Vandals Find a Private Idaho

Trying to qualify for permanent Division I-A football status, Idaho is playing its home games at Washington State’s 37,000-seat Martin Stadium.

Idaho’s first “home game” was Saturday, and ironically, the visiting team was Washington State. The home-field advantage was in effect, as Idaho pulled off a 28-17 upset. It was the Vandals’ first victory over Washington State since 1965, ending a 14-game losing streak to the Cougars.

Idaho, based in nearby Moscow, must average at least 17,000 fans for its four home games this season to stay in Division I-A.

Since Idaho’s usual home, the Kibbie Dome, seats only 16,000, school officials made a deal with their neighbor to play home games eight miles west.

The Vandals gave away 2,500 free tickets to students this week to pump up attendance. That worked too: 34,873 attended the game.

Idaho is paying $7,500 per game rent to use Martin Stadium. The Cougars will retain parking and concession revenues.

But Martin Stadium wasn’t exactly decked out in Idaho colors Saturday. The only sign that it was an Idaho home game was that the Vandals wore their black uniforms, and the Cougars their white road uniforms.

Idaho fans were relegated to the end zone seats that visiting fans always receive.

“I’m not considering any of these games home games,” said Idaho defensive tackle Mao Tosi.

Although they were long a power in the Division I-AA Big Sky Conference, the Vandals moved up to the Big West Conference in 1996.

Last season, the Vandals finished a surprising 9-3 and beat Southern Mississippi in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise.

Last week, they lost at Auburn by a score of just 30-23. The pain was soothed by a $325,000 check.

Idaho hopes to play in Martin Stadium for only this one season. In the future, they’ll be able to retain Division I-A status simply by averaging 20,000-attendance for road games, said spokesman Andrew Longeteig.

“We’re playing at Washington and Oregon and West Virginia next season,” he said. “That will help us easily attain the 20,000 goal.”

PUTTING IT IN PERSPECTIVE

It might take a while--perhaps months, when football season is long over--for Imani Percoats to fully grasp how much he’s lost.

The senior wide receiver has been one of the biggest surprises for Oregon State, which went 3-0 for the first time since 1967 Saturday when it defeated Georgia Southern, the nation’s top-ranked team in Division I-AA, 48-41.

Percoats, 22, who caught three passes for 31 yards Saturday, has used his success to take his mind off the death of his girlfriend. Nineteen-year-old Melany Padilla died Sept. 5 of injuries she suffered in an auto accident in California on Aug. 30.

She and Percoats had grown up two blocks from each other in Merced, Calif., had dated off and on for two years and had been seeing each other steadily for the last eight months.

“He really loved his girlfriend,” said his brother, Rodney. “It hit him hard.”

Percoats went to Reno for the Beavers’ first game knowing she was in a coma and that her family soon would make the decision whether to remove her from life support. She died the next day.

“Early in the week, I was contemplating going home,” Percoats said. “But I talked with her family, and with my brother and my mom, and they all said she would want me to play in the game.”

He dedicated last Saturday’s game in her memory, and played inspired football. His caught five passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns in a 46-23 victory over Fresno State,

For Percoats, life is a blur. On one hand, he’s thrilled to be playing well for a major college team, an achievement that once seemed unreachable for someone who played just one year in high school. On the other hand is sadness, which he is trying his best to shut out.

“I’ve been receiving a lot of letters from my friends, so that’s helped,” he said. “I’m here to play football and to go to school, so that’s what I’m trying to keep focused on right now. I’ll deal with grieving a little bit later.”

UNIVERSITY HIGH

Pretty good so far for some former NFL coaches who jumped back into the college ranks this season:

John Robinson, former Los Angeles Ram coach and two-time USC coach, is 2-1 at Nevada Las Vegas, a team that had a 16-game losing streak when he took over.

Dennis Erickson, former Seattle Seahawk and Miami Hurricane coach, is 3-0 at Oregon State, which is after its first winning season since 1970.

June Jones, former Atlanta Falcon and San Diego Charger coach, is 1-1 at Hawaii, which beat Eastern Illinois, 31-27, to end major college’s longest losing streak at 19 games. Hawaii played late Saturday night against Boise State.

And then there’s Kevin Steele, former Carolina Panther assistant, who is 0-3 at Baylor. But one loss came on a missed extra point in overtime and one last Saturday when the Bears fumbled on the last play of the game only to have it returned 99 yards by Nevada Las Vegas for the winning points.

PICK A SPORT, ANY SPORT

Doug Johnson passed for 338 yards and two touchdowns in Florida’s 23-21 victory over Tennessee on Saturday, a good effort for a guy who considers himself a baseball player.

For nearly two years, Florida Coach Steve Spurrier belittled Johnson’s two-sport aspirations.

The only way his strong-armed quarterback could manage the nuances of the Fun ‘n’ Gun offense, Spurrier said, was for Johnson to turn his back on baseball.

It’s an approach that wouldn’t have gone over well with Miami quarterback Kenny Kelly.

“That wasn’t fair on Steve Spurrier’s part,” said Kelly, who like Johnson spends his summers playing in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ organization.

“Playing baseball in the summer is my job,” Kelly continued. “If a coach told me that he doesn’t think it’s good to go back and do my job, stay here full-time, I’d ask, ‘How would it feel for you not to go to your job?’ That’s how I take care of my daughters and nobody can stop me.”

Spurrier wasn’t happy in 1997 when Johnson, Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel’s heir apparent, left to honor his summer commitment to the Devil Rays, who took him in the second round of the 1996 draft. And the displeasure grew when Johnson threw six interceptions and no touchdowns in two losses.

Johnson wound up being benched, then alternated with Noah Brindise and Jesse Palmer. Elbow surgery, leading some to wonder about overuse, caused Johnson to sit idle in summer 1998.

The relationship didn’t really warm until after last January’s Orange Bowl. Johnson dedicated himself to his senior season, and Spurrier handed him the starting job.

“Doug’s got one year left of college football,” Spurrier said before Saturday’s game.

“If baseball’s his best sport, he’s got the rest of his life to do it. He’s only got one more year to see if football’s his best sport.”

LOOK FOR THE UNION LABEL

With a 59-0 victory over Hiram College, Division III Mount Union is only four wins shy of breaking college football’s longest all-time winning streak set by the Oklahoma (47, from 1953-57). The Raiders also own college football’s best record in the ‘90s (110-6-1).

And just to prove they are getting better each year, the Purple Raiders improved their margin of victory over Hiram compared to last season, when they could only manage a 58-0 win.

Big Gainer

While making his run at NCAA career rushing record, Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne moved into first place in Big Ten’s career rushing list, surpassing two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin with his 231 yards Saturday. A look:

* 1. RON DAYNE, Wisconsin (1996-current)

946 carries, 5,615 yards, 5.94 avg.

* 2. ARCHIE GRIFFIN, Ohio State (1972-75)

924 carries, 5,589 yards, 6.05 avg.

* 3. ANTHONY THOMPSON, Indiana (1986-89)

1,161 carries, 5,299 yards, 4.56 avg.

* 4. LORENZO WHITE, Michigan State (1984-87)

1,082 carries, 4,887 yards, 4.52 avg.

* 5. DARRELL THOMPSON, Minnesota (1986-89)

911 carries, 4,518 yards, 4.96 avg.

*

--Compiled by Houston Mitchell