The defense, he says, likely will have the upper hand if for no other reason than it has been largely intact through the course of spring football while the offense has battled one injury after another - particularly in the front.

"Our defense has been able to operate as a whole," he said. "They were able to come together."

Ironically, it is the defensive unit that sustained the one injury this spring that likely will sideline a player next season when senior safety Thaad Thompson injured prior to last Saturday's scrimmage. Offensively, the nicks and bumps have occurred largely in the offensive front, which put those players in position to not only adjust without their veterans but to adapt to a new coach.

"That's gone fantastic," Akey said of the arrival of John McDonell as the Vandals' offensive line coach this spring. "They've responded great to him; he's responded great to them. I really think Coach McDonell and that group have come together really well."

Ever the optimist, Akey found the silver lining in the injury cloud.

"We got a lot of youngsters, inexperienced guys, a lot of reps this spring," he said. "You're building your future; you're building your depth as well. We really did a great job of making the most out of it."

Injuries aside, the strides Akey wanted to see by and large have been there.

"The goal we talked about at the beginning of the spring - getting better fundamentally, we achieved," he said. "We got better. We gained some ground.

"Our defense got to operate as a whole. They were able to come together. I don't know if we gained as much ground on offense but I know everybody who was practicing got better."

The Vandals open the 2011 season with back-to-back home games for the first time since 1991 when they play host to Bowling Green State University on Sept. 1 and the University of North Dakota on Sept. 10.