No. 17 Idaho scores 42 unanswered points, shuts out Portland State in second half to secure win

MOSCOW, Idaho – This University of Idaho football team takes seriously the line in its fight song about being “brave and bold.”

Down 21-14 to Portland State with 33 seconds to play in the first half, Vandals quarterback Gevani McCoy ran for a first down on fourth-and-9 at the PSU 45. Then he hit Jermaine Jackson with a 30-yard pass inside the 5-yard line, and Jackson juked Vikings linebacker David Joseph at the goal line and took the ball into the end zone.

Pretty salty, and Idaho conclude the first half tied at 21.

But there was more. Instead of playing conservatively to keep a close game within reach, the 17th-ranked Vandals shocked the Vikings on their first drive of the third quarter.

McCoy threw back across the formation to running back Elisha Cummings then gathered in a pass back to him from Cummings as the PSU defense flowed toward the running back. McCoy carried 14 yards for a touchdown.

“That fourth-and-9 was a huge scramble by Gevani,” Idaho coach Jason Eck said. “At that point (the Vikings) were moving the ball. They had scored 21 points.”

Eck also appreciated the touchdown to open the third quarter.

“That was really big,” Eck said. “We scored twice without them touching the ball.”

The Vandals used the 28-21 lead to stake themselves to an eventual 56-21 win against PSU. Idaho is 5-2 overall, with five consecutive wins, and undefeated in the Big Sky Conference at 4-0.

Portland State slips to 2-5, 1-3.

The second-half runaway allowed Idaho to post some impressive statistics. McCoy completed 10 of 19 passes for 248 yards and four touchdowns. Idaho ran for 309 yards, paced by freshman Anthony Woods with 130 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, and redshirt junior Aundre Carter with 92 yards on five carries. Carter had 83 yards on a single run, when he was hauled down at the 1-yard line. Roshaun Johnson carried from there for Idaho’s final score.

Jackson was the game’s leading receiver with 132 yards on four catches, with two TDs. Hayden Hatten followed with 47 yards on three catches, including a one-handed catch in the corner of the end zone in the final minute of the third quarter for a 35-21 lead.

The defense also had its stars, highlighted by safety Tommy McCormick, who made his fourth interception of the season and second in two weeks. He returned the pick 34 yards to the 1-yard line to set up a Woods touchdown that extended Idaho’s lead to 49-21

.

UI’s Murvin Kenion III and Isiah King also had interceptions.

McCormick led the Vandals with 12 tackles. Defensive end Juliano Falaniko followed with eight. Defensive end Leo Tamba had three tackles, but two of those were back-to-back tackles for loss on PSU quarterback Dante Chachere.

Chachere threw for 160 yards and a touchdown in the first half, but Idaho held him in check in the final two quarters. He finished the day with 205 yards passing on a 12-of-25 effort. He was sacked four times but also ran for a touchdown.

PSU’s Beau Kelly had six receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown, and JoJo Siofele led on the ground with 42 yards on 11 carries and a TD.

In the first half, the Vikings baffled Idaho’s defense with motion. Eck said his defense rose to the challenge of stifling PSU in the final two quarters.

Idaho’s Ricardo Chavez had a rare field-goal miss. He had been averaging two a game, and had the fifth-best field-goal percentage in the FCS at 92.3 (12 of 13). But in his lone attempt against PSU, he was wide right from 36 yards. Chavez, however, averaged 44 yards on four punts, with a long of 49

.

In the first quarter, offenses dominated. The first stop didn’t occur until 12 seconds remained in the opening quarter when Idaho’s Kyrin Beachem broke up a Chachere pass to Kelly near midfield, forcing George Triplett’s 35-yard punt.

The Vandals were forced to play from behind for most of the first half.

The Vikings scored first on their 12-play, 78-yard opening drive.

The Vandals’ offense almost instantly responded. Beginning at their 27-yard line, in two plays covering 43 seconds, Idaho’s Woods ran for 10 yards, then McCoy hit Jackson in stride with a long pass at the Vikings 20-yard line. Jackson sprinted away from Ezriel Vasquez for a tying touchdown.

PSU went ahead 14-7 on the subsequent series. After starting at its 25, PSU drove to its 37-yard line in three plays. From there, Chachere faked a draw to Jalynnee McGee and launched a long strike to Kelly, who ran away from a pair of Vandals defenders for a touchdown.

Idaho came right back, going from its 25-yard-line to the PSU 7-yard-line in six plays. Jackson took the ball from the 25 to the 6 on a reverse when he got a tremendous block from Connor Whitney. Two plays later, Jackson and Whitney motioned right, and Cummings came out of the backfield behind them and took McCoy’s pass in for a touchdown to tie the game at 14.

Chachere’s 6-yard rushing touchdown with 4:23 left in the first half gave PSU its final lead (21-14). The Vikings looked like they would close the first half with momentum on their side until McCoy made his first-down dash on fourth-and-9 and connected with Jackson for the tying touchdown.

The tone shifted. Instead of spending the first half doggedly coming back, Idaho turned the game into a near rout in the second half.

“There’s no ceiling to what this team can do,” Eck said.