Video story: Vandal Soccer heads to WAC championship

Whew, talk about updates galore. We’ve been slacking slightly on the video stories, but these babies are back in full swing. Front and center — a recap of Idaho’s weekend and looking ahead to the WAC tournament. Excitement abound.

Good Morning Vandal Nation: Nov. 5, 2009

We’re ramping up hoops coverage here at Vandal Nation — but that doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about football.

Idaho’s Chelsea Small became the first Vandal ever named to the soccer All-WAC First Team. She led the WAC in shots with 101, scoring eight goals and adding four assists to lead the Vandals.

Now for your morning links.

Football

• The WAC has suspended a replay official after blowing a first down call in the San Jose State/Boise State game.

• ESPN’s Graham Watson picks Idaho over Fresno State in her “upset special” of the week. She says the Vandals’ high-powered offense will overcome Ryan Mathews’ ground-pounding.

• The Idaho Press-Tribune’s Jake Alger says the Vandals have nothing left to prove.

• Football on the Fringe projects Idaho to wind up in one of the H-Bowls — the Humanitarian Bowl if Boise State goes to the BCS, the Hawaii Bowl if not.

• The Reno Gazette-Journal ranks Idaho fourth in the WAC.

• Raymond Partsch of The Town Talk says Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley has disappointed this season.

• The Lewiston Tribune’s Jesse Baumgartner blogs his WAC predictions.

• Fresno State has a secret formula for blocking kicks, The Fresno Bee’s Bryant-Jon Anteola reports.

Basketball

• We posted a few tidbits from Wednesday hoop practice.

• Nevada Wolf Pack coach David Carter says his team needs to focus on defense and rebounding, reports the Reno Gazette-Journal’s Chris Murray.

• Jason Groves of the Las Cruces Sun-News posts up his thoughts from NMSU’s season-opening exhibition game. He also has a report on two of the Aggies’ new frontcourters. (h/t to Bleed Crimson)

• Defiantly Dutch predicts the Colonial Athletic Association. No, it’s not WAC, but it’s another quality mid-major league.

Good Morning Vandal Nation: Oct. 27, 2009

Morning breaks with the news that the Idaho/Boise State game is under consideration for ESPN’s College GameDay. The Idaho Statesman reports that Idaho needs to win at least one — and preferably both — of its games between now and Nov. 14. The good news? Both are at home. The bad news? Fresno State comes to town in two weeks with one of the nation’s most dangerous rushers.

With that, here’s today’s links:

Football

• The Argonaut has my game story from the Vandals’ loss at Nevada.

• The Argonaut’s Jennifer Schlake features Idaho kicker Trey Farquhar.

• ESPN’s Graham Watson reports that one of Louisiana Tech’s wide receivers — who also punted — has left the team. The Bulldogs have just three remaining healthy wideouts.

• Juan Lopez of the Nevada Sagebrush says forget the defense, just keep piling on the points.

• Ethan Conley of the Monroe News-Star looks at Louisiana Tech’s offensive struggles.

• The Lewiston Tribune’s Jesse Baumgartner posts up his WAC power rankings.

• Matt Markey of the Toledo Blade looks at Ohio State’s preparations to face the “FBS’ worst offense” — New Mexico State.

• Jason Kaneshiro of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin follows up on the Warriors’ quarterback injury woes.

Basketball

• We posted up the second half of our interview with Vandal center Marvin Jefferson. Check it out, and read the first part if you missed it.

Volleyball

• The Argonaut’s Lisa Short previews this week’s matchups, including Gonzaga today and New Mexico State on Thursday.

Soccer

• Ilya Pinchuk of The Argonaut reports from the Vandals’ double road loss, which makes getting into the WAC Tournament an iffy proposition.

Tennis

• The Argonaut’s Theo Lawson has the story from Idaho’s tournament play in Las Vegas.

Good Morning Vandal Nation: Oct. 26, 2009

A drizzly, dark morning in Moscow to kick off Homecoming week. Fitting, given the usual weather patterns here — and the Vandals’ ugly performance in Reno this weekend. They’ll be looking to bounce back against Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

A few programming notes: Beginning on Wednesday, we’ll be joining with Nevada Sagebrush sports editor Juan Lopez for a weekly live chat about Western Athletic Conference sports. The chat will run every Wednesday afternoon from 3 to 4 p.m. Pacific — we’ll break down the week that was, preview the week ahead and answer your questions.

