Idaho has not been competitive for most of their football history. However, they did play in 2009 Humanitarian bowl, which turned out to be an entertaining 43-42 win over Bowling Green. 2014 marks the return of Idaho to the Sun Belt Conference, which they were in from 2001 through 2004. The Vandals spent the 2005 through 2012 seasons in the Western Athletic Conference before they ceased sponsoring football. In 2013, Idaho spent the season as an FBS Independent. Let's take a look back on their season a year ago.

2013 Idaho Vandals Season

2013 was a bad year for Idaho. They returned only 9 starters on offense and defense combined and it showed in the stats. The offense averaged 18.2 points and 368 yards per game. The defense gave up 46.8 points and 529 yards per game in 2013. The Vandals were not competitive in most of their games. They did lead Northern Illinois 28-14 at halftime, but lost by 10 points. They did defeat Temple 26-24 for their only win of the season. They lost by 8 to New Mexico State on the road to finish the season. The entire 2013 schedule is below.

Offense

7 starters return from 2013 and there are a few big losses. The quarterback play was unsettled in 2013 and the competition is wide open again this season. Chad Chalich started the first seven, but was injured against Arkansas State and out for the remainder of the season. Chalich finished with 1,224 yards (61.4%), 5 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. He will be battling against Matt Linehan who redshirted last season. Joshua McCain also saw action in 2013 with 222 yards (48.1%), 2 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions, but he has moved to receiver. As long as the starter stays healthy, this unit should be much better.

James Baker led Idaho in 2013 with 593 yards and 6 touchdowns, but he departs. The top returning rusher is actually quarterback Joshua McCain, who ran for 223 yards and 1 touchdown. Jerrel Brown finished with 216 yards on 55 carries in 2013. Richard Montgomery had 196 yards and 2 touchdowns. Coming in is former UNLV player Elijhaa Penny. He ran for 1,338 yards and a 6.7 yards-per-rush average at junior college in 2013. With the amount of experience and depth, this unit should do well in 2014.

Idaho was expected to have top receiver Dezmon Epps in 2014, but he was dismissed in July following his DUI arrest in April. His loss will be immense, as he recorded 79 catches for 980 yards and 4 touchdowns. Deon Watson is now the top returning receiver with 24 catches, 279 yards, and 1 touchdown. Joshua McCain is expected to take one of the starting receiver spots after he moved here from the quarterback position in spring. This unit loses a key part of their offense, which makes them far less likely to do well in 2014.

The offensive line may end up as the strength of the offense with all 5 starters returning. Center Mike Marboe will lead the line. He has started 36 straight games in his first three years. Kato Fawkes, a junior college transfer, will battle with last season's starter Dallas Sandberg at one of the guard spots. Also returning are Steven Matlock, Cody Elenz, Jesse Davis, and Niklaus Von Rotz. All of those guys have played at different positions in the past and all the injuries in 2013 necessitated shuffling on the line. This unit should do quite well in 2014 after giving up 53 sacks in 2013.

Defense

The defense in 2013 was poor with only 3 starters returning. In fact, it was their worst defense ever, as they gave up an average of 46.8 points and 529 yards per game. In 2014, three times as many starters return (9). The defensive line will see three players back from last year in Maxx Forde, QuayShawne Buckley, and Quinton Bradley. Forde did well in 2013 with 63 tackles, 5.5 sacks, and 3.5 tackles-for-loss at the defensive end spot. Buckley finished with 46 tackles, 7 sacks, and 9 tackles-for-loss as nose tackle. Bradley did not fare as well, but he did record 20 tackles and 3 sacks last year. Joining them will be junior college transfer Alfonso Hampton at defensive tackle. Forde and Buckley will do quite well this year and the unit as a whole should improve on their 214 rushing yards per game they yielded in 2013.

All three linebackers return and that is good news for Idaho. Marc Millan led the way as the strongside linebacker with 90 tackles (most on team), 4 sacks, 7 tackles-for-loss, and 4 pass breakups. At middle linebacker will be Juan Martinez, who started all 12 games, recorded 50 tackles, and 1 tackle-for-loss. Weakside linebacker will be a battle between junior college transfer Irving Steele and incumbent Eric Tuipulotu. Overall, this group should be much better than 2013.

Three starters return from the secondary that gave up 316 yards per game in 2013. Bradley Njoku at costless safety will be an integral part of the back four. Njoku recorded 89 tackles, 3 tackles-for-loss, and 1 interception in 2013. Jayshawn Jordan returns at one of the cornerback spots after recording 77 tackles, 3 tackles-for-loss, 9 pass breakups, and 1 interception a year ago. Junior college transfers Dennis Rufus and Chris Edwards will battle to start at cornerback and strong safety, respectively.

Special Teams

Austin Rehkow will handle both kicking and punting duties in his sophomore year. Rehkow struggled at kicking hitting only 10 of his 17 attempts with a long of 41 yards. However, at punting, he was fantastic. He finished as a semi-finalist for the Ray Guy Award. He had an average of 47.8 yards and a net of 40.8 yards on 75 kicks. He should have another excellent season as punter. Dezmon Epps was expected to return as punt returner, but his departure opens the door for other people. His absence will still be missed. Richard Montgomery may see time returning kicks.

2014 Season Outlook

While the Vandals do return a total of 16 starters, they lost their best playmaker in Dezmon Epps. Head coach Paul Petrino still has plenty to work with, but there are still other concerns. The talent on defense is still moderate at best. The schedule is not bad for Idaho in 2014. The entire schedule is below.

Looking at the schedule it appears that Idaho will probably have another losing season. They do have winnable games against Western Michigan, Georgia Southern, New Mexico State, and Appalachian State. Even if Idaho were to get to 6-6, they are not eligible for a bowl game in 2014 due to Academic Progress Rate sanctions levied by the NCAA. That alone may pose a motivation problem in 2014. Nevertheless, Idaho will be better on both offense and defense, which is a step in the right direction for the Idaho football program.