My own private Idaho blog post

We’ve been asking a few Georgia players this week whether they know much about Idaho. Demarcus Dobbs initially said he had no idea “what’s up there,” then added:
“Potatoes, or something?”

Caleb King was asked what the closest he’s ever been to Idaho.

“Georgia?” the junior tailback said, smiling.

King was then reminded he had been to Colorado just last month. Considering King’s hand in how that, ahem, ended, you can understand why he’d want to forget.

Aron White, who's from Missouri, was also a bit at a loss.

“Don’t they have a lot of potatoes or something like that? I mean I don’t know anything,” White said. “Not to talk bad about our opponent or anything like that. There are certain states you don’t know a lot about. But I’m sure they’ve got a great program.”

Well, not really.

The Bengals – so named because of the epidemic of Bengal tigers running around Idaho – are 1-7 this year, and rank last in the Big Sky Conference in scoring offense, total offense, rushing offense, passing offense, sacks (by and against), first downs and penalties.

On the other hand, their coach is named John Zamberlin, and that does have a cool football ring to it.

Also, they have a pretty famous NFL alum: Jared Allen, the all-pro defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings.

A few other facts about Idaho State:

- It is located in Pocatello, located in the southeast portion of the state, with a population of just over 50,000.

- Other notable alumni: Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis; ESPN commentator and former NFL fullback Merril Hoge; and William Peterson, the star of CSI.

- Idaho State won the 1981 Division I-AA national championship, a year after Georgia won the I-A national title.

- The Bengals have fallen on harder times since then, not recording a winning record since 2003.

- This year, Idaho State has a return man named Tavoy Moore who is quite good.
Tavoy Moore is second in the nation in punt returns, averaging 20.15 per return. OK, now that’s actually pretty astounding. He has 13 returns this year, and has taken two into the end zone, with a long of 84.

Moore has also returned two kickoffs for touchdown, with a long of 100, and his 27.5 yards per kick return is 17th in the nation.

- The Bengals also boast the nation’s best punter (he gets a lot of practice, apparently). David Harrington is first in the NCAA at 45.1 yards per punt.

- Over the past decade or so, they have played 15 1-A (or FBS) teams, including Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Boise State, Oregon State and Kentucky. Their only win came against Utah State in 2000.

- There's also a more famous football program in the state of Idaho, which may have been referenced in the above paragraph, and might be ranked in the top 25 right now, perhaps even in the top 5. But any mention of such team in the Southeast results in tons of invective flying at the computer screen, so we'll go ahead and avoid mentioning them.