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The University of Idaho has not beaten Oregon since 1950. At this point, these teams, which have a history dating back to 1901, are both looking for their first win of the season.
The Vandals, (0-3, 0-1 Sun Belt Conference), will attempt to get their first victory with junior quarterback Michael Harrington — younger brother of former Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington — feeding senior wide receiver Bobby Bernal-Wood by air and freshman running back Jayson Bird on the ground.
In last week’s devastating 49-8 loss to Washington State, Idaho’s offense was muted to only 276 total yards, not just by its mistakes, but by a fortifying Cougar defense.
“I know it was a good opponent; give Washington State credit,” Idaho head coach Nick Holt said. “But that’s not the kind of football we adhere to.”
“We had too many fumbles. Too many stupid penalties,” Holt said. “We were not flying around like we need to be. It was really sloppy.”
Harrington completed 12 of 18 pass attempts for 66 yards and one interception. However, no reception was good for more than an 8-yard gain.
“We didn’t connect down the field,” Michael Harrington said.” We connected on our short passes.”
Freshman Brian Nooy threw a 46-yard toss — the longest pass of any Idaho quarterback this season — to freshman wide receiver Ryan Heacock in the fourth quarter for the Vandals’ only touchdown of the game. Idaho avoided the shutout with 17 seconds left in regulation.
Always playing catch up
Three games into the season, Idaho has led each opponent in possession time, but the Vandals have been outscored 128-22.
The Vandals have yet to post more than 280 offensive yards in a game. Washington State and Boise State accrued more than 500 yards each against Idaho.
Idaho has not scored more than eight points in a game this season.
“We have to be smart,” Holt said. “Offensively, I think we’re on track to being really solid. We just need more weapons and more threats at the skill positions to make us a really, really good offense.”
Bird has been the surprise in the backfield, having accumulated 243 yards thus far. He scored the lone touchdown for Idaho in the season opener at Boise State with a 71-yard carry.
Some experience required
Idaho is without 22 players who started at some point last year. Its current roster consists of 64 underclassmen and 33 upperclassmen.
The Vandals lost wide receiver Orlando Winston, who led receivers with 807 yards caught and seven touchdowns. Zach Gerstner led rushers with 1,157 yards. Ryan Lindgren, in the 11 games he played at quarterback in 2003, threw for 2,077 yards with 15 touchdowns and earned an efficiency rating of 144.30.
“I’m happy with the kids we had in the spring, but I’m nowhere near content,” Holt said. “We’re not where we need to be. We have to have some freshman step up.”
In 2003, Idaho’s passing numbers dwarfed those of its running game. The Vandals averaged 256.1 passing yards per game and only 125.3 rushing. The offense scored 20 touchdowns by air and half as many on the ground.
Although Idaho has run a single-back offense, it has been more successful than the tight end game plan it was intending to rely on.
“Tight end is a strength of our offense,” Holt said. “We have four guys who are solid prospects. We’ll probably do more two tight end stuff to utilize that personnel group more. We have to get out best football players on the field.”
The rushing success can be accredited to an athletic offensive line.
“The offensive line is really one of our strong points,” Holt said. “We’re not very deep, but we have some good football players here. We have to keep them healthy.”
Idaho thoughts
This is head coach Nick Holt’s first season at Idaho. … Oregon and Idaho last met at Autzen Stadium on Sept. 14, 2002, when the No. 13 Ducks improved to 3-0 on the year with a 58-21 victory. …Oregon leads the series 50-3-4 all-time. …Harrington’s longest pass this year was for 26 yards against Utah State. …Cougar’s quarterback Josh Swogger threw for 196 yards on 12 passes, and four resulted in touchdowns against Idaho. …Idaho has not played at the Kibbie Dome this season, however, the Vandals were considered as the home team last week in Pullman, Wash.
