The University of Idaho football team beat Lamar 42-17 in Beaumont, Texas, on the first college football night of the 2023 season.
Sophomore running back Anthony Woods rushed for over 100 yards for the third time in his career. All 138 yards came in the first half. He also ran in for two touchdowns.
Redshirt junior wide receiver Hayden Hatten led the receiving room. On top of getting 86 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions, he also threw a touchdown. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Gevani McCoy dished the ball to Hatten who threw it to senior RB Nick Romano.
Romano also had a good game on the ground. He gained 41 yards on five attempts.
Tommy McCormick led on the defensive side of the ball. The junior defensive back racked up nine total tackles and assisted on one tackle for loss.
There were three total sacks from Idaho, but only one was solo. Redshirt senior defensive lineman Tylen Coleman found himself bringing pressure to the backfield multiple times during the game. He sacked junior QB Robert Coleman 1.5 times.
Lamar started off slow but ramped things up in the second half, scoring 17 points.
The Cardinals’ first score came off the foot of junior kicker Chris Esqueda. The Cardinals were able to get from their own 50-yard line to Idaho’s 13, making it an easy 30-yard field goal for Esqueda.
Coleman was the sole player taking snaps for Lamar. The transfer from Mt. San Jacinto College finished with 119 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Although the Cardinals might be expected to mostly utilize the air, its ground game was just as effective. Junior running back Khalin Griffin finished with 42 yards and one touchdown on 12 attempts. Coleman also utilized the ground game, running for 21 yards on 11 attempts.
Lamar’s defense only allowed Idaho to put up 14 points in the second half. Sophomore linebacker Robert Bonar led the charge, tallying up seven total tackles.
The stat lines for both secondaries were equal. Senior defensive back Kevin Anderson brought life back into the Cardinals with his third-quarter interception. Idaho junior DB Marcus Harris also snagged a third-quarter interception.
Multiple Vandals went out of the game in the second half because of cramps, while the Cardinals didn’t see many players go down. However, this allowed Idaho to use its depth.
“We subbed a lot, which was good, I want to get guys in the game,” Head Coach Jason Eck said. “There’ll be some really good teaching for some players. We’ve got a lot of true freshmen in there.”
Eight Idaho wide receivers snagged receptions, four running backs picked up yards and two quarterbacks took snaps. Twenty-four defensive players put up numbers on the stat line.
“We’ve got to play a lot better,” Eck said. “We had way too many penalties… we had two turnovers in the second half… there’s a lot of things that we’re going to have to clean up to beat the FBS teams on our schedule.”
Idaho will head to Reno, Nevada, next to take on the University of Nevada Wolfpack. The game will kick off at 4 p.m. on Sept. 9.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on X @jamesaldrich25