Amongst the depths of the inferno field at Cheney, Idaho dropped a pivotal game against Eastern Washington Saturday.
Idaho football experienced a nightmare on the red turf, losing 38-14 to the Eagles.
This keeps the Vandals winless on the road and gives them their fourth Big Sky loss on the year.
Both teams came out fiery on Saturday, as Idaho tried to take down the FCS monster and the Eagles trying to get the big win at home.
After an early stop for the Idaho defense, the Vandal offense marched downfield and created opportunity to get an early lead against the Eagles.
Junior wide receiver Jeff Cotton fumbled the football inside the red zone, giving Eastern Washington the ball.
This was the beginning of the Saturday nightmares the Vandals experienced throughout the game.
Eastern Washington capitalized on the turnover and moved downfield to find the endzone to take a 7-0 lead with 2:01 left in the first quarter.
On the following Idaho drive, the Vandals went for it on fourth down and one yard to go, before getting stopped by the Eagle defense. That gave the Eagles possession around midfield.
Eastern Washington scored again, showcasing why this team is averaging nearly 61 points at home this season.
The Idaho offense could not get anything going through the air or on the ground in the first half, putting the Vandal defense back on the field time after time.
The Eagle defense held Idaho to only 129 total yards in the first half, while the Eagles had over 350 yards of total offense in the half.
Eastern Washington lead 31-0 at halftime, making it near impossible for Idaho to pull off the win.
Junior quarterback Mason Petrino provided a spark for the offense in the middle of the third quarter, leading the Vandals downfield after starting at the 10-yard line.
Petrino found Cotton downfield for a big 32-yard play, then followed up with a 24-yard quarterback rush to get the Vandals inside the five.
The Vandals finally found the endzone, after a Petrino rollout pass to freshman wide receiver Cutrell Haywood, continuing the connection the two have established over the past few weeks.
Eastern answered on the following drive with another big play through the air to give the Eagles a 38-7 lead by the end of the third quarter.
Sophomore quarterback Colton Richardson left the game towards the end of the third after he took a huge hit after a throw in the Vandals endzone. Richardson did not return for the rest of the game.
Idaho found a garbage time touchdown on a 23-yard passing touchdown from Petrino to Cotton.
Petrino would finish the game 20 for 28 passes on the day with two touchdowns on 177 passing yards through the air.
Junior running back Isaiah Saunders finished the game with only 36 yards rushing. Saunders still needs a little over 60 yards rushing next week to join the 2,000-yard club.
Idaho will return home this week to try to stay undefeated at home on the season, while hoping to bounce back after the tough loss in Cheney.
The Vandals will take on the North Dakota Fighting Hawks 2 p.m. Nov. 3 in the Kibbie Dome.
Chris Deremer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Cderemer_VN