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FACTS & STATS: Site: Kibbie Dome (18,000) -- Moscow, Idaho. Television: ESPNU. Home Record: CSU 2-0, Idaho 1-0. Away Record: CSU 1-1, Idaho 2-1. Neutral Record: CSU 0-0, Idaho 0-0. Conference Record: CSU 0-1, Idaho 1-0. Series Record: Colorado State leads, 3-2.

GAME NOTES: Off to their best start since 1994, the Idaho Vandals try to improve upon their impressive 3-1 start as they entertain the 3-1 Colorado State Rams in a non-conference showdown inside the Kibbie Dome on Saturday night.

Victories have been quite hard to come by for the squad from Moscow, having finished just 2-10 in 2008 and 1-11 a year earlier. The Vandals have not had a winning season since going 7-4 under coach Chris Tormey in 1999 and have won four games just once this decade. Needless to say, the Idaho faithful have reason to be somewhat optimistic this season, considering the positive start the squad has managed under head coach Robb Akey who is in his third season. The Vandals kicked off the campaign by posting a Western Athletic Conference win versus New Mexico State before stumbling against Washington. After that the team realized a 34-20 victory over San Diego State and then survived a 34-31 decision at Northern Illinois last weekend.

As for the Rams, they too are off to a solid start, topping the likes of Colorado, Weber State and Nevada all in a row. Last weekend, the team was taken down in the Mountain West Conference opener against nationally-ranked BYU by a score of 42-23, although CSU could take a little bit of pride in knowing that its refusal to simply roll over against the Cougars actually dropped BYU one place in the national rankings.

As far as the all-time series between these two teams is concerned, Colorado State owns a slim 3-2 advantage, even though it was the Vandals who recorded a 37-34 win in the most recent meeting back in 1992.

Keeping up with BYU is not an easy task, but the Rams gave it their best shot last week in their 19-point setback, a decision that snapped what had been a six-game win streak stretching back to last season. Quarterback Grant Stucker threw for more yards than any other MWC signal-caller last weekend, hitting 30-of-50 attempts for 372 yards and two touchdowns, but he was sacked three times and intercepted twice as well. Tyson Liggett put on a huge display with 11 catches for 156 yards and a score as well. Surprisingly, Liggett has seen action in every game this season, yet all of his receptions came in last week's contest. Stucker has completed a modest 54.5 percent of his pass attempts for 237 ypg and six touchdowns, but his five interceptions tend to get more attention. The squad has leaned heavily on running back Leonard Mason and John Mosure who have combined for 438 of the unit's 476 yards on the ground thus far, accounting for three of their five rushing touchdowns as well.

After BYU was crushed by Florida State the previous week, the Rams had to know that their MWC foe was going to come out with guns blazing. But to their credit, the Rams kept Max Hall from having a big game, limiting the Cougars' passer to just 241 yards and two touchdowns, while also logging a pair of sacks and two INTs. However, CSU couldn't seem to keep Harvey Unga out of the end zone as the running back registered three touchdowns and a game-high 113 yards on the ground. The team's run defense currently ranks 77th in the nation and third in the conference with 148.3 ypg allowed, but a closer look shows that those stats are based mainly on the effort put in against Colorado and Weber State, two opponents who generated a combined 87 yards on the ground. Alex Williams, who is tied for third on the team with 22 tackles, has been a major player for the squad with 2.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a pair of recoveries, while Elijah-Blu Smith, with his three interceptions, has helped the program to tie for 18th in the nation in turnover margin at plus-1.0 per game.

In past years, the Vandals would have been the subject of ridicule in the WAC by this point in the season, but the growth and maturity of quarterback Nathan Enderle might finally be paying off. Enderle missed on just five of his 23 pass attempts last weekend, generating 270 yards and three touchdowns and, more importantly, no interceptions in the win over NIU on the road. Enderle, who was named the WAC Offensive Player of the Week, spread the wealth to as many as 10 receivers, while DeMaundray Woolridge handled the bulk of the rushing with his 143 yards and one touchdowns on 19 attempts. Woolridge has built himself into a player to watch in the league early on, already averaging seven ypc and having scored five touchdowns. Now only if he could make himself more of a factor as a receiver coming out of the backfield, he would have the whole package. Averaging 240 ypg through the air, Enderle has been given the sort of time this season that he rarely saw a year ago. He has completed 63.6 percent of his attempts for five TDs and has just two interceptions in 107 attempts.

Possessions for the Huskies were few and far between in the second half of last Saturday's game, but even though the Idaho defense spent very little time on the field after the break, the unit still showed a few too many cracks in the armor as they allowed the home team to score on three of four possessions. Granted, the last touchdown came after a blocked punt left NIU sitting on the doorstep at the one-yard line, but still there is room for improvement for a Vandal defense that ranks 80th in the nation this week with 228.3 ypg allowed through the air. Perhaps more than anything else, the squad could really use some work on gaining a bigger push at the line of scrimmage because right now the Vandals are 112th in the country and second-to-last in the WAC with a mere 3.75 TFLs per game. Getting to the opposing quarterback has been a struggle as well, with the team coming up with a total of just four sacks in as many games.

Both teams are far from world beaters at the moment, but the progress they have shown from last year is still rather dramatic. Given that Enderle is coming off a strong game and the Vandals are going to be at home in front of a favorable crowd, expect to see Idaho end up in the win column yet again.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Idaho 27, Colorado State 21