As the fourth quarter began, Idaho coach Robb Akey looked through the facemask of nearly every player and sent the message to finish — the Vandals didn’t.
Idaho lost to Hawaii Saturday, 16-14, in a contest where Idaho had every opportunity to come away with its first conference win of the season.
A last-ditch attempt 52-yard field goal from Trey Farquhar had the distance, but went wide left as the clock expired.
Akey put his trust and the ball in the hands of quarterback Taylor Davis to start, but was benched in favor of former starter Brian Reader with 12 minutes remaining.
“We hadn’t been very effective,” Akey said. “We weren’t throwing the ball very well.”
Both quarterbacks were underwhelming, combining for just 85 yards through the air and one interception each — Reader’s late in the fourth quarter in the red zone.
“We controlled the ball it seemed like, we just have trouble finishing,” Reader said. “Blame me for that, blame anybody on the whole team for that, blame the whole team for that. That’s just football.”
Akey said he was “absolutely” sure his decision in the fourth quarter gave Idaho the best opportunity to win the game.
“They trusted me to finish it off there … missed it by an inch again,” Reader said.
“It’s not just the quarterback also,” Akey said. “There’s a lot of attention being put on our quarterback position at this point in time and when we’re not scoring a lot of points, that’s understandably so.”
Idaho’s defense matched the offense Saturday when Benson Mayowa forced a fumble off Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz, and corner Tracy Carter picked up the ball and ran 70 yards for a touchdown. The defense kept the Vandals in the game by holding a high-powered Hawaii offense to just one touchdown and three field goals.
Mayowa tallied three sacks and forced two turnovers of Moniz. Teammates Conrad Scheidt and Charles Smith rattled Moniz’s cage, adding two sacks and one sack. Scheidt, Aaron Grymes and Gary walker all posted six solo tackles to the stat sheet.
“We work pass rush in practice every day,” linebacker Korey Toomer said. “Our back is against the wall. We’ve got to keep fighting. This team is never going to give up — ever.”
Idaho has a chance at its first conference win Saturday when the team heads to California to face the San Jose State Spartans.
“We’re gonna come out and fight again and hopefully we get a victory,” Toomer said.
Akey said the Spartans are a formidable opponent that has beaten decent teams. San Jose State is 3-5, and 2-2 in the WAC, with wins coming over MWC foe Colorado State and WAC opponents New Mexico State and Hawaii.
“They are a football team that I think has improved,” Akey said. “They’re gonna throw the ball, their quarterback is doing a pretty good job. We need to be able to establish the running game so we can throw the football against them.”
While San Jose State still can be eligible for a bowl bid this season, the loss Idaho suffered Saturday makes it impossible for the Vandals to make it to the post-season.
Akey said the decision has not been made for starting quarterback against the Spartans.
“I want us to have the opportunity to work with both those guys (Davis and Reader) a little bit, and see how they’re going to respond,” Akey said. “It’s an opportunity to see who’s going to grab it by the horns. So we’ll make that determination later in the week.”