Also, hoops season kicks off this week — we’ll preview Friday’s Silver and Gold Scrimmage and have live coverage from the sidelines.

Now to the links… which are fairly thin, as per usual for a Monday morning.

Football

• ESPN’s Graham Watson puts the Vandals 10th on her non-AQ Power Rankings, noting Idaho’s offensive success.

• The Lewiston Tribune’s Jesse Baumgartner grades out the Vandals’ performance in Reno.

• The Reno Gazette-Journal’s Dan Hinxman breaks down the Pistol offense, which gave Idaho’s defense so much trouble. He also has a Monday Review of the Wolf Pack.

• Stephen Tsai of the Honolulu Advertiser reports on Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz, who suffered a concussion in the Warriors’ blowout loss to Boise State.

• Bleed Crimson’s Sam Wasson has a photo gallery from the New Mexico State Aggies’ defeat at the hands of Fresno State. The Las Cruces Sun-News’ Teddy Feinberg reports from the game, where NMSU put up just 3 points.

• Jimmy Watson of the Shreveport Times says Louisiana Tech’s hopes of going bowling are “dim” after a hard-fought loss at Utah State.

Basketball

• We collaborated with Sam Wasson of Bleed Crimson to put together Rush The Court’s 2009-10 Western Athletic Conference preview. Check it out.

• Parsing the WAC’s Kevin McCarthy puts together his list of impact newcomers for each WAC team.

• Jared Eborn of the Deseret News reports on an injury to Utah State’s Pooh Williams, which will keep him out of the early non-conference season.

Soccer

• The Fresno State Collegian has a story on the Vandals’ loss to the Bulldogs down in Fresno, which may doom Idaho’s hopes of making the six-team WAC Tournament.

Good Morning Vandal Nation: Oct. 19, 2009

Vandal Nation is waking up to a reality it hasn’t experienced since 1999: Idaho is bowl-eligible after defeating Hawaii on Saturday.

The stats are pretty stunning: a 6-1 overall record and a conference-leading 3-0 record in the WAC. Running back DeMaundray Woolridge is ranked seventh in the nation in scoring and quarterback Nathan Enderle is 18th nationally in passing efficiency. (Thanks to SID extraordinaire Spencer Farrin for those stats.)

Vandal defensive end Aaron Lavarias earned WAC Defensive Player of the Week honors after a four-tackle, two-sack day that included a forced fumble on the second sack, leading to Idaho’s game-clinching touchdown. Lavarias is the sixth Idaho player so honored this season, equaling the Vandals’ Player of the Week total for the last three years.

Also, this isn’t WAC news, but it’s worthy of your attention nonetheless: Montana Grizzlies football coach Bobby Hauck is freezing out student journalists. He’s belittled them, sworn at them and refused to speak to them — all because they had the gall to report the truth about his team.

There’s a lot of talk about Idaho — look what happens when you win a few games — so let’s get to your morning links:

Football

• The Seattle Times’ Bud Withers explores Idaho’s “dream season” and Robb Akey’s leadership.

• ESPN.com’s Graham Watson ranks Idaho 8th among non-AQ teams and awarded the entire team a helmet sticker.

• Happily, Hawaii receiver Rodney Bradley, who broke his leg in the Warriors’ loss, is expected to make a full recovery, the Honolulu Advertiser’s Stephen Tsai reports.

• The Argonaut’s Jennifer Schlake reports from the Vandals’ 35-23 victory.

• ESPN’s Mark May gave DeMaundray Woolridge a helmet sticker for his four-touchdown game against Hawaii.

• USA Today writer Erick Smith says Akey should be in the mix for national Coach of the Year.

• Reno Gazette-Journal writer Dan Hinxman has a Monday Review of the Wolf Pack’s win over Utah State.

• Honolulu Star-Bulletin columnist Dave Reardon has a bleak outlook on the rest of Hawaii’s season.

