A couple things that stuck out from today’s game. Chime in with the comments below.

1) The Vandals’ slow starts caught up with them. Idaho has fallen behind quickly in four of its last six games (Colorado State, Nevada, Louisiana Tech and tonight against Fresno State). But 24-0 was the biggest deficit. Like those other games, Idaho was able to make defensive adjustments and get back in the game a little bit toward the end, but spotting the Bulldogs 24 points ended up being too much for UI to overcome on Saturday.

2) Brian Reader had a whole game to himself against one of the better defenses the Vandals have played this season (a very relative label). UI was not the same offense it’s been for most of this season with Nate Enderle, and it couldn’t get the downfield vertical passing game going — especially during the early part of the game. Reader was 2-for-10 in the first half and said he felt more comfortable in the second half, which was evident. He ended up 12-for-25 with 240 passing yards and 2TDs. 104 of those yards and one of the touchdowns came in the game’s final 36 seconds. The rushing game well worked well for UI all night.

The Vandals scored no points in the first half (a missed field goal and four punts). The only other half they didn’t score in this season was the second half of the opening game against New Mexico State. “No I don’t think that had a thing to do with it. I don’t think so. I think it was execution, because some of the things that were miscues for us early in the ball game didn’t have a thing to do with the quarterback at that point in time,” Robb Akey said in response to whether the early struggles came from having Reader in. “So no I don’t think so. I think Brian did a damn good job.”

3) Injuries. The Vandals have some tough situations at numerous key positions. Enderle has the shoulder issue, star offensive lineman Mike Iupati has a possible concussion and starting strong safety Jeromy Jones is getting X-rays for a collarbone/shoulder injury. Idaho has stayed pretty injury-free all year, but they’ve been a little banged up these last couple weeks. All those injuries could be key against Boise State next week depending on how they turn out.

Last 5 posts by Jesse Baumgartner

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