2018 Idaho Preview

[Cave_Johnson]

Well shit, I can't not do this again. Wasn't planning on writing it up, and this is going to be an abridged version here but I figured I should get this out on the official start of the college football season (which I didn't even realize was today until a few days ago).

I'll save everybody (all 2 of you) some time and just say that most of this year depends on QB play. And QB is a BIG...FUCKING....QUESTION MARK. I don't know what is going on here. Ideally Colton Richardson would be the entrenched starter after playing three full games last year (he didn't do that), and Mason Petrino would be a 4th string WR (he isn't). But alas, this is Idaho. And unfortunately the QB position is STILL a time share between the two. Part of that is because Dylan Lemle is not getting reps due to academic issues, and part of it is because the other two QB options didn't arrive on Campus until very recently (Naher) or were immediately moved to playing DB (Borsich). It's thin at QB once again and I don't know what to say other than this is a coaching/recruiting issue. By my count 4 QBs have transferred out since Chalich started the trend and right now this team is FUCKED if Richardson isn't on the field. So there's that. I expect a shit show during week on

The O-line SHOULD be solid but scrimmages are making it seem like they can't run block, which is disturbing because there is so much inexperience at the WR, TE, and QB positions. If the run game can't get going then this team can't score. And if that doesn't happen then....well...I'd rather they disband the football program than watch this shit. It's going to be bad. Schuster, Vrba, Tuelette, and Johnson all return on the O-line with some questions at Strong Tackle. We'll see I guess.

Saunders will be the starting RB, no question there.

At WR it's anyone's guess. Ungerer is the only returning guy with any experience and Kaden Ellis is getting a lot of reps at TE and at the slot position. This would make me think the WRs are having issues, but according to what I've read the offense is putting up huge numbers against the Idaho DBs in scrimmages. But that just makes me wonder how bad the DBs are because Mason Petrino is getting most of the TD passes and he sucks balls. I don't know. This is a lazy, drunken analysis and I realize that. But I just don't know with this offense.

On defense they've lost Aikeem Coleman. That's it. Right? Oh wait, forgot about the best player on D in Tony Lashley who grad transferred away. And Kaden Ellis who is now playing both ways and will probably have limited snaps on D.

That's still okay right? Well, like I said the DBs are apparently getting roasted by Petrino Jr. in scrimmages which makes me think they aren't that great despite returning 5 solid players. Guess we'll see. I still like the LB's the with Ellis Bros, Ed Hall, and Ty Graham coupled with a few EMCC transfers on the D-line in Henderson and Boatright. Front 7 will be solid, secondary is still questionable even though on paper they should be one of the best in the league.

Season Prediction:

Honestly, there are 5 games this year I know the outcome of before the season starts, and 4 of them are losses. This team isn't making the playoffs unless a miracle occurs and even if they do it will be a road game on Thanksgiving weekend and no one will care.

@ Fresno State: L - Not doing a preview for this, but I have this as a 56-10 loss optimistically.
vs. Western New Mexico: W - I guess Moscow High wasn't available. Dumb game, easy win. Unfortunately I'll probably be at this one.
@ UC Davis: W - They usually suck, but I'm sure Dan Hawkins will make this hell on Idaho like he usually does. I'm being optimistic here with and Idaho win.
vs. Portland State: W - They also usually suck but they barely lost to Oregon State last year. Narrow victory.
@ Idaho State: L - Battle of the Domes!!!! Lame rivalry coming back. This would be the most embarrassing loss and ISU isn't going to completely suck next year. I'm sure Idaho finds a way to lose.
@ Montana State: L - MSU's starting QB is out for the year but this would be another sad loss to another mediocre Big Sky team. Probably going to happen.
vs. Southern Utah: L - Actually a good Big Sky team. Made the playoffs last year. They win, Idaho's offense is probably down to only 1 decent QB with experience at this point.
@ Eastern Washington: L - Probably closer than I think but I'm sure they lose this. They've lost to EWU the last two times at home.
vs. North Dakota: W - I know nothing about them other than they sucked last year. I'll give Idaho the benefit of the doubt.
vs. Montana: W - New coach and their QB from last year transferred. Probably going to be a garbage game with no meaning but I'll take Idaho even though most fans at the game will probably be from Montana. Idaho wins the Lil' Brown Stein, a.k.a. the Tallest Midget Trophy.
@ Florida: L - HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. My asshole already hurts thinking about this.

