FACTS & STATS: Site: Kibbie Dome (16,000) -- Moscow, Idaho. Television: None. Home Record: WMU 1-0, Idaho 1-0. Away Record: WMU 0-1, Idaho 0-1. Neutral Record: WMU 0-0, Idaho 0-0. Conference Record: WMU 1-0, Idaho 0-0. Series Record: WMU leads, 1-0.
GAME NOTES: A pair of teams in search of a second straight win meet up in Moscow, Idaho, as the Idaho Vandals host the Western Michigan Broncos in a non-conference clash. After opening their season with a tough loss at Nebraska, the Broncos responded with a 29-26 win over Northern Illinois in their MAC opener on Saturday. Running back Brandon West and wideout Jamarko Simmons both turned in record-breaking performances. The Broncos host Tennessee Tech next Saturday, then resume conference play against Temple the following weekend. The Vandals rebounded from a season-opening 70-0 loss at Arizona by knocking off Idaho State, 42-27. Four of the Vandals' next five games come on the road, so a win this weekend would be huge. WMU won the only prior meeting with Idaho, 27-16 back in 1976.
Simmons notched eight catches for 102 yards and a touchdown in WMU's win over NIU. That effort moved him into third place on the school's all-time receptions list (167). West also had a career day out of the backfield, rushing for a career-high 175 yards. Quarterback Tim Hiller was effective throughout the day, completing 21-of-30 passes for 186 yards and three TDs. He guided the Broncos to consecutive touchdown drives on consecutive drives in the fourth quarter, turning a 19-14 deficit into a 29-19 lead. WMU kept the Huskies off balance with a consistent running attack, averaging 6.2 ypc as a team.
Broncos' free safety Louis Delmas put on a show, recording 10 tackles for the second straight week, scooping up a fumble, and intercepting the 10th pass of his career. WMU did a fairly decent job against the run, holding the Huskies to 3.2 ypc on 44 attempts. However, NIU did record two rushing touchdowns. But the area that caused most problems for the WMU defense was the passing game. The Huskies racked up 297 passing yards and averaged a whopping 16.5 yards per completion. Head coach Bill Cubit will no doubt spend the week stressing to his defense the importance of limiting big plays.
Idaho quarterback Nathan Enderle got the job done with limited opportunities last weekend, completing 8-of-12 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He set the tone when he connected with Maurice Shaw for a 77-yard scoring strike less than a minute into the game. Both of Enderle's touchdown passes came in the first half, as the Vandals took a 28-7 lead into the locker room at halftime. Idaho had plenty of success on the ground, churning out 249 rushing yards as a team. Deonte Jackson led the charge with 12 carries for 100 yards and one TD.
The Idaho defense got somewhat sloppy toward the end, but it sprinkled in several big plays early on. The biggest actually came on special teams, as the Vandal defense recovered a blocked punt in the end zone five minutes into the game. The secondary had an up-and-down performance against Idaho State's pass- happy offense. ISU quarterback Russell Hill completed 36-of-65 passes for 308 yards, four TDs and four INTs. He hooked up with Eddie Thompson 17 times for 120 yards and a touchdown. Without question, the Vandals will need to do a better job taking away Broncos' primary threat Jamarko Simmons.
On paper, the Broncos have a more established group of playmakers at the skill positions on offense. The Vandals will have to pick their poison in terms of who they want to take away, Simmons or West. Still, WMU should be able to strike enough of a balance to put up some big plays and come away with a win on the road.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Western Michigan 34, Idaho 20
Game Date and Time
Saturday, September 13th, 5:05 p.m. (et)
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