• The NMSU Round Up looks at the week that was in the WAC.

• AggieNoise.com has a post-mortem on Utah State’s loss to Nevada.

Men’s basketball

• In recruiting news, Kevin McCarthy of Parsing the WAC notes that combo guard Nick Bennett made a trip to Moscow this weekend.

Soccer

• Another rivalry renewed: Idaho defeated Boise State on the soccer field yesterday, 3-1. The victory, Argonaut reporter Ilya Pinchuk tells us, was the Vandals’ first against the Broncos since 2003.

Volleyball

• Logan Herald-Journal reporter Joey Hislop looks at tonight’s nationally-televised volleyball match between Utah State and Idaho. The game begins at 8 p.m. Pacific, and is being broadcast on ESPNU.

Good Morning Vandal Nation: Oct. 13, 2009

Brrrrr… the weather outside says it’s getting to be basketball season on the Palouse. Hoops practice begins Friday.

Posting will be a bit sporadic today — we’ve got a couple big interviews to work on.

But as always, here’s your morning dose of Western Athletic Conference news and notes.

Football

• The Argonaut’s Jennifer Schlake has a game wrapup from the Vandals’ victory over San Jose State.

• I’ve got a feature story on Max Komar, a kid who started as a walk-on, endured the years of futility and is now the leading receiver on a winning football team. Click here for the Web-only unedited Q&A.

• ESPN.com’s Pat Forde calls Idaho’s resurgence the “Miracle in Moscow,” crediting coach Robb Akey for rebuilding a broken program.

• The Reno Gazette-Journal’s Dan Hinxman talks about the WAC’s two Idaho teams on the verge of bowl eligibility.

• Vandal defensive back linebacker Tre’Shawn Robinson was officially reprimanded by the WAC after being ejected from the SJSU game for throwing a punch. ESPN.com’s Graham Watson has the story.

• Honolulu Star-Bulletin columnist Dave Reardon thinks Idaho’s wins aren’t very impressive, and picks the Warriors to win.

• Mike Christensen of the Twin Falls Times-News says the Vandals have become one of the best clutch teams in college football.

• Football on the Fringe has a midseason report card on the New Mexico State Aggies.

• Inside Sparta’s Mike Morgan reports from SJSU coach Dick Tomey’s Monday press conference.

Men’s basketball

• We began our WAC preview countdown with #9 Hawaii and revealed our preseason All-WAC picks.

• The Reno Gazette-Journal’s Chris Murray picks Louisiana Tech to finish sixth in the WAC.

• The Refraction, Utah State’s “cold-blooded wrecking machine” newsletter, makes their WAC preseason predictions — putting Idaho third.

Good Morning Vandal Nation: Oct. 12, 2009

It’s Monday morning, and as usual there’s a bunch of links looking at the weekend that was in college football.

It’ll be a mainly-hoops day on Vandal Nation: we’ll have a breakdown of our Preseason All-WAC ballot and the first of nine team previews, in reverse order of predicted finish.

But first, the links — with a heavy dose of Hawaii stories as we look ahead to Saturday.

Football

• ESPN.com’s Graham Watson ranks the Vandals 8th among all non-AQ teams, adding “Idaho is playing like a team with something to prove.”

• Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel adds to the chorus of national writers talking about Idaho’s resurgence.

• The Honolulu Advertiser’s Ferd Lewis compares the Idaho and Hawaii programs, and the Warriors don’t come off looking too hot.

• Honolulu Star-Bulletin columnist Dave Reardon says the Warriors should be “embarassed” by their performance against Fresno State.

• The Spartan Daily’s Tommy Wright reports on the Vandals spoiling SJSU’s Homecoming.

• The Spartan Daily also has a funny/sad story on Spartan coach Dick Tomey holding a lunch discussion for students… only six of whom bothered to show up. There’s some school spirit.

• Rivals.com calls Idaho “one of the feel-good stories of the year” and ranks the Vandals 63rd.

• The Reno Gazette-Journal’s Dan Hinxman has a Monday Review of the state of the Wolf Pack.

• The Fresno Bee’s Daniel Lyght talks about the key defensive plays that helped Fresno State squash Hawaii.