So that's 5-6. 6-5 would not surprise me but either way it's a lost season with no meaning. That said I'll watch every game because I hate myself more than anything on this earth. Even Jimmy Fallon. And I FUCKING HATE Jimmy Fallon,.

 

[Cave_Johnson]

Oh, and this seems like a good place to throw in my complaints about the FCS playoff system. I didn't know anything about this shit show until about a year ago because I really didn't watch. I used to think the FCS playoffs were interesting because well....it was better than voting for a champion. But now that I look into it, it seems like the FCS playoff system was designed by retards to make sure as few people watch it as possible.

Complaints are as follows:

1) The playoffs use a bidding process for the first round to determine who gets a home game.

Yes. There are 24 teams that make the playoffs and the first 16 have to play in the first round. But the home team isn't determined by performance on the field. It's determined by attendance numbers and a school bidding on the game. Basically the FCS Playoff first round is equivalent to a pay-to-play tournament like the college basketball CBI or CIT tournaments. That's fucking retarded.

2) The first round of the FCS Playoffs occurs during FBS rivalry week.

Wow, what a great way to make sure nobody gives a fuck about your playoff games. FBS rivalry week > any FCS game. 2-10 Indiana vs. 3-8 Purdue gets better ratings than ANY FCS game that weekend. I don't know why they don't start the FCS playoffs during the Army-Navy week of FBS games. There's ONE FBS game on that day. Why not take advantage of that? Nah, let's just make sure nobody cares. Good job retards.

3) The second round of the FCS Playoffs occurs during FBS Championship Week.

See #2. This is also fucking retarded.

4) Okay, I'll give them this. They do actually play games during Army-Navy week of the FBS schedule. It's just down to 8 teams by then and nobody realizes that the FCS playoffs even started. This week probably gets good ratings. This is only slightly retarded.

5) The FCS playoff semifinals occur right when the NFL starts playing games on Saturdays.

Nobody watches FCS football while the NFL is on. NOBODY. The World Series doesn't get more viewers than Sunday Night Football. Why would an FCS semifinal get anything close? This is fucking retarded.

6) The FCS Championship Game occurs one month after the semifinal at 9 am PST ON THE SAME DAY THE NFL PLAYOFFS START.

I can't think of a worse day to hold your stupid fucking meaningless national championship game. Wow. More people probably watching iCarly reruns on Nickelodeon at this time. Who is stupid enough to put this game at this time? Jesus Christ that guy is a fucking retard.

7) About a 1/3 of the FCS field of teams doesn't try, so if you don't make this shitty playoff it means you really suck.

5 of 13 FCS conferences either don't participate in the playoff, play with 0 scholarships, or play with <40 scholarships. I.e. they don't actually try to compete. That's not counting the really poor FCS teams that just can't compete. So really this whole subdivision is like 60 teams deep and almost half make the playoff. That's fucking retarded.

How to fix it:

Simple. Go to 16 teams in the playoff. Seed them all, get rid of bidding for games. Start the playoff during Army-Navy week, and end it before the NFL playoffs start and before the big time FBS bowl get going. It's not hard. More people will watch and somebody might care.

December 8th - First Round 16 teams
December 15th - Quarterfinal 8 teams
December 22nd - Semifinal 4 teams
December 29th - Championship

Again it's not hard. Unless you're retarded.

 

[Cave_Johnson]

Well shit, I can't not do this again. Wasn't planning on writing it up, and this is going to be an abridged version here but I figured I should get this out on the official start of the college football season (which I didn't even realize was today until a few days ago).

