VANDAL FOOTBALL: Slow the QB, and perhaps a bowl awaits

Senior quarterback Tyler Jones has completed 64.5 percent of his passes this season for Texas State, throwing for 1,894 yards and 10 touchdowns, with 10 interceptions.

He’s also their No. 2 rusher with 302 yards gained.

So the focus for Idaho’s defense is pretty evident, when the Vandals (5-4, 3-2 Sun Belt) pay a visit to San Marcos, Texas today to face the Bobcats (2-6, 0-4) in a huge game for Idaho at Bobcat Stadium.

A win would make the Vandals bowl-eligible for the first time since 2009.

“It all starts with stopping that quarterback,” Idaho coach Paul Petrino said. “He’s a very tough kid, very competitive. I’ve seen him take some big hits and get right back up and keep competing and keep playing hard. It starts with stopping him defensively, and then offensively, they do a lot of things on defense, they really try to confuse you ... a lot of different looks.”

This year, the Vandals have done a better job of slowing down teams, after ranking near the bottom of the FBS in defense in previous years. They’re not exactly the Seahawks yet, but are not the 49ers on defense either, ranking 94th in total defense in FBS, and eighth in the Sun Belt, allowing 439.1 yards per game.

Baby steps.

“It starts with the guys up front,” Petrino said. “Tueni (Lupeanamu, defensive lineman) is doing a great job, Glen (Antoine) he Aikeem (Coleman) are playing awesome ... and I think our three linebackers are playing really well. It just starts with the front seven guys; they’re doing a good job just flying around and doing what they’ve been coached.”

Of course a big part of the defense is Austin Rehkow, who ranks third in the Sun Belt and 30th nationally in punting, and 18 of his 39 punts have finished inside the 20.