Vandals look ahead after 1-6 start

Idaho's punt return team has scored more touchdowns (three) than the offense (two) has in the Vandals' last three games.

So for Idaho, 1-6 and coming off a bye week, to turn things around in the second half of the season, the answer is simple, according to Vandals coach Robb Akey.

"Score more points," he said. "Get more productivity out of our offense in regards to finishing drives for touchdowns, score more touchdowns, play better on third down. That's the part of the equation that hasn't clicked for us yet, and as soon as we get some of that, we've got an opportunity to get a little fire started."

Idaho (0-3 in the Western Athletic Conference) plays host to Hawaii (4-3, 2-1) on Saturday at the Kibbie Dome.

Idaho is last out of 120 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision in third-down efficiency, converting 23 of 105 (21.9 percent) on third down. Georgia Tech leads at 58.56 percent; the 60th-place team, N.C. State, is at 40.59.

Last year, Idaho was 39th out of 120 teams, converting 43.43 percent of the time on third down.

Akey said it not necessarily that the Vandals were leaving themselves in third-and-longs most of the time through the first seven games. But in any event, "on third down you've got to make something happen," he said.

In an effort to put the first half of the season behind his team, Akey has closed practice this week, and his players are unavailable to the media. He said he doesn't want his players continually asked about the past, and wants them "to focus on what's in front of us."

After Hawaii, Idaho travels to San Jose State (3-4, 2-1) and BYU (6-2), plays host to Utah State (2-5, 0-2), and finishes the regular season at Nevada (4-3, 2-0).

The fact that none of the WAC teams have a stellar overall record gives Akey hope for the Vandals in their final five games - which if they won out, would make them bowl-eligible.

"I think a lot of us are a whole lot alike," Akey said, "and if one of us could get hot ... obviously we've been the furthest you can get from hot. We're as cold as the damn ice cubes in the freezer. But if we get that thing switched, we could be the team that gets hot. That's why I had the blow torch out all (last) week, see if we could melt some of that ice and get the second half of the season to be better."