Sad end for UI’s adventure

MOSCOW, Idaho – If you were an Idaho football fan who left at halftime, or midway through the third quarter, or at a couple of points in the fourth quarter, it was understandable.

It looked bleak for the Vandals at various junctures. But you missed an improbable comeback and a frantic fourth quarter that saw Louisiana Tech escape with a wild, 41-38 Western Athletic Conference victory Saturday at the Kibbie Dome that wasn’t decided until Mike Barrow’s 54-yard field-goal attempt narrowly missed with 8 seconds left.

“About a yard (to the right) and it would have been good,” said Barrow, who equaled an Idaho record with five field goals, including a 53-yarder late in the third quarter that helped fuel Idaho’s comeback.

That Idaho got into position for Barrow’s attempt was mind-boggling. The Vandals (2-7, 2-4 WAC), who trailed 28-6 late in the second quarter, fought back into contention behind Barrow’s kicking, a blocked field goal that was returned for a touchdown and a couple of late drives engineered by quarterback Steven Wichman, who had a roller coaster afternoon.

Throw in a Vandals onside kick recovery that was nullified by a penalty, a missed field goal by Louisiana Tech, a handful of key penalties on both teams and a Bulldogs fumble inside Idaho’s 10-yard line, and the fourth quarter seemed to get crazier with every play.

“It just shows you the players did a good job competing,” said Vandals coach Nick Holt, whose team lost three of four Kibbie Dome games this season. “We’re going to be in every game here the rest of the season and the rest of our careers, so it (the comeback) didn’t really surprise me.”

It nearly surprised the Bulldogs (6-3, 5-1), who remain in the WAC title chase.

“I thought the game would never end with me living,” Bulldogs coach Jack Bicknell said. “I thought this one would do me in.”

Those sentiments probably starting to set in when UI’s Josh Bousman blocked a 38-yard field-goal attempt and Herb Cash picked up the ball, used a spin move to avoid a couple of Bulldogs and raced 80 yards for a touchdown, bringing Idaho within 34-31 with 9:31 left.

Louisiana Tech responded with a lengthy kick return – one of several that changed field position in the visitors’ favor – and a 53-yard scoring drive. The Vandals helped out when Jeff Edwards was flagged for a late hit on quarterback Matt Kubik. Instead of third-and-10, Louisiana Tech had a first down in Idaho territory. Mark Dillard capped the march with a 4-yard run.

When Wichman tossed his third interception and offensive tackle Hank Therien committed the first of his two personal fouls, Idaho’s chances grew more remote. But the Bulldogs moved the ball only 5 yards, and Danny Horwedel missed a 27-yard field goal with 2:59 left.

Wichman, who passed for 343 yards, moved Idaho 80 yards in 49 seconds. Matt Askew’s 14-yard TD catch made it 41-38 with 2:10 remaining.

On the ensuing onside kick, the ball bounded high into the arms of a Bulldogs player, but Idaho’s Daniel Smith poked the ball free and Wendell Octave recovered at Louisiana Tech’s 47. Idaho’s celebration didn’t last long. The officials huddled briefly and penalized Idaho for an illegal formation. In explaining the call, the referee said Idaho had only three players on one side of the kicker.

“You have to have (at least) four,” Holt said. “We had six on one side and evidently one of the (other) players wasn’t lined up correctly. We work on it every Thursday and Friday. I just couldn’t believe the call because we never line up illegally when we practice it.”

Idaho was unsuccessful on its next onside attempt, but it still wasn’t over. Four plays later, Dillard fumbled and UI’s Eric Davis recovered.

The Vandals took over at their 3 with no timeouts remaining. Wichman zipped a 40-yard completion to Askew and the Bulldogs were flagged for pass interference. A 9-yard pass moved the ball to Louisiana Tech’s 33, but Idaho was hit with another illegal formation penalty.

After an incomplete pass, Idaho chose to bring in Barrow to kick on third down. He had plenty of distance, but just missed left.

“We had to give Mike enough time to get out there,” Holt said. “I didn’t want to have any problems getting lined up and have something bad happen. I wanted him to have his feet set.”

Idaho dominated the first quarter but was forced to settle for a pair of Barrow field goals. Louisiana Tech owned the second quarter, including a pair of long touchdown passes that saw receivers out-jump Idaho defensive backs. On the first, 6-foot Eric Newman timed his leap better than 6-3 safety Dan Dykes on a 56-yard touchdown. On the second, 6-4 Josh Wheeler outjumped the 5-11 Cash on a 72-yard scoring play.

The Bulldogs eventually scored on four straight possessions, but they got greedy late in the second quarter. Kubik was picked off by linebacker Cole Snyder, whose nifty return set up Idaho at the Bulldogs’ 8. On third down from the 5, Wichman’s pass was deflected by linebacker Brannon Jackson into Wendell Octave’s arms in the end zone. Tracy Ford ran for the two-point conversion, closing Louisiana Tech’s lead to 28-14 at half.

“I just said, ‘Hey, will the real Idaho team show up?’ ” Holt said of his halftime speech. “It was the defense that didn’t play with the same tenacity that we’re accustomed to. The second half was a lot better. Had we done that all four quarters it would have been a different game.”

Idaho visits rival Boise State on Saturday.

Nevada 48, New Mexico St. 24: At Las Cruces, N.M., B.J. Mitchell rushed for 193 yards on 34 carries and two touchdowns and Nevada struck for three TDs at the end of the first half during a win over New Mexico State.

Nevada (6-3, 5-1 WAC) had 560 total yards, keeping the turnover-prone Aggies (0-10, 0-6) winless under first-year coach Hal Mumme.

Mitchell scored on a 4-yard run with 1:57 before halftime, putting the Wolf Pack ahead 17-7. Aggies running back Justine Buries fumbled on the ensuing possession, and Nevada’s Jeff Rowe threw a 64-yard TD pass to Caleb Spencer on the next play.

New Mexico State fumbled again – this time it was quarterback Royal Gill. Defensive end Craig Bailey scooped up the ball and ran 40 yards into the end zone, making it 31-7 with 36 seconds left before halftime.

Mitchell added a 5-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter and Brett Jaekle kicked a 29-yard field goal in the third.

Rowe completed 22 of 34 passes for 271 yards and three TDs. Spencer caught five of those passes for 114 yards.