• The New Yorker has a thought-provoking Malcolm Gladwell article on football and brain damage.

Men’s basketball

• AggieNoise.com has a report on Utah State’s newest recruit: James Walker.

Women’s soccer

• Idaho’s footy squad has dropped two home games in a row after losing in double overtime to defending champion Utah State. Idaho Athletics has the story.

Good Morning Vandal Nation: Oct. 9, 2009

It’s everyone’s favorite WAC wake-up call, and this Friday day-before-gameday edition is chock-full-o-links. But first, a few housekeeping items.

Vandal Nation will have a reduced posting schedule this weekend. I will be out of state to celebrate the life of my grandmother, and necessarily my attention is focused on personal matters.

We’ll have complete WAC game previews this afternoon, and we will try to have a Vandal Gameday post tomorrow morning, with perhaps a quick game recap in the evening. Better Know a Foe will take the week off.

With hoops practice set to start next week, our Western Athletic Conference basketball preview coverage will begin in earnest. This weekend, we’ll round out our hoops class rankings by looking at the league’s top freshmen. We’ll reveal our Preseason All-WAC ballot on Monday and begin a daily Preview Countdown in predicted order of finish, from worst to first.

Remember, it’s Vandal Spirit Friday, so wear your Vandal gear!

Let’s get to the links:

Football

• The Argonaut’s Jennifer Schlake previews the Vandals’ game in San Jose tomorrow.

• Spokane Spokesman-Review writer Josh Wright examines efforts to improve Idaho’s suspect special teams unit.

• We aim the Vandal Spotlight on standout wideout Max Komar.

• Vandal fever has spread all the way to The Boston Globe.

• There’ll be a watch party in Moscow for the Idaho/SJSU game. GoVandals.net has the details.

• The Salt Lake Tribune’s Tony Jones previews Utah State’s conference opener in Las Cruces.

• The Honolulu Star-Bulletin calls Hawaii/Fresno State a “rivalry to remember.”

• The Reno Gazette-Journal’s Dan Hinxman has a preview of tonight’s Nevada/Louisiana Tech battle.

• Craig Hislop of the Logan Herald-Journal says Utah State fans should be “grateful” for NMSU.

• The Fresno State Collegian’s Logan Hopkins breaks down the Fresno State/Hawaii matchup..

• ESPN.com’s Graham Watson talks with La. Tech’s standout running back, Daniel Porter.

• BleedCrimson.net has a Know the Foe on the upcoming all-Aggies gridiron battle.

Men’s basketball

• As we reported last night, Idaho’s home rivalry game against Boise State on Jan. 25 will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

• The ridiculously prolific Chris Murray of the Reno Gazette-Journal continues his WAC preview countdown with a surprising (or not) pick to finish second to last: Boise State and his seventh-place pick, San Jose State. Also, he ranks the WAC’s starting centers.

Women’s soccer

• The Argonaut’s Ilya Pinchuk previews this weekend’s pair of home soccer matches.

Volleyball

• The Vandals dominated on home court last night, sweeping Louisiana Tech in straight sets. Here’s the story from Idaho Athletics.

Good Morning Vandal Nation: Oct. 5, 2009

Another day breaks in Moscow, and the college football world is beginning to realize that Idaho football is no joke, no fluke and no pushover.

The Vandals pulled down two WAC Football Player of the Week awards for the first time ever — defensive back Shiloh Keo and kicker Trey Farquhar were named defensive and special teams Player of the Week, respectively.

Football

• ESPN.com’s Graham Watson says “The state of Idaho has become a hotbed for college football and it’s not just because of Boise State” and gives Shiloh Keo and Eric Greenwood helmet stickers.

• Watson also puts Idaho 8th in her national non-AQ power rankings.

• More ESPN love: Mark Schlabach tags wideout Max Komar as one of the week’s five “big-play receivers” after his 12-catch, 152-yard night in the Dome.

• The WAC has the official story on Keo and Farquhar’s Player of the Week honors.

• The Idaho Statesman’s Nick Jezierny has a Q&A with coach Robb Akey.

