Vandals seek WAC win

If the Idaho Vandals play like they did for much of the game last week at Fresno State, they have a good chance to beat a Football Bowl Subdivision team for the first time in two years tonight at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, La.

That's a big if, of course.

The Vandals have lost 22 straight games to FBS teams, but that can come to an end tonight when Idaho (1-6, 0-3 Western Athletic Conference) plays Louisiana Tech (2-3, 0-2).

Ruston was the scene of Idaho's last win over an FBS school, 24-14 over Louisiana Tech, during Dennis Erickson's one-season return as Vandal coach.

"I want to see us continue to pay attention to where we're at, keep growing up," Idaho coach Robb Akey said. "I believe we're closer to getting the deal done than we were a week ago."

Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley, son of legendary former Georgia coach Vince Dooley, has opted to change quarterbacks for tonight's game. He has benched senior Taylor Bennett in favor of sophomore Ross Jenkins.

Bennett played at Georgia Tech last year, but transferred when the Yellow Jackets switched coaches and offensive schemes. He started the first five games for Louisiana Tech, completing 61 of 156 passes (39.1 percent) for 844 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions.

Jenkins, who will be making his first college start, has completed 4 of 12 passes for 15 yards with one interception.

"I don't know where it will lead us," Dooley said. "At this point, it's something we need to do."

Jenkins figures to have time to throw, as the Vandals have just four sacks in seven games, and the Bulldogs have allowed only five sacks - tops in the league. Idaho quarterbacks have been sacked 18 times.

"They're going through some tough times like we are," Dooley said of Idaho.

Louisiana Tech opened with a 22-14 victory over Mississippi State of the Southeastern Conference. In WAC play, the Bulldogs have lost at Boise State (38-3) and, last Saturday, at Hawaii (24-14).

"They've had a couple of rough ones, and a lot of travel," Akey said of Louisiana Tech. "They've got good speed on that offense, and that offensive line about blocks out the sun."

Louisiana Tech sophomore receiver Phillip Livas is the WAC leader in all-purpose yardage with an average at 168.6 yards per game, which ranks eighth nationally.

Louisiana Tech won 28-16 in Moscow last year, scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns to overcome a 16-14 deficit.

Both Idaho and Louisiana Tech started their seasons Aug. 30, but the Vandals have played two more games than the Bulldogs since then.

Louisiana Tech opened vs. Mississippi State, then played seven days later at then-No. 14 Kansas. The Bulldogs didn't play again for two weeks, a home win over Southwestern Louisiana.

Louisiana Tech played at Boise State 11 days later, then it was another 10 days before the Bulldogs played at Hawaii.

"It's been challenging," Dooley said. "You can look at it two ways - it gives you a lot of preparation time, but it also tends to drag things on. … The biggest problem has been, we've played some pretty good teams on the road. It's not necessarily where we're going but who we're playing."