Fans of the Idaho Vandals football program believe Arizona coach Mike Stoops could be fired if the Wildcats don’t come out victorious on Saturday. The Vandals (1-11) were the only team in the NCAA last season that failed to defeat a football bowl subdivision opponent. Its only win came against Cal Poly, a football championship subdivision program. At season’s end, ESPN.com had Idaho ranked last in the nation out of 118 FBS teams.
Idaho will enter its first game against Arizona as 27-point underdogs.

Vandals to watch on “O”

Quarterback Nathan Enderle, No. 10, sophomore – Enderle struggled at times during his freshman season, completing 44 percent of his passes. He tossed 10 touchdown passes and threw a conference-leading 18 interceptions. A solid Enderle performance Saturday is crucial for the
Idaho offense.

Center Adam Korby, No. 72, senior - Korby has started every game of his college career and has been named to the Rimington Award watch list for the second consecutive season. Korby will anchor an experienced line that will open holes for the Idaho running game. The offensive line will also be crucial to Enderle’s success at quarterback.

Running Back Deonte’ Jackson, No. 3, sophomore - Jackson is a Dennis Erickson recruit and the nephew of NFL All-Pro Steven Jackson. He rushed for 99 yards against USC in his collegiate debut last season. Jackson tallied 1,175 yards as a freshman while averaging 4.9 yards per carry despite nursing a high-ankle sprain for the better part of the season. He is the top playmaker on this offense and a candidate for Western Athletic Conference offensive player of the year this season. Jackson’s 1,175 yards rushing ranked 36th nationally in 2007.

Keys on offense

•Run the football effectively to control the clock and keep Tuitama off the field.
•Keep pressure on the Arizona offense by scoring early with touchdowns rather than field goals. For this to happen, the Vandals must be able to pick up key third down conversions through the air.
•Take advantage of experience. Idaho returns all 11 offensive starters from last year while the Arizona
defense returns three.

Vandals to watch on “D”

Safety Shiloh Keo, No. 10, junior - Keo was voted team MVP last season and proved to be one of the top players in the WAC. Keo is considered to be the best player on the team. He earned second-team all-WAC as both a safety and punt returner in 2007 as a sophomore. As a true freshman,  he was voted as an honorable mention to the Sporting News all-freshman team. He possesses rare skills to play both the run and the pass and must play well for the Vandals to have a chance. Keo is a player Vandals fans hope to see at the next level.

Safety Virdell Larkins, No. 24, junior - A junior college transfer who signed with Cal originally out of high school. He is considered to be the top newcomer to the roster this season and will play opposite of Keo to form one of the top safety tandems in the WAC. He is the cousin of NFL running back Marshawn Lynch.
Defensive End Taylor Rust, No. 57, senior - A returning starter who plays with a motor. He finished 2007 with three sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries
and six tackles for loss. His pass rush on Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama will be critical for the
Vandals defense.   

Keys on defense

•Idaho must find a way to get off the field after third down and force the Wildcats to punt early and often.
•Stop the run on first down. Idaho can’t allow Arizona to continually be in second-and-short situations.
•Win the turnover battle. Top defensive playmakers Shiloh Keo, Taylor Rust and Virdell Larkins must perform at a high level.

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