• The San Jose Mercury News’ Jon Wilner grades the bye week for the Spartans, who are looking ahead to face the Vandals this weekend for San Jose State’s homecoming.

• The Coloradoan’s Kelly Lyell has a Ram postmortem.

• In his “MWC Winners and Losers” post, the Las Vegas Sun’s Ryan Greene says the big winner was the WAC — with Idaho featured prominently.

• The Reno Gazette-Journal’s Dan Hinxman blogs “odds & ends” from the Wolf Pack’s big win over UNLV.

Women’s soccer

• The Las Cruces Sun-News’ Jason Groves has a report on the Vandals’ loss at New Mexico State. (h/t to Bleed Crimson)

Good Afternoon Vandal Nation: Oct. 4, 2009

It was a night of redemption in the Kibbie Dome for the Idaho Vandals and their fans, who stormed the field to celebrate together in a moment of collective catharsis.

The Vandals (4-1, 1-0 WAC) charged back from a 14-point first-quarter deficit to defeat the Colorado State Rams, 31-29, in front of a sellout crowd of 16,000. It’s a program-defining win that firmly establishes Idaho as a contender in the Western Athletic Conference and brings within reach the team’s first bowl berth since 1998.

Click here to view a replay of our live play-by-play coverage.

It’s been a great weekend for Idaho sports — on Friday, the women’s soccer team handed Louisiana Tech its first defeat of the season in Ruston, La. and earlier Saturday, the volleyball team opened at home with a 5-set victory over Fresno State with 1,401 fans in Memorial Gym. Today, the soccer team plays New Mexico State. Live stats are available here.

We’ll have more thoughts and reactions throughout the day, but let’s get right to the day’s links:

Football

• The Argonaut’s Jennifer Schlake says the game was a tale of two halves for the Vandals — one full of mistakes, the other performed with precision.

• The Idaho Statesman’s Nick Jezierny credits special teams with pulling the Vandals back from disaster. The Statesman’s Brian Murphy reports on the “vastly improved” team and rejuvenated fanbase.

• Pat Hauge of GoVandals.net has a quoteboard and Larry Johnson’s photo gallery.

• The Coloradoan’s Kelly Lyell reports on the game from a Ram perspective, focusing on Colorado State’s missed opportunities to secure the game.

• The Lewiston Tribune’s Jesse Baumgartner has some quick postgame thoughts.

• Sandra Kelly of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News has her take on the game, focusing on Shiloh Keo’s game-sealing defensive plays.

• The Statesman’s Chadd Cripe has the news that Boise State dropped one spot in national polls after the Broncos’ listless win over FCS UC Davis.

• The Reno Gazette-Journal’s Dan Hinxman has the story from Reno, where the Wolf Pack get their own catharsis with a blowout win over archrival UNLV — their first victory of the season.

• Bleed Crimson has a wrap on the New Mexico State Aggies’ tough loss to SDSU.

• The Las Cruces Sun-News’ Teddy Feinberg says the Aggies collapsed down the stretch against the Aztecs. (h/t to Bleed Crimson)

Men’s basketball

• Jason Groves of the Las Cruces Sun-News projects starting lineups for all the WAC squads.

Women’s soccer

• GoVandals.com reports on the Vandals’ victory against Louisiana Tech, powered by Jenn Hull’s golden goal with 16 seconds left.

Volleyball

• GoVandals.com has the official wrapup on the Vandals’ home-opening win over Fresno State.

Good Morning Vandal Nation: Oct. 2, 2009

Today is Friday — and like every Friday, it’s Vandal Spirit Friday, so wear your Vandal gear!

Remember to pick up your student tickets at the Kibbie Dome ticket office for tomorrow’s game — there can’t be many left.

Coming today on Vandal Nation is our Better Know a Foe with The Coloradoan’s Kelly Lyell, complete previews of every WAC game this weekend and more.

There’s a whole pile of links today, given that tomorrow is gameday, so let’s get right to it.

Football

• The Argonaut’s Jennifer Schlake previews tomorrow’s Idaho/Colorado State battle.

• The Argonaut’s got my analysis of what the Colorado State game means for the Vandals.

• Matt Dessert of GoVandals.net chimes in with his game preview.

