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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Idaho falls just short in Sun Belt opener

From wire and news services

LOGAN, Utah – Oavis Cox threw two touchdown passes Saturday to lead Utah State to a 14-7 Sun Belt Conference football win over Idaho.

Cox, who threw two interceptions in the first half, was 20 for 31 with 214 yards and two touchdowns.

His 5-yard touchdown pass to Tony Pennyman and successful two-point conversion with 6:17 left in the third quarter gave the Aggies (1-1, 1-0 Sun Belt) a 14-7 lead.

With 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Idaho offense mounted a final comeback drive that could have sent the game into overtime. They started at their own 20 and, with the help of freshman running back Jayson Bird, came within 15 yards of the Utah State end zone. He finished with 94 yards on 17 carries.

But the drive fizzled when the Vandal offensive line was called for false start on third-and-2. One play and two timeouts later, quarterback Mike Harrington was sacked by Aggie linebacker Jared Johnston.

Idaho’s defense forced five turnovers, but the Vandals’ offense was only able to capitalize once after a Cox fumble in the second quarter.

Harrington led the Vandals (0-2, 0-1) on a 56-yard, eight-play drive capped by his 12-yard touchdown pass to Wendell Octave that gave Idaho a 7-6 halftime lead.

Harrington completed 17 of his 23 pass attempts for 101 yards and an interception. The Vandals finished with 235 yards of total offense, including 94 yards rushing from Bird. Utah State was limited to 223 yards of total offense.

Cox gave the Aggies a 6-0 lead with 3:13 left in the first quarter when he teamed up with Kevin Robinson for a 24-yard touchdown pass. Robinson caught five passes for 106 yards, but fumbled once on Idaho’s 1-yard line to stop another potential scoring drive.

“That was a football game we had control of, but we let it slip away,” Idaho head coach Nick Holt said in a press release. “We didn’t make the plays when we needed to.”

The Vandals outgained Utah State 235-223 and dominated the time of possession. One of the few areas they didn’t dominate was, obviously, the scoreboard.

“We have to learn how to win,” Holt said. “The effort was ok, but I’m not happy.”

The Vandal offense was unable to capitalize on five Aggie turnovers.

“We have got to figure out some ways to score points,” Holt said.

“I’m not happy with the whole football team,” Holt added. “It was a game we should have gotten. But give them credit, they did what they had to do.