And in a similar but unrelated tale, I heard the Notre Dame football team was accosted by a bunch of surly, Jameson drinkin' red-headed fellows.

IT'S THE INAUGURAL SEASON FOR THE PLAYERS ALL-STAR CLASSIC GAME which will be played at Arkansas' War Memorial Stadium on February 4th, and two Vandals have been invited to participate in the game. Right tackle TYRONE NOVIKOFF (6-7, 314) and linebacker Korey Toomer (6-3, 235) will suit up for the North team coached by Martin Bayless, with athletes who are prospects for the 2012 NFL Draft.

Boise State will be bolting the WAC for the Mountain West, leaving rival Idaho behind.  Leave it to BSU's president to get a few parting shots as he's heading out the door by calling Idaho a bunch of drunks.

University of Idaho junior punter BOBBY COWAN, a First Team All-WAC selection last year, currently is Idaho's all-time leader in yards-per-punt average, and this week advanced in balloting for the Ray Guy Award, which recognizes the best punter in college football. A native of Vancouvar (Wash.), Cowan is currently No.2 in NCAA rankings in yards per punt average (47.10).

A SEASON THAT STARTED WITH LOFTY EXPECTATIONS has mercifully come to an end. Saturday afternoon, on the road in Reno, the Vandals exemplified everything endured this season with in a 56-3 thrashing at the hands of the Wolf Pack. The focus now turns to recruiting to fill holes for 2012, building a line around redshirt freshman center MIKE MARBOE, and a shakeup in the coaching staff is likely.

Junior tailback RYAN BASS and the Idaho Vandals will put a cap on what has been a disappointing 2011 season Saturday at Nevada. The Vandals (2-9 overall, 1-5 WAC) will try to beat the Wolf Pack (6-5, 4-2 WAC) for the first time since joining the WAC in 2005. It is the last chance for Idaho to do that since Nevada is heading to the Mountain West Conference next season.

Shiloh Keo S Idaho Ht: 5’11″ Wt: 220 Strengths: Good overall size and strength. Excels in run support; plays like an extra linebacker. Plenty of experience on special teams. Two-time team captain. A hard hitter; makes receivers think twice about going across the middle. Decent ball skills. Weaknesses: Limited athletically; will struggle in coverage at the next level. Doesn’t...

FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS SEASON THE VANDALS (1-1) LEAVE THE FRIENDLY CONFINES OF THE KIBBIE DOME, and head to fabled College Station to take on 9th ranked Texas A&M (1-0). This is the first meeting between the two programs, as senior tailback RYAN BASS and the Vandals (searching for their identity and consistency in 2010) face a loaded Aggie team with their sights set on a National...

DESPITE A CAREER NIGHT BY IDAHO SENIOR PRINCETON MCCARTY, who accumulated 236 all-purpose yards including 116 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the game, the Vandals fell short at New Mexico State and dropped a 31-24 contest to the Aggies. It was Idaho's first loss to NMSU since 2007, and came as the Vandals were unable to score from the Aggie one yard line on the final play of the game.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT SAN JOSE STATE the Vandals broke a 6-game losing streak by topping the Spartans by a final 32-29 score. Last week against Hawaii it was senior Princeton McCarty with the big game stats. This week, it was senior tailback KAMA BAILEY leading the way as he erupts for 163 yards on the ground and 174 all-purpose yards as the Vandals scored 22 fourth quarter points for the win.

THE VANDAL DEFENSE BATTLED THROUGH ADVERSITY SATURDAY AT VIRGINIA, holding the Cavaliers to 14-points in regulation and forcing three turnovers. Idaho's special teams also came up big, including the second career blocked punt by Lapwai product Justin Hernandez, which was scooped up by Daniel Micheletti (of Meridian) for a Vandal TD. A missed UI 2-pt conversion was the difference in OT.

A two-point conversion pass by Idaho's Brian Reader fell incomplete and Virginia escaped with a 21-20 victory in overtime Saturday. Idaho's Daniel Micheletti ran in a blocked punt and Reader completed a two-point conversion pass to Marsel Posey to tie the game 14-14 in the fourth quarter and force overtime. Virginia (3-2) got the ball first in the extra period and scored...

Idaho quarterback Brian Reader threw for 299 yards and four touchdowns Saturday as Idaho rebounded from its season-opening loss, defeating North Dakota 44-14. Mike Scott was the top receiver for the Vandals (1-1) with eight catches for 99 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown pass. Reader also found Armauni Johnson, Marsel Posey and Michael LaGrone for scores as Idaho rolled up 424...

JUNIOR WIDE RECEIVER AND SPECIAL TEAMS STANDOUT JUSTIN HERNANDEZ, a product of Lapwai (Ida.) High School, was named this week's Western Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for his effort Saturday at Virginia. For the second year in a row Hernandez blocked a punt, and for the second year in a row the block resulted in an Idaho touchdown. This is Hernandez'...

The Bucs used their final pick of the draft to select Idaho TE Daniel Hardy, No. 238 overall. The 6-foot-4, 249-pound Hardy is the second tight end taken Saturday by the Bucs. Hardy had 32 catches despite missing his last five games with a broken arm.