• The Coloradoan’s Kelly Lyell continues his excellent coverage with a feature on Nathan Enderle and his brother Derek — perhaps the only Colorado State student rooting for Idaho.

• I answer five questions about the Vandals for the Mountain West Connection, which also has a game preview.

• The Twin Falls Times-News has a Josh Wright piece on Idaho’s O-line.

• The Logan Herald-Journal’s Craig Hislop says the Utah State/BYU rivalry isn’t much of one.

• Lewiston Tribune writer Jesse Baumgartner does his own version of Better Know a Foe with the Denver Post’s Natalie Meisler.

• The Las Cruces Sun-News’ Teddy Feinberg says despite the Aztecs’ struggles, NMSU is fearful of underestimating them. (h/t to Bleed Crimson)

Men’s basketball

• We posted our picks for the WAC’s best juniors.

Good Afternoon Vandal Nation: Sept. 29, 2009

We’re back, with a big pile of links from the weekend that was. All sorts of good stuff relating to the Idaho Vandals’ upset of Northern Illinois. We apologize for the day-long hiatus, but there was homework to catch up on!

The Vandals are receiving more national attention than ever — as well they should, given their 3-1 record, the best FBS start in school history and the best overall since 1994.

But the gridiron Vandals aren’t the only squad on a hot start. Idaho’s women’s soccer squad is 7-4 heading into conference play this weekend, also its best-ever season start.

On Saturday, the Vandals will take to the Kibbie Dome for a nationally-televised night battle against the Colorado State Rams, which will close out the non-conference season. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. — students are advised to pick up their tickets soon, as nearly three-quarters of the allocation has already been distributed.

Football

• The Argonaut’s Jennifer Schlake has a game report that also mentions Nathan Enderle’s WAC Player of the Week honors.

• ESPN.com’s Pat Forde gives props to Idaho’s turnaround.

• The Coloradoan’s Kelly Lyell says the Rams aren’t going to overlook a “dangerous” Vandal squad.

• Jennifer Schlake chimes in again with a recruiting update on coach Robb Akey’s quest for size.

• Mike Brohard of the Loveland Reporter-Herald reports on the “unique challenges” posed by the Vandals and the Kibbie Dome.

• The Red and Black Attack wraps up the Huskies’ loss, saying “It will be tough for anyone to shut (Idaho) down and they will be very, very difficult to beat at home in their dome.”

• The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the Poinsettia Bowl will take WAC teams in 2011 and 2012.

• The Lewiston Tribune’s Jesse Baumgartner posts up his WAC power rankings.

Men’s basketball

• Chris Murray of the Reno Gazette-Journal and Jason Groves of the Las Cruces Sun-News both make preseason picks for the WAC’s best players. Murray’s top seniors and juniors; Groves’ top seniors and juniors. No surprise, Mac Hopson is among them.

Good Morning Vandal Nation: Sept. 25, 2009

The sun rises on another day in Vandal Nation, and it’s just one day to gameday in DeKalb, Ill.

On tap today here, we’ll have previews of every Western Athletic Conference football matchup, along with coverage of today’s Idaho Vandals/South Dakota Coyotes soccer game.

Football

• The Argonaut’s Jennifer Schlake has a preview of the Vandals/Huskies matchup and a feature story on DeMaundray Woolridge.

• The Northern Star previews the Vandals/Huskies game from an NIU perspective.

• The Lewiston Tribune’s Jesse Baumgartner, as always, has some good audio tidbits on his blog.

• The Spokesman’s Josh Wright features Vandal wideout Max Komar.

• Bleed Crimson has a Know the Foe on NMSU’s upcoming rivalry game with New Mexico. That game has been named ESPN’s Pillow Fight of the Week.

• Teddy Feinberg of the Las Cruces Sun-News has another preview of the NMSU/New Mexico battle.

• The Red and Black Attack reports that the only female referee in FBS will be working the Vandals/Huskies game.

• Bulldog Bounce previews the Fresno State/Cincinnati game — a key test for the Bulldogs, if they hope to come out of non-conference play with anything resembling a decent record.

• FalconBlog previews the Bowling Green/Boise State matchup, and the Broncos will be a tough fight for the Falcons.