I'll save everybody (all 2 of you) some time and just say that most of this year depends on QB play. And QB is a BIG...FUCKING....QUESTION MARK. I don't know what is going on here. Ideally Colton Richardson would be the entrenched starter after playing three full games last year (he didn't do that), and Mason Petrino would be a 4th string WR (he isn't). But alas, this is Idaho. And unfortunately the QB position is STILL a time share between the two. Part of that is because Dylan Lemle is not getting reps due to academic issues, and part of it is because the other two QB options didn't arrive on Campus until very recently (Naher) or were immediately moved to playing DB (Borsich). It's thin at QB once again and I don't know what to say other than this is a coaching/recruiting issue. By my count 4 QBs have transferred out since Chalich started the trend and right now this team is FUCKED if Richardson isn't on the field. So there's that. I expect a shit show during week on

The O-line SHOULD be solid but scrimmages are making it seem like they can't run block, which is disturbing because there is so much inexperience at the WR, TE, and QB positions. If the run game can't get going then this team can't score. And if that doesn't happen then....well...I'd rather they disband the football program than watch this shit. It's going to be bad. Schuster, Vrba, Tuelette, and Johnson all return on the O-line with some questions at Strong Tackle. We'll see I guess.

Saunders will be the starting RB, no question there.

At WR it's anyone's guess. Ungerer is the only returning guy with any experience and Kaden Ellis is getting a lot of reps at TE and at the slot position. This would make me think the WRs are having issues, but according to what I've read the offense is putting up huge numbers against the Idaho DBs in scrimmages. But that just makes me wonder how bad the DBs are because Mason Petrino is getting most of the TD passes and he sucks balls. I don't know. This is a lazy, drunken analysis and I realize that. But I just don't know with this offense.

On defense they've lost Aikeem Coleman. That's it. Right? Oh wait, forgot about the best player on D in Tony Lashley who grad transferred away. And Kaden Ellis who is now playing both ways and will probably have limited snaps on D.

That's still okay right? Well, like I said the DBs are apparently getting roasted by Petrino Jr. in scrimmages which makes me think they aren't that great despite returning 5 solid players. Guess we'll see. I still like the LB's the with Ellis Bros, Ed Hall, and Ty Graham coupled with a few EMCC transfers on the D-line in Henderson and Boatright. Front 7 will be solid, secondary is still questionable even though on paper they should be one of the best in the league.

Season Prediction:

Honestly, there are 5 games this year I know the outcome of before the season starts, and 4 of them are losses. This team isn't making the playoffs unless a miracle occurs and even if they do it will be a road game on Thanksgiving weekend and no one will care.

@ Fresno State: L - Not doing a preview for this, but I have this as a 56-10 loss optimistically.
vs. Western New Mexico: W - I guess Moscow High wasn't available. Dumb game, easy win. Unfortunately I'll probably be at this one.
@ UC Davis: W - They usually suck, but I'm sure Dan Hawkins will make this hell on Idaho like he usually does. I'm being optimistic here with and Idaho win.
vs. Portland State: W - They also usually suck but they barely lost to Oregon State last year. Narrow victory.
@ Idaho State: L - Battle of the Domes!!!! Lame rivalry coming back. This would be the most embarrassing loss and ISU isn't going to completely suck next year. I'm sure Idaho finds a way to lose.
@ Montana State: L - MSU's starting QB is out for the year but this would be another sad loss to another mediocre Big Sky team. Probably going to happen.
vs. Southern Utah: L - Actually a good Big Sky team. Made the playoffs last year. They win, Idaho's offense is probably down to only 1 decent QB with experience at this point.
@ Eastern Washington: L - Probably closer than I think but I'm sure they lose this. They've lost to EWU the last two times at home.
vs. North Dakota: W - I know nothing about them other than they sucked last year. I'll give Idaho the benefit of the doubt.
vs. Montana: W - New coach and their QB from last year transferred. Probably going to be a garbage game with no meaning but I'll take Idaho even though most fans at the game will probably be from Montana. Idaho wins the Lil' Brown Stein, a.k.a. the Tallest Midget Trophy.
@ Florida: L - HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. My asshole already hurts thinking about this.

So that's 5-6. 6-5 would not surprise me but either way it's a lost season with no meaning. That said I'll watch every game because I hate myself more than anything on this earth. Even Jimmy Fallon. And I FUCKING HATE Jimmy Fallon,.

