Idaho State looking to 'make Utah sweat a little'


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SALT LAKE CITY — The football program hasn't won a road game in more than six seasons, but that isn't stopping Idaho State head coach Mike Kramer from wanting to make the University of Utah a little uncomfortable Thursday night in the season opener.

"Our goal is to be competitive, to let everybody enjoy the game, to make Utah sweat a little, to do some things offensively and defensively maybe that they don’t think we’re capable of doing, and get out of there healthy and alive and on to Utah State (next week)," Kramer said on a conference call with media.

Kramer, however, was realistic about his team's chances coming into the game, saying: "Opening up with Utah and then playing Utah State next week, I’m sure that (road losing) streak is really not in danger, in a general sense, unless we really get fortunate by some early turnovers and are able to build on some early success."

Although the final result of the game is expected to be handily in Utah's favor, it's a game where both teams get to see how their offensive and defensive game strategy is working in game situations, whether either program really wants to be a part of it or not.

"For us this is a Nebraska, Washington, Washington State type opener for us, which we don’t like," Kramer confessed. "We don’t really want to do this, but the schedule says we play it and we play it.


For us this is a Nebraska, Washington, Washington State type opener for us, which we don’t like. We don’t really want to do this, but the schedule says we play it and we play it.

–Mike Kramer


"For the most part, we’re at a stage in our program where we’re still trying to build ourselves toward winning the games we should win," Kramer added. "So for us, success is not getting wiped out, not being avalanched, not allowing Utah’s kicker to have to use oxygen on the sideline after kicking PATs."

Kramer said he's most looking forward to seeing what his offense can do against Utah.

"It’s a great opportunity for us to go down and come out of a game with a good feeling about ourselves," he said. "And part of that has to be how well we can play on our offensive front. Our offensive front has vastly improved over what we’ve ever put on the field in three years, and that should show up a little bit on Thursday night."

Utah in the Pac-12

Leading up to the 2014 season, several national pundits have expressed their reasons for why Utah does not belong in the Pac-12 after struggling in its prior three seasons since joining the league. To that rhetoric, Kramer disagrees, saying Utah is in a good position and is still on the rise.

"I can see the rise in their athleticism in their program," he said. "That’s not to say they weren’t athletic in the last part of the last decade when they went to the Fiesta Bowl or played Alabama. They’ve got good players and they’ve always really had good players in their program for 30-40 years. It’s just a matter of being able to have enough of them to be able to play against the gauntlet of the Pac-12 schedule that seems to have evaded their grasp. They’re very close, though."

Kramer added: "They're a team that lost a few games they felt like they should have won. And obviously a program with a huge chip on its shoulder as they try to prove all the skeptics wrong about whether Utah does not belong in the Pac-12. The answer to that question is very simple: Just look at the number of Utah guys in the NFL. … Utah has, will have, and has had enough good players to compete against the highest level of football in the United States."

Utah and Idaho State will kickoff Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.

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