Idaho Vandals

OUCH! Cougers defeat Vandals 49-46

Game Report Posted: December 17, 2008 23:54  

This one hurt. Bad.

"You know, I've been going through this thing with the attitude that pretty much any loss is OK... I'll shake off losses and really build this thing up slowly; that's the ultimate goal... But this one hurts more than any loss we've had going through this thing."

One of the reasons it hurt so bad for the Vandals was that the #1 recruit in the nation was rumored to be onhand.

"Yeah, we had the #1 recruit in the nation visiting and he had us at #2 on his list behind Boise State. This kid is one hell of a player, easily the most talented the state of Idaho has had to offer for a long, long time."

This followed the same pattern as many of the losses the Vandals have experienced throughout this dynasty: they were in control and keeping the game managable early, blew up for awhile and couldn't get a stop, then mounted a comeback that came up just a bit short.

"I don't know about this, we're 0-2 now and we have some games to win, we're certainly not ahead of the season's chains so to speak. We really need to keep our 3-star prestige and try to move up to #3 or 4 in the conference by the end of this year."

I guess Vandal nation (or rather, Vandal Village) will have just have to wait and see what happens against Hawaii next weekend. The Vandals have yet to beat Hawaii during this dynasty, but they do have a slighter more talented team than this year's Warriors and get to host the high-flying hula boys in the Kibbie Dome...

Vandals top Warriors for first time under Guru 35-31

October 9, 2011

Game Report Posted: December 18, 2008 20:24  

A game full of fireworks ended when Idaho CB Andy Floyd (sophomore) picked off a Hawaii pass with a little over 30 seconds left in the game.

"Oh it was one hell of a game, we needed to get this one big time. If nothing else for the sake of our kids' confidence, we need to feel like we can beat anybody, and we finally beat Hawaii today."

Coach Guru's fiery leadership could be sidelines throughout the entirety of the game, with plenty of instances that showcased some great restraint to resist smashing his headset (read: controller) into the ground.

"It was one of those games we really should have dominated, but couldn't close out. Hawaii kept fighting back."

In fact, it was the Vandals who needed to fight back in the end, trailing 31-28 with a little over two minutes to go.

"I told Nick (Foles) that this was gonna be his moment, this was gonna be the beginning of what would define his college career. This is the beginning of our run, now go do it. And you all saw what happened, our kids made plays. I couldn't be more proud of those kids."

Nick Foles and the Vandal offense took the field at their own 19 and began to work their way towards the endzone with short, controlled passes until Foles hit star fullback Dwayne Dodds streaking down the sideline for the 61 yard go-ahead touchdown.

There was only one problem: that left Hawaii 1:07 to make their own comeback story.

Hawaii robo-QB'd their way to the Vandal 34 until sophomore CB Andy Floyd shut down the Warriors for good.

"I made a decision to have Andy in there over another corner who was slightly more athletic because of his football IQ. He proved me right today. In the end it's a great game, but there's a lot of football left to play this year and we've got to get ready to beat Utah State."

Vandals win one they should, defeating USU 56-35

Game Report Posted: December 18, 2008 20:28  

Nothing to see here, the Vandals controlled a game they should have against one of the worst programs in the FCS.

"It's a good win, and one we needed to have if we're gonna make a run at the WAC this year, but it's nothing to get excited about."

Coach Guru may be looking ahead to the Vandal's inaugural meeting with #24 Utah of the Mountain West next week.

"It should be interesting, it'd be nice to get a win against a top 25 team on regional television."

Vandals defeat Utes 48-21

Game Report Posted: December 19, 2008 23:16  

The Idaho Vandals defeated #24 Utah in a game that was really never even close. The Utes were quite overrated (75 OVR) for being ranked so high in the preseason polls, and the Vandals showed the country that the Utes did not belong in such lofty company.

The Vandals, led by quarterback Nick Foles in a slightly more spread out system, marched the ball up and down the field at will against a Utah defense that just couldn't seem to keep up.

"After our first two games, I started thinking about switching from Air Force's playbook (which has Ace, I, two flexbone formations, and some good shotgun formations) to something with a similar style that had at least one 5 WR formation."

The Vandals coaching staff settled on the Maryland playbook, where virtually the only change in system would be removing the flexbone and some of the other option plays and adding a few more elements of a spread passing attack.

"It just makes sense with our personnel this year: Nick has a great arm, with pretty good accuracy. Our running backs aren't quite as talented as they have been in the past, and our receiving corps is full of young, talented athletes that need to see the field. We had been tooling with it practice since the preseason, just never changed the actual playbook until this game."

We'll see if the results can carry over into next week, when the Vandals will get a chance to take on another team Coach Guru has never beaten: Nevada.

"They don't have the talent they normally do, and we've got some pretty good athletes with us right now.. To be honest, I think we've got a great chance to hit 'em in the mouth for all the hell they've given us for the past three seasons.

Vandals lose 24-10 to #8 USC... That's it?!?

August 27, 2011

Game Report Posted: December 16, 2008 17:47  

Idaho hosted #8 USC in a "paycheck" game this Saturday and didn't play that bad for being 30 point underdogs. Over 10,000 people in the Kibbie Dome and national TV audience were able to witness Idaho come out of the first half on top of the Trojans.

"We controlled the clock and actually stopped them a couple of times on D. The fast guys we recruited are starting to figure out what they're suppossed to be doing and I think the payoff is gonna be huge. We're a young, fast team, and I think we've got a pretty good chance at moving up some in the WAC," Coach Guru said after the game.

Arizona transfer Nick Foles saw his first action as a Vandal after being forced to sit last season due to NCAA transfer regulations.

"He's got an absolute cannon. We've got an opportunity to be a lot more dynamic this season with him leading us, this offense can be a lot different with a dynamic arm like Nick has."

Coach Guru said he was pleased with Nick, and the team's, performance overall, but mentioned that he'd like to pick up the pace and the efficiency next week versus rival Washington State.

"Hey, we hate those guys, they're less than eight miles away and we want to keep the territory we picked up last year in beating them."

Overall, the 24-10 loss won't hurt the feelings of most Idaho fans, but a loss next week to the Cougars certainly won't blow over as easily.

Next opponent: vs. Washington State