin Podrabsky
“Anytime the tight end can make plays like that, it really helps the quarterbacks out because it’s kind of their safety valve. Him and Matt lit it up all the time last year in our Sunday night scrimmages, so I know Matt likes to go to him — and him and Chad had a good connection today, so it was good for both of them.”
On the four interceptions
“It was good to get those interceptions. We just can’t be throwing them, that’s for sure. “
On freshmen who might contribute this season
“Yeah he’ll (David Ungerer) play as a freshman. Most of our freshmen — (Aaron) Duckworth can play, Ungerer will play, Jordan Rose will play and hopefully Jake (Luton) doesn’t have to play, but Jake can really throw it and Dorian Clark is a really good player. I’m really happy with our freshmen.”
On Jordan Rose — true freshman offensive lineman
“He’s been playing a bunch with the ones. There’s a good chance he could end up being a starter. We like Jordan’s toughness and we like his competitiveness.”
Jayshawn Jordan – Junior Cornerback
On the interceptions
“That’s been our biggest goal all fall camp — is to get our hands on balls and create turnovers.”
On Safety Bradley Njoku and his versatility
“He’s a very versatile player. As far as him playing corner, it really helps us out a lot, because it gives us a lot more depth … It allows us to take some plays off and gets us rested — so he helps us a lot in the back end.”
On true freshman cornerback Dorian Clark
“He’s coming along well. He came in late because he came in the fall — kind of wish we had him all summer. But he’s been improving a lot everyday and he looks like he’s going to be a really great player for us.”
Quinton Bradley – Junior Defensive End
On the defensive lines performance
“We just had a good day … A lot of sacks did not get called today, but coach told me the offense still has to get work, so I understand that”
On the offensive line
“We gave them something to work on today. We really came out hard today and showed them that they need to play hard every play. We’re trying to make each other better, because when it all comes down to it, that’s our o-line.”
On not being able to hit the quarterbacks
“Yes, it’s very hard. I accidentally hit Matt’s arm today … It’s hard to stop, but we got to keep our quarterbacks healthy.”