Idaho provides much easier test for Wildcats

The Arizona Wildcats were still smarting from a 2006 loss to powerhouse Louisiana State University when they went looking for a nonconference opponent to fill an open date, one that — preferably — would not beat them senseless. They found Idaho at the perfect time.

The Vandals, who play the Wildcats today at Arizona Stadium, may be the worst Division I program in college football.

Here is some evidence:

• They are ranked 119th of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams by the Web site MRatings.com.

• They are ranked No. 155 in the nation behind Football Championship Subdivision programs such as Furman, Lehigh and Eastern Kentucky, according to USA Today’s Jeff Sagarin.

• The Vandals finished 1-11 in 2007, the worst mark in program history since 1899.

• They have not won more than four games since 2000.

“I know Idaho’s not LSU or BYU,” UA coach Mike Stoops said, his voice trailing off. “We’re just worried about Arizona and how we present ourselves. We’ll learn a lot about ourselves, regardless of our opponent.”

The Vandals’ last win against a Pac-10 school came in 2000, when they edged Washington State 38-34.

Idaho has not been to the postseason since 1998, when it beat Southern Miss in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise.

In the last five seasons, the Vandals have employed four coaches — Tom Cable, Nick Holt, Dennis Erickson and Robb Akey.

Akey is starting his second season, an accomplishment in itself. Erickson went 4-8 in 2006 before bolting for Arizona State. Holt coached the Vandals for two seasons before being fired.

“Going through four coaches in four years is not going to do much for consistency,” said E. Whitney Johnson, president of the Arizona Chapter of the University of Idaho Alumni Association and a Scottsdale financial executive. “We finally have a good, stable group of coaches, which is a change.”

Akey measures success in baby steps.

Vandals players finally know “where the lines are drawn, what’s acceptable and not acceptable — and where we draw that line,” Akey said, something that may not have been true in past years.

The coach’s next step involves changing a culture of losing. That might not happen if Idaho continues scheduling high-profile — and high-paying — nonconference games.

Idaho will receive $600,000 to play today’s game, a sum that could help subsidize a program that brought in $4.88 million in football revenue two years ago, according to the Department of Education’s Equity in Athletics database. By comparison, Arizona brought in about $17.5 million.

Pac-10 patsy is a role the Vandals know well. They played at USC and Washington State last season, and at Washington State and Oregon State in 2006.

Idaho has played Pac-10 teams 28 times since the conference expanded in 1978. The Vandals are 3-25.

Yes, it can get depressing. But it is the cost of playing college football, especially in a smaller conference.

The system has worked for Idaho, which is slowly building a major program of its own.

Twenty years ago, the Vandals played in Division I-AA. They have since moved to the Big West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference and — since 2005 — the Western Athletic Conference.

Losing pays, and pays off, when you schedule the right teams.

“To me, it’s going to take some time,” said Erickson, now the coach at ASU. “The switch from Big Sky to Division I is probably the hardest thing that has to be done. They’ll get better and better all the time.”