The Front Row with MARK NELKE Feb. 27, 2010

Robb Akey didn't think much about what he said at the time - "That was just me being me," he said.

But the parting words of Idaho's football coach at halftime of the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise in December to ESPN sideline reporter Heather Cox - "Watch the second half; you're going to love it" - have taken on a life of their own.

"You'll be walking in the airport and people will say, 'You're going to love this,'" Akey said earlier this month, while in Coeur d'Alene for a post-recruiting function with the Vandal Boosters. "They'll start throwing that quote at me. And it's coming from people that aren't necessarily alums."

Akey said he never thought twice about what he said - and if you've heard him talk, that's just how he is. As it turned out, he was right, as Idaho scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion in the final seconds to beat Bowling Green 43-42 in a game that led SportsCenter.

"We were going to the plane that night, and somebody sent me a text ... 'Great quote,'" Akey said. "I'm like, 'What are they talking about?' Then my brother-in-law called me and said 'Hey, they're running this deal on ESPN with your quote.' What are you talking about? What did I say? I had no idea.

"Then I saw it, and I didn't even think it was that big of a deal ... that's just me. That people thought that much about it, I was surprised. That was just me being me. It's been fun, it ended up being a great lead-in to a great second half, and a great closer - we've gotten some great publicity from that ballgame."

AKEY SAID he recently offered a scholarship to a high school junior, and he was talking to his high school coach, whom he has known for many years. The coach told him he was talking to the player and his family the other night.

"Coach Akey is going to offer you a scholarship," the high school coach told the player.

"Oh, that's the guy that said that at halftime," the player replied.

"So they knew who we were and they watched that game," Akey said.

Having ESPN analyst and former Idaho standout Mark Schlereth wearing his Vandal gear around the Bristol campus hasn't hurt Idaho's visibility either. Neither has the Vandals' football helmet sitting on the desk in front of Scott Van Pelt during the final hour of his show, which is televised. Now if the Vandal football coach could get people like Mark May of ESPN to stop calling him "Ackey" instead of Akey.

"I'm going to have to get after him, because I've had to endure him for golf," said Akey, who played with May last May in Phoenix.

BEFORE THE Humanitarian Bowl, Akey reminded his players they were the only game on television for those 3 1/2 hours, and to "play as hard as you can for, as fast as you can, as long as you can, and for all those people who have never seen the Idaho Vandals play, make them fall in love with you because of the way you play."

And he figured if he was going to ask his team to play like that, he'd better coach that way. That's why he decided to go for two and the win, rather than take the safe way out and play for overtime.

"When they scored and took the lead, I asked Ax (offensive coordinator Steve Axman), 'Do you have a great 2-point play?' He instantly tells me, 'Coach, I've got two.' We had a little conversation and I told em, 'We score on this play, we're going for two, so be ready,' and they were."

Each team called a timeout after the touchdown, giving Akey more time to rethink his decision.

"I was talking to (quarterbacks coach) Jonathan Smith, and I got Axman in my ear, and I got (Mark) Criner right here, the defensive coordinator, and (quarterback) Nate (Enderle) was standing here. I said (to Enderle), 'What do you think, big fella? And he said, 'Coach, we'll get it done for you.' I said, 'I think so, too, let's go get it done.'"

Did anybody try to talk you out of it?

"I will keep that between me and whoever," Akey said with a laugh.

AFTER WINNING three games combined the previous two years, Idaho finished 8-5 last season, its first winning season in 10 years, and went to a bowl game for the first time in 11 seasons.

And with most of the players back, expectations will obviously be higher.

"We're not going to sneak up on anybody," Akey said. "People are going to pay attention to us now, and they're all going to want to know if we can do it twice in a row, or were we just a fluke, and that's fine. I think there'll still be a little 'Us against the World.'

"You're not going to surprise anybody, but we weren't trying to sneak-attack anybody," Akey said. "We were irritated; if people aren't going to take you seriously, they need to pay for it. Let it be irritating if the outside world doesn't think much of you."

THIS FALL, Idaho is scheduled to play non-conference home games vs. North Dakota and UNLV, and travel to Nebraska, Colorado State and Western Michigan.

In Western Athletic Conference play, Idaho will play host to Boise State, Nevada, San Jose State and New Mexico State, and travel to Hawaii, Louisiana Tech, Fresno State and Utah State.

It's up to ESPN to decide whether to move any of Idaho's games from a Saturday to any other day of the week. Akey said he'd welcome ESPN to Moscow for any Vandal home game.

As for the Boise State game in particular, he wouldn't mind seeing that game moved to a Friday night to kick off Rivalry Weekend in November.

Heck, he'd probably play it on a Tuesday at midnight if it meant ESPN would come to Moscow and the Vandals would be the only game on TV for 3 1/2 hours.

"We'll have bells on," Akey said.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via e-mail at mnelke@cdapress.com.