Idaho can’t afford
any bad days

Coach Nick Holt shaved his head in the offseason to raise money for the Idaho football program. But many of the Vandals players still barely need a razor for their chins.

Although Idaho returns most of its starters from last year, the team remains very young overall. Holt was forced to throw 16 true freshmen into the fray, with the degree of success a 3-9 record indicates.

"We're still very young," the second-year coach said.

There is some experience on both sides of the ball, though.

Senior quarterback Michael Harrington is among nine returning starters on offense. He is an accurate passer, but Holt brought in cannon-armed JC transfer Steven Wichman to give him a push anyway.

Running back Jayson Bird was second-team All-Sun Belt as a true freshman. He rushed for 859 yards and eight touchdowns last year.

The entire starting line, including tight end Luke Smith-Anderson, returns, but that might not be good; the Vandals allowed 45 sacks last year.

Defensively, Idaho allowed a whopping 426.9 yards per game. It wasn't linebacker Cole Snyder's fault. He was in on 136 tackles. Mike Anderson is a big playmaker on the outside. He forced three fumbles and recovered three as a defensive end in 2004.

Other than sophomore nose tackle Siua Musika (6-1, 302), the defensive front is small and that's a problem.

Sophomore Dan Dykes heads up the secondary from his free-safety spot. He intercepted two passes and broke up four more as a true freshman.

Mike Barrow kicked and punted last year, but will only do the former this fall after making just four of 12 field goals in 2004.

Like the other Sun Belt refugees, Idaho is happy to be in the WAC.

As crazy as it sounds, a schedule that begins with road games at Washington State, UNLV and Washington is better than last year's. In 2004, Idaho played 12 games in 12 weeks. It also had to deal with the shooting death of freshman cornerback Eric McMillan.

The Vandals' odyssey was an illustration of why they were so desperate to get out of the Sun Belt, with road games that included trips to Eastern Michigan, Middle Tennessee and North Texas. Those stops have about as much to do with Moscow, Idaho, as they do with Moscow, Russia.

With that being said, Holt knows Idaho won't become a championship contender right away. He can't say that, not in so many words, anyway.

"We can't afford in our program to have a bad day, have a bad practice and not get better," Holt told the Idaho Statesman on the eve of fall camp. "We're not good enough to flip-flop around like tuna fish out there and then just show up and play."

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IDAHO VANDALS

Basic Offense: Multiple
Basic Defense: Multiple
2004 Record: 3-9 (2-5 Sun Belt)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 42/14
Starters Returning: 18
Head coach: Nick Holt (3-9)

2004 Results

Date	Opponent	Result
Sept. 4	Boise State	L, 65-7
Sept. 11	Utah State	L, 14-7
Sept. 18	Washington State	L, 49-8
Sept. 25	Oregon	L, 48-10
Oct. 2	Eastern Michigan	W, 45-41
Oct. 9	Louisiana-Monroe	L, 16-14
Oct. 16	Louisiana-Lafayette	W, 38-25
Oct. 23	Middle Tennessee	L, 34-14
Oct. 30	Troy State	L, 47-7
Nov. 6	Arkansas State	W, 45-31
Nov. 13	North Texas	L, 51-29
Nov. 20	Hawaii	L, 52-21

2005 Schedule

Date	Opponent
Sept. 1	at Washington State
Sept. 10	at UNLV
Sept. 17	at Washington
Sept. 24	HAWAII
Oct. 1	Utah State
Oct. 8	at Nevada
Oct. 22	Fresno State
Oct. 29	at New Mexico State
Nov. 12	Louisiana Tech
Nov. 19	at Boise State
Nov. 26	at San Jose State