The #3/5 Idaho Vandals defeated Northern Colorado 27-13 to advance to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the conference.
The Idaho offense came out of the gate dominating the time of possession with 12:40 of the first 15 minutes of the first quarter, jumping to an early first quarter lead, 10-0. The game consisted of many long drives, including four drives that had 10 or more plays.
Anthony Woods had a good game Saturday, totaling 105 rushing yards and scoring the game’s first touchdown. Alongside that, redshirt junior wide receiver Hayden Hatten had 104 yards on six catches with a touchdown as well.
“Anthony and Hayden both had 100 yards which you like to see out of those guys. Good to see, but offensively we need to run the ball a little better.” Head Coach Jason Eck said.
Idaho did have its woes, struggling on offense with third downs. Idaho was 3-9 on third downs, which was their worst in a game since starting conference play. The team had some penalty problems, with eight penalties for 70 yards in the game.
The Idaho defense had a phenomenal day, allowing only 186 total yards to the Bears offense. Freshman Xe’ree Alexander had 13 total tackles and three TFLs.
“It was really bad coaching by me that we didn’t play him more earlier in the year, because he is a playmaker,” Eck said. “He certainly has done a great job, and as long as he stays healthy, he’ll be starting every game from here on out.”
The spotlight of the game would be focused on the Idaho cornerbacks, who only gave up 55 passing yards all game.
“I think we’re playing very well at corner. I’d say corner is one of the biggest strengths of our team,” Eck said. “It’s been a few weeks since anyone has gotten a big play against one of our corners. It was a great performance by (Andrew) Marshall, Ormanie (Arnold), and Marcus (Harris).”
In what seemed to shock most Idaho fans, Northern Colorado was battling with the Vandals, with Idaho taking only a 10-7 lead into halftime.
The second half was a different story though, where Idaho’s first drive was a great one, a drive that consisted of 16 plays for 84 yards, capped off with a Hayden Hatten six-yard receiving touchdown. The drive lasted 9:37, taking up over 60% of the third quarter.
Late in the fourth quarter, Northern Colorado was able to make it a one score game 20-13. With a little under three minutes to go, redshirt freshman Shea Kuykendall for the Bears took a shot downfield and Junior cornerback Marcus Harris intercepted the pass at the 30 and took it back 70 yards for the game sealing pick-six to come out with the 27-13 victory.
“Just knowing we need to get a stop, whether it’s forcing a three-and-out, or get a turnover, that was just our mindset going out,” Marcus Harris said. “So just attacking the ball when it came my way was my mindset.”
The Idaho Vandals look to stay atop the Big Sky Conference as they head to Odgen, Utah, to face Weber State Nov. 11 at noon.
Bryce Norwood can be reached at [email protected]