Through five games, a number of true freshmen have already seen some action for the Idaho Vandals football team.

They include safety Desmond Banks, defensive lineman Zach Cable, wide receiver Trent Cowan, defensive back Jordan Grabski, defensive lineman Tueni Luepamanu, offensive lineman Steven Matlock, running back Richard Montgomery and kicker/punter Austin Rehkow, wide receiver Jacob Sanno.

"We've had to," said Idaho coach Paul Petrino, whose Vandals (1-5) play at Arkansas State (2-3) on Saturday. "Between the injuries, between the numbers that we've had, those guys have had to play. There's no one else to play. Some of them we knew were going to play, some of them we really didn't expect to play this year, but they've had to play.

"Didn't expect to have to play Cable, but he's had to, because of the injuries," Petrino said. "Steven (Matlock) wasn't even in camp at the beginning of the year, and now he's starting for us ... they'll have their day. when they're juniors and seniors, there will be a great opportunity for them to put a whippin' on people like, they've unfortunately, had to take this year."

And that list doesn't include redshirt freshmen such as quarterback Chad Chalich and wide receiver Deon Watson, the former Coeur d'Alene High standouts.

Defensive lineman Will Schmidt is one true freshman who has yet to play, but could this year.

"Our two young defensive ends, Will Schmidt and Cable, those two just fly around, great passion," Petrino said. "There's going to be a day when you've got Tueni inside at defensive tackle, and Will Schmidt and Cable at the ends, those guys keep getting bigger and stronger and faster, that's going to be a dominant D-line someday in three or four years from now, when they're juniors and seniors ... that'll be exciting some day when they're all shaving, and a little bit older and more mature and stronger. It'll be great to see those guys getting after people."

Petrino said two freshmen he hopes to redshirt for sure this season are quarterback Matt Linehan, "because you definitely don't want him and Chad (Chalich) in the same class," and wide receiver Rueben Mwehla.

On Sunday nights, the younger players scrimmage on a day Petrino calls "Get Better Sunday."

"Anybody without the name of Chad was in full pads," Petrino said. "If you were a freshman or a sophomore, I don't care if you played the whole game (Saturday), you went out there and scrimmage for a long time ... it gives you life, it gives you hope, it's good for the players, it's good for me, it's good for the assistant coaches, because you walk off the field really excited about the future."

Peaks and valleys: The problem with people assessing the Idaho football program after each game is, for as good as the Vandals looked in beating winless Temple, they were likely not going to look as good against better teams like Washington State (a 42-0 loss) and 23rd-ranked Fresno State (a 61-14 loss). So to say Idaho took a step back last week might not be entirely accurate.

"I think right now it's almost unrealistic to think you're not going to have the little peaks and valleys with some of the people you're playing until you improve the whole team," Petrino said. "It's a process of getting better every week, doing a great job recruiting, doing a great job in the offseason. And there will be a time in the future, hopefully this next season, that we don't have peaks and valleys. ... being realistic, you're going to have some peaks and valleys this year."

After this week, Idaho has a bye, then plays at Mississippi, hosts Texas State and Old Dominion, has another bye, then finishes at Florida State and New Mexico State.

Notes: Petrino said Monday that backup quarterback Josh McCain, who suffered a shoulder injury last week vs. Fresno State, "probably won't play this week, if we had to say today." That means Chalich's backup would be senior Taylor Davis, who has yet to take a snap this year at QB. Linehan would be the third quarterback ... Petrino said defensive end Maxx Forde and junior linebacker Marc Millan have been the Vandals' most consistent players on defense this season. ... Chalich's stats: 112 of 182 (61.5 percent) for 1,211 yards and five touchdowns, with three interceptions (all last week). He's still Idaho's leading rusher with 212 yards, which includes 201 lost yards in sack yardage. ... Watson is Idaho's third-leading receiver with 14 catches for 143 yards.