Idaho Vandals

Idaho/Fresno State game story

Posted on 08 November 2009 by Jesse Baumgartner

Here’s some of my game story. Some quick info — Nate Enderle will be day-to-day this week with some blood in his throwing shoulder. Jeromy Jones is getting X-rays for a possible break in his shoulder/collarbone. Robb Akey said if it’s broken, he’s probably done for the year. Mike Iupati left with a possible concussion.

MOSCOW – The Idaho Vandals had pushed the limit several times this year – giving up a wealth of offense to their opponent in the first half and relying on the offense to come back and save the day. The underlying question, then, was what would happen when that safety net wasn’t there to cushion the defense’s struggles.

The Fresno State Bulldogs happily supplied Idaho with that answer Saturday, and the outcome was predictable.

With quarterback Nate Enderle sidelined by a shoulder injury, Idaho blinked early by surrendering a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage and played its way to a 31-21 loss at the Kibbie Dome in front of just 12,418 fans on national television.

“I’m disappointed, very disappointed. We did not play good football tonight,” UI coach Robb Akey said. “And a good football team can’t spot another good football team, can’t let ‘em get in front of them that much that early in the ball game.”

The Enderle injury rumors had trickled in during the latter part of the week, and pregame warmups ended all questions when the junior right-handed quarterback began tossing the ball to receivers with his left hand.

Backup Brian Reader, who led the final drive against San Jose State and battled with Enderle in the preseason, got his shot at the helm but couldn’t get the unit moving like it has for most of the season.

Idaho (7-3) had a missed 54-yard field goal and four punts in the first half, and Reader (2 for 10 in the first two quarters) never seemed comfortable in the pocket as UI failed to convert on all five third-down attempts.

“I felt a lot more comfortable in the second half than the first half,” Reader said.

But even an adequate offense wouldn’t have been enough to keep the Vandals near the lead in the first half.

Idaho again started off on defense with a softness that’s become all-too-common during the first quarter of recent games. Fans hadn’t even settled in their seats before star Bulldog running back Ryan Mathews took the first carry of the game and cut up the middle. Strong safety Jeromy Jones missed a tackle on the power back and that was it, as Mathews outran free safety Shiloh Keo to the end zone for a 77-yard touchdown just 19 seconds into the game.

And while the offense was keeping punter Bobby Cowan busy, the Bulldogs (6-3) scored ten points on their next two possessions. After punting the ball for the first time, FSU then ate up more than eight minutes with a touchdown drive that included an extremely close fourth-down conversion on a quarterback sneak. Mathews – who ended with 143 yards and three touchdowns – eventually vaulted into the end zone for a 24-0 halftime lead that would prove insurmountable.

“I wish I could tell you guys. I don’t know what it is,” defensive end Aaron Lavarias said of the recent slow starts.

“… We don’t really change anything up that much in the gameplan. I just think that maybe it might be a factor of us having too many young guys out there, just have a little trouble adjusting to the speed of the game at the beginning of the game.”