Click here to listen to coach Akey's session with the print media.

The University of Idaho Vandals earned a fourth-place ranking from the media and sixth from the coaches in the annual Western Athletic Conference's annual preseason football rankings in earning their highest regard in the preseason in a decade.

The Vandals, the second most improved team in the nation last season, look to build on a fourth-place finish and Roady's Humanitarian Bowl victory in 2009.

Boise State leads both polls with Nevada second and Fresno State third. Following the Vandals in the media poll are Louisiana Tech, Utah State, Hawai'i, New Mexico State and San Jose State. Just ahead of the Vandals in the coaches' poll are No. 4 Utah State and No. 5 Hawai'i. Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State and San Jose State round out the coaches' poll.

At the annual WAC football kickoff at Salt Lake City, Akey said his focus is making better football players - now that the Vandals have had a taste of success and what it takes to achieve it.

"Let's just get better at playing football," Akey said. "Let's get the fundamentals down. We have put a lot of attention on that. If we play the game better, then all those calls are going to work better. That's the challenge."

Key ingredients to success are finding the offensive line combination that can both protect quarterback Nate Enderle, who is being recognized as one of the nation's top signal-callers, and open holes for running backs Princeton McCarty and Deonte' Jackson. A strong receiving corps returns along with capable, albeit for the most part, inexperienced players at tight end with the exception H-back Daniel Hardy - the leading returning receiver.

Defensively, all except one starter returns. The veterans come back with added maturity, size and speed and with a host of up-and-coming players expected to provide competition.

"The challenge is out there to outdo what last season's team did," Akey said. "The seniors walked out of here with one bowl ring. You all came here to make a difference. Can you walk out of here with two? That team won eight. How many can this team win?

"Those are the challenges that are out there for our football team so we can make the next step. That's what we're pushing to do. We got an opportunity - if we stay healthy and the right things happen, to have a lot of fun with this football team."

The Vandals open fall camp Aug. 5 with a 3:30 p.m. practice. They open the 2010 season Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. against North Dakota at the Kibbie Dome.