A few ties between Idaho, EWU

Paul Petrino recalled a home visit in Cheney a few years back, when he was recruiting Ty Graham, who is now a junior linebacker for the Vandals.

“His dad (John) was coaching at Eastern at the time, so that was a little interesting,” Petrino said. “And when we were in Ty’s house, Josh Fetter, the linebackers’ coach, his house was right next door.”

Fetter and Brian Strandley both played at Idaho during Petrino’s time as an assistant for the Vandals (1992-94).

“Both are great guys; I love ’em to death,” Petrino said. “Actually when I first got the job here I tried to hire Fetter, but he was loyal to the coaches up there that he had been with.”

Both are in their eighth seasons as Eagle assistants. Strandley coaches the defensive line.

“They’re two guys that, as a coach, you really apprecaited them as players for how hard they worked and how hard they played,” Petrino said. “And it’s no surprise that they’re both successful as coaches.”

Idaho football (3-4, 2-3 Big Sky) plays at Eastern Washington (5-2, 3-1) on Saturday at Roos Field in Cheney.

CLOSE, BUT NOT RIVALS ... YET?: Idaho and Eastern are roughly 70 miles apart. They met as members of the Big Sky Conference from 1985-95, with Idaho winning 10 of the 12 meetings (the teams met twice in 1985, with EWU winning at Idaho in the I-AA playoffs).

They’ve met just six times since Idaho moved up to Division I-A in 1996, and only once (in 2012) since 2003.

It’s Idaho’s first trip to Cheney since 1999, and first visit there for a Big Sky game since 1994.

Idaho leads the overall series 15-6.

In Idaho’s Big Sky days, the Vandals’ rival was Boise State. What will it take to make Idaho-Eastern a rivalry?

“I just think tough, hard-fought games,” Petrino said. “If you go against each other each year, and they’re hard-fought games, that’s how you build a rivalry ... that’s how it starts.

“With as close as we both are, I would assume it will become a real big rivalry.”