Idaho junior Austin Rehkow is one of the top punters in the nation — and is not too shabby as a placekicker as well.

And with the University of Washington boasting a pair of standout return men, the senior from Central Valley High might be one of the most important Vandals on the field Saturday in a matchup of 1-0 teams at Husky Stadium.

Last week, John Ross returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown, and Dante Pettis scored on a 68-yard punt return as the Huskies routed Rutgers 48-13 in Seattle.

So hang time and touchbacks could be just as important as touchdowns scored and points allowed for the Vandals on Saturday.

“He needs to have a great day,” Idaho coach Paul Petrino said of Rehkow. “Ideally, we’d like them to have no returns. That would be the best scenario.”

Fixing Matt: Petrino pointed to mechanical issues for Idaho quarterback Matt Linehan’s 8-of-22 passing performance against Montana State last Thursday. He threw for 128 yards and one interception. He was off the mark on some of the incompletions, and also bounced a few throws to open receivers.

“He was falling back on his throws a little bit,” Petrino said. “He wasn’t following through, and he wasn’t getting in line like he normally does. He can fix that. We will move forward, and get it corrected. He was 8 for 22 and could have easily been 19 for 22.”

No. 8 for a reason: Petrino said he looks forward to the challenge of playing one of the top teams in the country on Saturday.

“They kind of have all the ingredients you need to have a good football team,” he said. “They’ve got fast receivers, good quarterback, good running back, do a good job up front. The two guys on special teams make them tough there. And defensively, they’re good at all three levels.

“Really, in a game like this, the most important thing is to stay in the game until the fourth quarter. And if you do that, you’ll always give yourselves a chance to win.”

Cha-ching: Idaho will receive $825,000 from Washington for this week’s game, and $600,000 from Washington State for next week’s game. The game at UNLV in two weeks is the first of a home-and-home series, with the host school paying the visitors $150,000 each year.

Going home: Idaho junior defensive end Kevin Shelton starred at high school near Seattle, at Auburn High. His brother, Danny Shelton, starred on the defensive line for the University of Washington, and now is in his second season with the Cleveland Browns.

“It’ll be fun for him to go home and play the school his brother played at,” Petrino said of Kevin Shelton.