Vandal football team commits eight turnovers in loss against Arkansas State
Most of the time, whichever team wins the turnover battle wins the football game. In this case, Arkansas State (5-3 overall, 3-1 Sun Belt) won the turnover battle 8-1 Saturday to beat Idaho (1-7, 1-5) 44-28 in the Kibbie Dome.
Philip Vukelich | Argonaut
Arkansas State long snapper Ryan Eustace prepares to snap the ball in ASU’s 44-28 win over Idaho Saturday in the Kibbie Dome. Eight turnovers doomed the Vandals in the loss.
“You can’t keep turning the ball over and when you do that you don’t give yourself a chance to win,” Idaho coach Paul Petrino said. “It’s just ridiculous.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Linehan and sophomore quarterback Chad Chalich combined for four interceptions and the Vandals lost four fumbles.
“You can’t beat bad teams with that many turnovers, let alone a really good team,” Petrino said. “They’re a good team. What’s sad is when it was 30-28, it was probably the best game we’ve played since I’ve been here in two years.”
Despite the turnover gap between the Vandals and the Red Wolves, Idaho still had the opportunity to win until late in the game.
Arkansas State running back Michael Gordon took a handoff from quarterback Fredi Knighten and sprinted 23 yards to the end zone to extend the Red Wolves lead to 37-28 with 7:41 left in the fourth quarter.
Backed up deep in its own territory, Idaho senior running back Jerrel Brown fumbled and Arkansas State recovered at the 8-yard line.
After Knighten picked up four yards on a run, Gordon finished the short drive with a four-yard run of his own to put Arkansas State up 44-28 with 6:35 remaining in the game. The Vandals weren’t able to put up any more points and the game ended 44-28.
Linehan completed 10-of-21 passes for 87 yards and threw three interceptions. He was also sacked four times. Chalich was 6-of-9 for 113 yards with an interception.
In regards to the quarterback substitutions, Petrino said he was “just trying to find somebody that could get it done.”
Philip Vukelich | Argonaut
Conference receiving leader Josh McCain in action during Saturday’s game against Arkansas State University.
As in recent weeks, the Vandals continued to pick up yards on the ground as they rushed for 243 yards in the game. Junior running back Elijhaa Penny rushed for 121 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns, while Brown nearly reached the century mark with 98 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns.
“They were running good for a while and then we didn’t continue to do it and we didn’t stay on the field long enough to do it,” Petrino said.
For much of the game, it was a back-and-forth affair filled with turnovers.
Idaho’s first drive of the game ended with an interception thrown by Linehan. Arkansas State took advantage of the turnover. After a two-yard loss by Knighten, Gordon ran 44 yards for a touchdown to put Arkansas State up 7-0 with 10:15 left in the first quarter.
Linehan threw another interception later in the first quarter to cornerback Artez Brown. The pass was intended for receiver Josh McCain, who was sprinting down the sideline.
With 10:23 left in the second quarter, defensive back Rocky Hayes returned a Linehan fumble 93 yards for a touchdown after the Vandals had the ball second-and-goal at the 7-yard line.
Idaho responded on its next drive. Penny busted through the defense for a 27-yard run to the Arkansas State one-yard line. On the next play, Penny barreled into the end zone with 7:49 left in the second quarter to cut the Red Wolves lead to 14-7.
On the ensuing kickoff, returner Brandon Cox fumbled the ball and Idaho safety Tom Hennessey recovered at the Arkansas State 30-yard line. On the next play, Linehan fumbled the ball in the pocket while looking downfield for a receiver. The ball was recovered by defensive tackle Dexter Blackmon at the Arkansas State 34-yard line.
Later in the second quarter, Brown punched the ball into the end zone for Idaho from eight yards out to tie the game at 14 with 3:17 left in the second quarter.
Philip Vukelich | Argonaut
Jerrel Brown celebrating his touchdown with teammate Jesse Davis Saturday at the Dome.
Arkansas State’s Luke Ferguson kicked a 28-yard field goal toward the end of the half to take a 17-14 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Penny took a two-yard pitch from Chalich into the end zone to put the Vandals on top for the first time in the game 21-17.
Later, freshman wide receiver David Ungerer dropped a punt and Andrew Tryon of Arkansas State recovered at the Idaho 46-yard line with 7:00 to play in the third quarter.
Twenty-six seconds later, Gordon ran seven yards for a Red Wolves touchdown to retake the momentum and the lead 24-21.
The Vandals responded and put together a drive to take the lead again. Brown took the handoff and dashed 16 yards for the touchdown to regain the lead for the Vandals 28-24.
Later, Knighten threw a quick pass to Tres Houston for an 11-yard gain with 23 seconds left in the third quarter. Gordon scored on the next play to put the Red Wolves up 30-28 with seven seconds left in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Artez Brown intercepted his second pass of the game. This time, Chalich threw it and the Red Wolves took over at the Idaho 38-yard line. From that point the game was out of reach for the Vandals.
“There was a time in this game this year where we were getting after them pretty good and we just didn’t finish it,” Petrino said.
Garrett Cabeza can be reached at [email protected]