What: Idaho (4-3, 2-1) at Appalachian State (4-2, 2-0), 12:30 p.m. PDT, Saturday, Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, N.C.
TV: ESPN3
Betting odds: App. State by 21½ (as of Monday afternoon)
Last week: Idaho def. New Mexico State 55-23; App. State def. Louisiana-Lafayette 24-0.
Five to watch:Idaho … In the best game of the season for Idaho’s third-year starter, quarterback MATT LINEHAN completed 29 more passes to move up to fifth all-time and the junior rolled up 476 passing yards, four TDs through the air and one on the ground. Tight end DEON WATSON also enjoyed a career outing, catching six passes for a personal-best 129 yards and one touchdown. In the absence of Callen Hightower, JORDAN FRYSINGER proved once again he can be a big hitter for this offense, catching four balls for 102 yards and one touchdown. Defensive lineman AIKEEM COLEMAN continues to impress in his debut FBS season and the Mississippi native recorded two QB sacks in the win against NMSU. AUSTIN REHKOW slotted two more field goals and brought his season total to 14-for-16. Rehkow pinned his only punt of the game on the NMSU 3-yard line. Appalachian State … Signal-caller TAYLOR LAMB has been more error-prone this season, with five interceptions to seven touchdowns, but Lamb is still completing 61 percent of his passes. Mountaineer running backs JALIN MOORE and MARCUS COX have combined to rush for 938 yards and eight touchdowns this season, with Moore shouldering the bulk of the load (124 attempts, 660 yards). Pro Football Focus rated App State’s offensive line the third best in the country entering the season and the group is led by PARKER COLLINS, a guard who was named to the Outland Trophy watch list before the season. App State’s best talent on the defensive side of the ball looks to be linebacker JOHN LAW, the conference’s preseason defensive player of the year.
Outlook: UI coach Paul Petrino has been outspoken for his admiration of the program in Boone, N.C., but the Vandals have come up short in both meetings with Appalachian State, losing by 17 points in 2014 and 27 last year. When the schools met last year in the Kibbie Dome, Moore was filling in for an injured Cox and racked up a freshman record 244 yards on the ground. Moore has since usurped Cox on the depth chart and is the conference’s second-leading rusher through six games. App State has been stout defensively during the month of October, conceding just three points in its last two games, against Georgia State and Louisiana-Lafayette. The Mountaineers pitched a shutout against the Ragin’ Cajuns, but they’ll face an Idaho team coming off its best offensive outing in the four-year tenure of Petrino and in the last 13 years. The Vandals scored 55 points in approximately 48 minutes against New Mexico State and piled up 651 yards of total offense. It was a balanced effort that saw Linehan throw four TD passes to four different receivers and all three UI tailbacks get into the end zone.
Prediction: Idaho hasn’t won three consecutive games since the glorious 2009 H-Bowl season and I’m thinking the Vandals will have to wait until at least after the bye week to try do it again ... Appalachian State 38, Idaho 24.
