Running the football well and controlling the clock is usually a formula for success. The formula worked for the Appalachian State Mountaineers as they beat the Idaho Vandals 47-20 Saturday at the Kibbie Dome in Sun Belt Conference play.
Idaho (3-7 overall, 2-5 Sun Belt) will play at Auburn next Saturday before finishing the regular season against Texas State Nov. 28 at the Kibbie Dome.
The Mountaineers (8-2, 5-1) rushed for 401 yards and held the ball for 36 minutes, 44 seconds. Redshirt freshman running back Jalin Moore rushed for the bulk of those yards. Moore carried the ball 27 times for 244 yards – a 9-yard per carry average.
The Vandals stayed with the Mountaineers in the first half, trailing 21-13 at halftime but Appalachian State started fast in the second half.
On the Mountaineers’ first offensive play of the third quarter, Moore rumbled 47 yards to the Idaho 21. Three plays later, Appalachian State sophomore quarterback Taylor Lamb connected with wide receiver Malachi Jones for a 15-yard touchdown with 13:13 left in the quarter.
The Mountaineers scored 23 unanswered points in the second half to extend their lead to 44-13.
Idaho sophomore quarterback Matt Linehan found junior tight end Trent Cowan for a 10-yard touchdown to cut the Mountaineer lead to 44-20 with 6:28 left in the fourth quarter.
Linehan and Cowan led the Idaho offense.
Linehan completed 20 of 31 passes for 243 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. But the Appalachian State defense sacked Linehan five times. Cowan hauled in seven passes for 76 yards and one touchdown.
Idaho senior running back Elijhaa Penny, who entered the game averaging 170.3 yards rushing on 35.3 carries per game the last three games, rushed for 53 yards on 16 carries against Appalachian State. Penny had three receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown – a 15-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter to tie the game at 7.
Garrett Cabeza can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @CabezaGarrett