The unranked University of Idaho football team has a tall task ahead this Saturday, as they'll visit the University of Nebraska Cornhuskiers — a team with five national titles that is ranked in the top 10 nationally this year.
On the surface this figures to be like every other Vandal game we've seen against a big-time foe: lopsided loss, horrible for program morale, injuries aplenty and gnashing of teeth.
So what's going to make the outcome better this time? Maybe nothing, but if anything, turnovers is one of the best bets. In 2009, UN's two losses to unranked teams were marked by giveaways and really poor offensive performances.
Iowa State defeated the Cornhuskers 9-7 — sounds like a perfect time for a nap — mostly because of eight turnovers, including five lost fumbles. A week earlier UN lost 31-10 to Texas Tech, turning the ball over twice and managing just 285 yards.
UI's still-emerging defense — even that is probably more of a "glass half full" description of this unit — probably won't shut down the UN offense. But turnovers can happen any way, any time — especially in the presence of senior talent/leadership.
Enter Shiloh Keo and JoJo Dickson. On Thursday versus The University of North Dakota — the poor, poor, poor, VERY poor man's Cornhuskers — Keo and Dickson each picked off a pass, and the former forced and recovered a fumble. And we know from many previous games during their tenure that their penchant for ball thievery is no anomaly.
Turnovers are practically impossible to predict, mostly because many of them are plain, dumb luck. But I'd take plain, dumb luck over a 56-point drubbing, wouldn't you?
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