Wow, lots of typos here. Ignore them. I'm retarded.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Wow there really is a lot of stupid stuff I never realized went on with the FCS playoffs, what a ridiculous and messed up system

You guys dropped off a bit last year but could still compete somewhat well against FBS teams, I'd imagine you'll at least be ok this year

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I don't know. This is a lazy, drunken analysis and I realize that. But I just don't know with this offense.

Only way to make a Vandals prediction!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

If Petrino Jr is making it rain on this defense then there's just no chance this team will be competitive this year lol.

Without Lashley this defense is hot garbage. He was the glue that made that unit somewhat competitive last season. Now its on Ellis, of whom has his plate full and will struggle to lead the D.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Didn't hear about Lemle already having academic issues but it doesn't surprise me... Another Cali thug with zero understanding of education. I'd be surprised if he ever played. But if he does then he'll likely get pushed into WR or RB.

 

[Cave_Johnson]

Wow there really is a lot of stupid stuff I never realized went on with the FCS playoffs, what a ridiculous and messed up system

You guys dropped off a bit last year but could still compete somewhat well against FBS teams, I'd imagine you'll at least be ok this year

Well they're definitely not going to be a BAD FCS team but I could see them being a mediocre FCS team which means they're pretty much shit overall. 7 wins is possible if certain things go right, but I doubt that's enough for a playoff bid.

 

[Cave_Johnson]

If Petrino Jr is making it rain on this defense then there's just no chance this team will be competitive this year lol.

Without Lashley this defense is hot garbage. He was the glue that made that unit somewhat competitive last season. Now its on Ellis, of whom has his plate full and will struggle to lead the D.

Didn't hear about Lemle already having academic issues but it doesn't surprise me... Another Cali thug with zero understanding of education. I'd be surprised if he ever played. But if he does then he'll likely get pushed into WR or RB.

It's odd. I thought this team was going to have to depend on the running game with some decent O-line talent and Saunders coming back and tons of inexperience at QB and WR. Reports from camp though are that the first team offense can't run the ball and scores at will through the air. Lil' Petrino's stats are definitely inflated from the offense starting at the 30ish yard line on a lot of drives, but it's hard to ignore what the reports are saying.

That said, I'd disagree with you on the defense. They were okay last year, but were inconsistent. If you're comparing them to FCS defenses, specifically Big Sky defenses, I'd put the front 7 up against anybody else in the league even with Lashley gone. And I would have said the same about the secondary until this recent news. Could all be just noise though. Problem is that isn't going to hard to tell for sure with the first two games likely being blowouts.

As far as Lemle goes, I don't know the specifics. Sounded like he didn't have academic issues in high school and he was getting reps during spring ball. Must be a recent thing.

 

[963BUSC]

Thanks for the write up.

 

[Cave_Johnson]

I changed my mind on a few of these. I have pretty much no idea about 80% of the Big Sky teams because it's really hard to follow any of this little league shit. Given that a few teams have played I now have at least a bit of a info to go on.

UC Davis is about to beat SJSU (who sucks) but this game would also be really embarrassing to lose so I'm changing that to an L.

Also changing Montana State to a W because they have no passing game again for the 3rd straight year. I have a feeling that's going to bite them in the ass.

So same record, just switching embarrassing losses.

Also Weber State was supposed to be a top 5-10 FCS school and just ass raped by a good, but not amazing Utah team. LOL.

 

[Cave_Johnson]

Well they're definitely not going to be a BAD FCS team but I could see them being a mediocre FCS team which means they're pretty much shit overall. 7 wins is possible if certain things go right, but I doubt that's enough for a playoff bid.

HAHAHAHAHAHA. Wow I'm stupid. Worst team in the Big Sky? Maybe not but it's damn close.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

HAHAHAHAHAHA. Wow I'm stupid. Worst team in the Big Sky? Maybe not but it's damn close.

Hey they may have a good shot at beating up a crappy Portland State squad this week!

 

[Cave_Johnson]

Hey they may have a good shot at beating up a crappy Portland State squad this week!

Honestly, this might be their only chance for a win this year.