Preseason polls didn't influence Vandals

The preseason polls were released in July. It was pretty much agreed, Idaho's Vandals wouldn't fare well in 2009. Everywhere except, that is, on the Idaho campus where coach Robb Akey was prepping the Vandals for success with competitive situations in everything they did. And always, always, preaching bowl game.

His relentless reminders about post-season play initially had doubters. After all, the Vandals were 1-11 two years ago and 2-10 in 2008. As 2009 progressed, riders on his bandwagon grew. The Vandals opened the season by winning at New Mexico State. Next was a road trip to Washington where, despite a loss, the Vandals turned in a credible performance - one that kept optimism running through the program.

They finally were at home three weekends into the season. They celebrated with a 34-20 victory over San Diego State. Back on the road, Idaho traveled to DeKalb, Ill., where it took on Northern Illinois and was able to enjoy the long trip home after winning 34-31.

There was a welcome buzz across campus and throughout the Vandal community when Colorado State traveled to the Kibbie Dome. The Vandals won, 31-29, to launch an October that will be remembered for the furious finishes and Idaho becoming bowl eligible. After the thriller over Colorado State, Idaho went on the road and won by four at San Jose State before winning at home over Hawai'i for the sixth victory - the one that officially made the Vandals bowl eligible. They stumbled at Nevada but returned home to close October with No. 7 - a thriller over Louisiana Tech.

November was not kind to the Vandals. Starting quarterback Nate Enderle, who ultimately would earn team MVP honors, missed 2½ games and Idaho was 0-3 during the month.

Nevertheless, Idaho's 7-5 finish was its best since 1999 and, when bowl invitations were handed out Dec. 6, hushed the naysayers. Their invitation to the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl was greeted with raucous applause when Akey made the announcement at halftime of a men's basketball game.

The Vandals gave their fans everywhere reason to be proud. They scooped in seven Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors and had two first-team all-WAC selections among a total seven chosen to the league's select teams.

Offensive guard Mike Iupati left a mark at Idaho that will be remembered for years to come and be hard to match. A consensus All-American, he was an Outland Trophy finalist - an Idaho first. He is the first Idaho player to be on the Football Writers Association of American All-American team, the third to be on the American Football Coaches Association All-American team, and eighth Walter Camp All-American - just the second since the Vandals moved to the FBS in 1996. Still to be announced at press time were the Associated Press and The Sporting News teams. Selection on those would make him a unanimous consensus All-American.

Enderle also made his mark as one of Idaho's top quarterbacks in a long line of stellar signal callers. He led the WAC in passing average per game with 266.6 yards per outing - also good enough for 16th nationally. He also was second in the conference in total offense (26th in the NCAA) and second in pass efficiency (seventh NCAA).

He used a corps of receivers to attain those numbers. Senior Max Komar, Idaho's first 1,000-plus receiver since 2005 and only the fourth since 1996, led the way with 62 receptions for 1,036 yards. Two others - juniors Daniel Hardy and Maurice Shaw, went over 600 yards (Hardy with 674 and Shaw with 605), while junior Eric Greenwood and sophomore Preston Davis provided steady contributions.

The running back committee - affectionately deemed the three-headed monster, churned away to amass more rushing yards than any team since the 1998 Humanitarian Bowl champion. Senior De'Maundray Woolridge, aka The Diesel, led the way with 853 yards on 149 carries. Sophomore Princeton McCarty added 605 on 106, with junior Deonte' Jackson accounting for 381 on 83.

All that led to an offense that was second in the WAC in passing offense (11th NCAA), third in total offense (10th NCAA) and fourth in scoring offense (25th NCAA).

The defense was young with only two seniors in the two-deep. Junior safety Shiloh Keo, back from off-season shoulder surgery, led the way with 109 total tackles, which earned him a spot on the WAC's first team. His 109 tackles were second in the WAC and tied for 31st in the NCAA. His 70 solo stops led the conference and tied for 10th nationally.

Up front, junior tackle and defensive captain Jonah Sataraka tied for seventh in the league with four solo sacks, and junior end Aaron Lavarias made his presence felt with five quarterback hurries, 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.

Junior linebacker JoJo Dickson was a steady presence with the Vandals' second-best tackle total with 73, which includes four tackles for loss. He electrified the Kibbie Dome crowd when he returned an interception 74 yards against Colorado State.

The youngsters on special teams played in a manner that belied their youth. Punter Bobby Cowan and kicker Trey Farquhar, both freshmen, earned player of the week honors and Farquhar had two field goals (54 and 52) that ranked among the best in school history. Cowan, too, found his way into the history books with an average (43.6) that ties for fifth best all-time.