Down For The Long Count UI Delivers Second-Half Ko

The Idaho Vandals still don’t consider Martin Stadium their home turf.

But they went ahead and did a little redecorating anyway on Saturday - particularly on the scoreboard.

The Vandals spotted Washington State a 14-point lead before dominating the second half en route to a 28-17 win in front of 34,873 at their new home away from home.

As time wound down on WSU’s 11th consecutive loss, many Cougars fans made a beeline for the exits. Meanwhile, Vandals backers, perhaps 7,000 strong seated in the end zones, celebrated Idaho’s first win over the Cougars since 1965 and joined in with UI players for a rendition of the fight song.

“I think you can put it in the milestone category,” said UI coach Chris Tormey, whose team is playing four “home” games at Martin Stadium in an effort to satisfy Division I-A attendance criteria. “We needed a breakthrough win. We needed to beat a Pac-10 team and we were able to get that done. We want to make this a rivalry and I think it is now.”

“I feel a lot more at home,” UI linebacker Chris Nofoaiga said, “after this win.”

WSU coach Mike Price couldn’t feel much worse after the loss.

“This is the worst of worst times for Cougar football right now,” Price said. “It was not a fluke. They beat us fair and square. They didn’t do anything illegal or trickery or anything like that. They just outcoached us and outplayed us and won the game.”

The Vandals did it with their third-team quarterback, a defense that delivered the momentum-altering play and one critical assist from the Cougars.

Leading 14-0, WSU quarterback Steve Birnbaum rolled left and tossed a perfect pass to Nian Taylor, who was open in the end zone. But Taylor, who had 254 yards receiving in WSU’s 24-16 win over Idaho last year, dropped the ball and a potential 21-0 lead early in the third quarter. “That could have been bad,” Idaho offensive tackle Rick DeMulling said. “That could have turned it the other way.”

Instead, the game turned in Idaho’s favor. Four plays later, defensive tackle Mao Tosi burst into the backfield and flattened Birnbaum, knocking the football loose. Nofoaiga, perhaps Idaho’s fastest player, scooped up the ball and dashed 62 yards for a touchdown.

“Better Nofo’s 4.2 speed than my 5.9 speed,” joked Tosi, whose hit knocked Birnbaum out for several series with whiplash and a bruised left hip.

Suddenly, the game was on.

After forcing a punt, UI took possession on its 49-yard line. Quarterback Greg Robertson, playing in place of Ed Dean, who sprained his ankle late in the second quarter, threw a lob pass that Rossi Martin yanked away from WSU cornerback Lamont Thompson. Martin raced into the end zone and Ben Davis’ PAT tied the game at 14.

The Cougars reclaimed the lead, 17-14, on Rian Lindell’s 48-yard field goal, but Idaho answered with a 77-yard drive fueled by Anthony Tenner’s 24 rushing yards and capped by another Robertson-to-Martin connection.

The clincher came on Idaho’s next possession. On a well-designed play, Robertson rolled right and tossed back across the field to a wide-open Michael Moody, who coasted into the end zone to complete a 19-yard scoring play with 9:52 remaining.

Robertson passed for 167 yards and three TDs in relief of Dean, who stepped in last Saturday when starting quarterback John Welsh suffered a broken fibula against Auburn.

Tenner, who has settled in as the No. 1 back after starting the season as the third man in a three-man rotation, gained 114 yards on 28 attempts. “There were some pretty big holes,” Tenner said. “I just had to run through ‘em basically.”

Early on, it was Idaho’s defense that looked like it might be in for a long day. WSU freshman running back Deon Burnett, making his first start, found open spaces and Birnbaum picked on soft coverage by UI’s defensive backs.

“I really felt like we were moving the ball, then we just froze,” Birnbaum said.

WSU scored on its first two possessions - Birnbaum’s 19-yard TD pass to Marcus Williams and Burnett’s 13-yard sprint through a huge opening on the left side.

From there, though, Idaho tightened its coverage and used a steady diet of blitzes to pressure Birnbaum and backup Jason Gesser. WSU had 161 total yards in the first 8 minutes, but only 213 the rest of the way. “We were expecting a lot of crossing routes (early) and we didn’t get much of it. They were just killing us in zone,” Tormey said. “And so we said, `We better get those guys up pressing.”’

Idaho (2-1) has a bye week before visiting Wyoming on Oct. 2. WSU (0-3) is home against Arizona on Saturday.