Bulldogs breeze past Vandals

RUSTON, La. – The University Idaho scored first, but it was Louisiana Tech that scored often on Saturday as the Bulldogs breezed to a 46-14 Western Athletic Conference football win over the Vandals.

UI quarterback Nathan Enderlie threw for 203 yards and a pair of touchdowns, both to Kama Bailey.

But the Vandals (1-7 overall, 0-4 in the WAC), couldn’t figure out a way to stop Tech’s Daniel Porter, who ran for a 145 yards and two touchdowns.

The Bulldogs (3-3, 1-2) shredded Idaho’s defense for 364 yards and five touchdowns on the ground and scored 30 unanswered points after Enderlie’s early TD pass to Bailey from 33 yards out capped a 72-yard drive on the Vandals’ first possession. Tech also got a 72-yard touchdown run from Porter in the third period and outgained the Vandals 556-239 on the night.

“We’re disappointed,” UI coach Rob Akey said after the loss. “I’m not happy with what happened tonight. We’re not stepping back. We didn’t play well today. We’ll get better. We have to play more consistent.”

Idaho was trailing 30-7 when Enderlie hooked up with Bailey for another score, this one coming from 27 yards out. But Tech answered with a 17-yard scoring run by Porter, and two more field goals from Brad Oestriecher, who had booted two earlier.

“It was just what the doctor ordered,” Bulldogs coach Derek Dooley said of the victory. “I was proud of how the team came out. Even thought they punched us on the first drive, it was a dominating game start to finish.

“Overall, it was a great win.”

Idaho’s ground game was stymied by Tech’s aggressive defense, which limited the Vandals to 15 yards on 19 rushing attempts. Enderle, who completed 19 off 33 passes, was sacked once and threw two interceptions. Louisiana Tech quarterback Ross Jenkins completed 13 of 20 passes for 192 yards.

Nevada 44, Utah State 17: Colin Kaepernick rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another as the Wolf Pack (4-3, 2-1) rolled past the Aggies (1-6, 0-3) in Reno, Nev.

Vai Taua rushed for 122 and a touchdown for the Wolf Pack.

Diondre Borel was 19 of 38 for 262 yards and two TDs for USU.

San Jose State 31, New Mexico State 14: Kyle Flynn returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown to lead the Spartans (5-2, 3-0) to a victory over the Aggies in Las Cruces, N.M.

The first-quarter run by Flynn was the second longest interception return for a TD in San Jose State history, and it opened the door for the Spartans to begin their conference season with three consecutive wins for the first time in the team’s 13 seasons in the WAC.

The Aggies (3-3, 1-1) fell to 0-4 against the Spartans since NMSU joined the WAC in 2005.

San Jose State’s Duke Ihenacho had a 43-yard interception TD in the second quarter.