• The Toledo Blade’s Dave Hackenberg calls Boise State “a model for mid-majors.”

• The Spartan Daily’s Ryan Buchan previews the Spartans’ game against Cal Poly — what could be San Jose State’s last hope for a non-conference win.

• The Reno Gazette-Journal’s Dan Hinxman has a preview of the Wolf Pack’s home opener against Missouri. Nevada will be fighting desperately to avoid a 0-3 start.

• We can’t find any reporting on the Utah State/Southern Utah game, so here’s the official Aggies release.

Men’s basketball

• Fox Sports’ Jeff Goodman takes notice of the Vandals’ hoops resurgence, noting “I’m not sure there’s a better backcourt in the WAC than the duo of Mac Hopson and Steffan Johnson.” (h/t to Parsing the WAC.)

Good Morning Vandal Nation: Sept. 21, 2009

After our usual recovery-Sunday hiatus, there’s a big pile of WAC news from the weekend that was, so let’s get right to it.

First, though, comes the news that Vandal linebacker JoJo Dickson has been named WAC Defensive Player of the Week.

Dickson brought the house down with his spectacular, 74-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter of Saturday’s Idaho Vandals/San Diego State Aztecs game. That opening score gave the Vandals a lead they would never relinquish. Dickson also contributed six tackles on defense, including three solo takedowns.

Football

• In The Argonaut, I’ve got a game story on the Vandals’ 34-20 victory over the San Diego State Aztecs.

• The Moscow-Pullman Daily News’ Sandra Kelly has another gamer.

• The Spokesman-Review’s Josh Wright has yet another gamer — feeling the flow here?

• Over on his blog, the Lewiston Tribune’s Jesse Baumgartner has some insightful postgame commentary — and an admission that he was wrong to pick SDSU!

• The San Diego Union Tribune’s Kevin Gemmell says the Aztecs “gave away” the game with mistake-ridden play. Not giving much credit to the Vandals, is he?

• The Daily Aztec’s David Pope also gives Idaho no credit in his gamer, saying that “on paper,” the Aztecs “should beat Idaho.” Too bad they don’t play football on paper.

• The Daily Collegian of Fresno State reports on the Bulldogs’ home loss to the all-conquering Boise State Broncos.

• GoVandals.net has a great photo gallery from the game.

• The Las Cruces Sun-News’ Teddy Feinberg says the NMSU/UTEP rivalry game was “unwatchable.”

• BleedCrimson.net also has a recap of the ugliness in El Paso.

• The Reno Gazette-Journal’s Dan Hinxman calls the Wolf Pack’s loss at Colorado State “a debacle” and says QB Colin Kaepernick must take much of the blame.

Volleyball

• After a strong start, Vandal volleyball has now dropped six consecutive games. Idaho’s athletic site has the gory details on the losses to UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly.

Soccer

• Idaho’s athletics site has an official report on the Vandals’ loss at Gonzaga on Sunday.

Tennis

• Idaho’s athletics site says the Vandals had a successful outing in their first tournament of the season.

Cross country

• Idaho’s athletics site wraps up the Vandals’ reasonably successful trip to the Sundodger Invitational.

Vandals break losing streak against Eastern Washington; dominate in physical 4-1 win

The University of Idaho Vandals soccer squad pushed aside five years of history tonight with a dominating win over rival Eastern Washington University.

“This was a very satisfying win,” coach Peter Showler said. “We battled, we closed things down, we had players in tight. Everyone worked hard for each other.”

The Vandals (5-3) had lost five straight to the EWU Eagles before this evening’s match, including a heartbreaking 1-0 loss last year in a game where everything but luck was in the Vandals’ favor. In that game, the Vandals dominated the Eagles in every category only to watch shot after shot ring off the Eagles goalpost.

The Vandals struck early in tonight’s game, with Erica Hart blasting a shot past Eagles goalkeeper Lisa Dimak 3:28 into the game.

“Playing forward was a different experience for me,” said Hart, who started off as a defensemen early in the season before advancing to midfield and finally forward. “It was a little nerve-racking, but it was fun working with Chelsea Small.”