Nielson testified before the committee that the Legislature should recognize the team for its change in attitude.  He added that as a former coach, he knows how hard it can be for a team to change perceptions in such a short amount of time and he went on to commend second-year coach Rob Akey for working hard to do just that.

“They changed attitudes and gave us the type of football we can all be proud of,” said Nielsen.

The trip to the Humanitarian Bowl was Idaho’s first appearance in a bowl game since the end of the 1998 season when they played the same bowl.  Since then, the program has gone through several head coaches, including Dennis Erickson, who is now the head coach at Arizona State, and Nick Holt, who is now the defensive coordinator at the University of Washington.   The Vandals have not had a winning season since 1999.

The Vandals beat in the Falcons of Bowling Green on some late second heroics dialed up by Akey.  With 4 seconds left in the game, Akey decided to go for two after scoring a touchdown on a quick strike by Vandal quarterback Nathan Enderle.  With the game on the line during the two-point conversion try, Enderle made a daring pass to receiver Preston Davis to score and win the game.

Nielsen said Akey showed great confidence in his team and commended the coach for being willing to put it all on the line.

Earlier in the week, Nampa Republican Brent Crane introduced a resolution to honor the BSU football team for its win in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl over the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University.

The committee voted unanimously to introduce the resolution.  The measure will now move to the full House for consideration.

BSU, then ranked no. 6 in the nation, beat Texas Christian University, then no. 4 in polls, by a score of 17-10 in a game held at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.   The bowl victory was the second Fiesta Bowl win for the team in four years, the first being BSU’s 43-42 upset of Oklahoma, a victory which ESPN billed as an “instant classic.” BSU is now 2-2 in its last four bowl games.

The resolution also recognizes the efforts of BSU coach Chris Peterson, winner of two Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of theYear awards in the last four years.  The award, voted on by the the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, made Peterson the first ever coach to win the award twice.  Peterson again joins a prestigious list of award recipients, including Joe Paterno of Penn State, Lou Holtz of Notre Dame, Jim Tressel of Ohio State, and Nick Saban, then of Louisiana State.  In the BCS era, Peterson and University of Utah head coach Kyle Wittingham are the only coaches from non-automatic qualifying conferences to win the award.

Peterson is 49-4 since taking over the reigns of the BSU program from Dan Hawkins, who left to coach at Colorado.

The resolution, introduced by BSU alumni Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa, will now head to the full House for consideration.

It is unknown if any lawmakers will step forward to propose a resolution congratulating the University of Idaho football team on its thrilling 43-42 victory over the Bowling Green Falcons in the Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl, which was held in Boise on Dec. 30, 2009.  It was Idaho’s first bowl win since its 1998.

You can read Gov. Butch Otter’s take on both bowl wins here.