Could Idaho Improve in Petrino’s Third Year?

(This is the first of a 14 part series previewing the Sun Belt Conference and Louisiana's 2015 opponents.  Today:  Idaho.  The Cajuns and Vandals to not play this season.)

The numbers don't lie.  Idaho has had one winning season in the last 15 years. They are just 5-42 in the last four seasons.  Their 2014 season started when they traveled over 2,000 miles to Gainesville, FL, only to see their game with the Gators called off because of weather.

They should have known it would be one of those years.  They wound up 1-10 but actually improved slightly over their 2013 season in that their margin of loss was cut by more than half.

Hey, when you can't win, you look for whatever silver lining you can get.

There are signs, however that perhaps Idaho can actually win a few games this year.  Two of their losses a season ago were by a touchdown or less, and that's with a -11 turnover ratio.

OFFENSE--The Vandals return quarterback Matt Linehan, who threw for 2,540 yards as a freshman.  But his touchdown/interception ratio was 11/18 and obviously that needs to improve.  Linehan lost his top receivers, but Dezmon Epps, who missed all of last year with a suspension, is coming back to the Vandals  He had nearly 1,000 receiving yards in 2013.  Senior Elijhaa Penny should be better after a year of D-1 football under his belt.  He was a JUCO All-American in 2013.  Three on the offensive line are back and they've got to do a better job protecting Linehan, as the o-line allowed 41 sacks a season ago, including nine at Texas State and seven against .South Alabama.

DEFENSE--While the Vandals  improved in yards given up per game last year, they still allowed over 37 points per game, but that was better than the 46.8 in 2013.  Last year no one scored 50 on them after giving up 59 or more four times the previous season. They had plenty of issues a year ago, and the failure to get turnovers and get sacks were two of the reasons why.  But linebacker Mark Millan, their leading tackler is back among a half dozen starters.

SPECIAL TEAMS-- Rehkow was a Ray Guy finalist a year ago after averaging nearly 48 yards per punt and netted over 40.  He also handles the placekicking duties, hitting 10-17 a season ago.  They weren't great in the return game, but have a chance to be better with some experience.

SCHEDULE--The good news is Idaho doesn't have to play Louisiana.  The bad news is they don't play Georgia State either. They get App State, Texas State, Georgia Southern and ULM at home.  They played the Warhawks tough last year, losing on a touchdown with :09 left.  But that means their most winnable games (Troy, NMSU and South Alabama) are all on the road.  They travel to USC and Auburn (ouch) in non conference play and host FCS Wofford and Ohio out of the MAC who they played tough on the road a year ago.

OUTLOOK--If you think it's bad having to travel to Moscow, you're right.  But a long trip is something Idaho has to do every time they leave home.  They are really a shoe that doesn't fit in the league and, with rumors abounding as to their future not only in the Sun Belt, but in the FBS, it's gotta be hard to recruit to the panhandle. But here in Paul Petrino's third season the Vandals think they can dent the win column more often, especially if they can improve on that turnover margin.  You have to figure Linehan will be better in this, his sophomore season.  But if improvement is going to result in wins, they have to find a way to get one or two away from the Kibbie Dome, because there doesn't look to be a lot of wins at home this time around.

(Phil Steele's College Football Preview contributed to this story.)