SO…. the big game is this Friday, and the Broncos are favored by 34.5 points.  And it could be the end of a bitter and intense rivalry. With BSU changing leagues, this could be the end of a great interstate battle between two teams that don’t like each other.  Since I did not grow up in Idaho, I am not a die hard fan of either squad.  I will admit I have been rooting for the Vandals lately for only one reason only:  I am rooting for the underdog.  When the Vandals were on their winning streak against BSU, I rooted for the Broncos. 

I respect Chris Peterson and have always thought he was a class act.  However, the recent article about him and Rob Akey talking about continuing the game in the future made me scratch my head in wonder when I read Peterson’s comments.  He wants the game to continue, but only if it is played at BSU every year.  To his credit, Akey said no way and he wanted to continue playing a home and home series. 

Here’s the obvious question: why in the world would any coach involved in an intense rivalry even suggest such a ludicrous idea?  Can you imagine Ohio State telling Michigan that they want to play at OSU each year? How about USC saying, sorry Bruins but if you play us, it’s going to beat the Coliseum from now on or we won’t play you. 

How do you think Peterson and the Bronco fans would have responded if Idaho had suggested they play at the Kibbie Dome each year?  They would have laughed it off as the most ridiculous idea they had ever heard of.    Peterson should either support a home and home, or say that since they are in different leagues, the rivalry is going to end.  Both of those answers are better than suggesting they play at BSU forever more. That one is just plain stupid.

Let’s quickly switch to Bob Kustra, the BSU president. He had some very poorly chosen words for Vandal fans this last July when he called them “nasty, inebriated.”  Senior running back for the Vandals, Deonte Jackson had a response. “Personally,I tried not to read too much into it,” he said. “But I wouldn’t expect anything different coming from the blue and orange snot. I just took it and use it as fuel in the fire and feed my hunger to want to get after these guys to finish my career off with a win against them and bring pride back to this community,the University of Idaho and Moscow.”

Before you BSU fans get upset over his comments remember that he didn’t take the first shot.  He was responding to a very negative attack of his fan base by a high ranking person who should absolutely know better.  Kustra is the president of a university that has been basking in glory for quite some time now.  Trying to humiliate or tear down the Vandal fans serves no purpose whatsoever. I’ve always thought that a poor loser at least has an excuse:  he is losing. What excuse does a poor winner have? After all, Kustra, aren’t there inebriated college kids on every campus, even yours?  It’s somewhat redundant.

Deonte Jackson went on to say this about the BSU football team: “They have great athletes and they have other guys who are just hard-nosed workers who get out there and give it their all,” Jackson said. “They believe in each other and they believe in their coaches and execute their plans to a T.”

Hey, Kutsra, this is the type of answer we want to read about in the paper, not some negative attack you aim against a team you could beat by 50 points.  When a 22 year old can have more class than a grown man who is also a university president, well that says a lot about each man.

I hope they can figure it out and continue the rivalry.  It is worth playing the game because it means so much to so many people.  But the team I feel sorry for is not the Vandals, who have the impossible task of beating BSU.  No, it’s the Idaho State Bengals…the forgotten university in Idaho.  Remember them, Idahoans?  They’ve even won a national championship in football.  Maybe if the Broncos dump the Vandals, Idaho can start a new rivalry with a state university that no one seems to care about.  Just a thought………..

So GO VANDALS on Friday. I’m taking the 34 ½ points, but I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be enough. The Broncos are flat out great and I truly hope they bust the BCS by getting in the title game and winning. Maybe then the big wigs will come to their senses and give us a playoff system, getting rid of the worst system even invented- a computer that picks the champions for us.  It’s just too bad the BCS couldn’t get a virus that kills it forever.