“Glory to God,” senior kicker Ricardo Chavez said in a press conference when asked about the game-winning kick. “Maybe last year wasn’t my time, it wasn’t the time he had for me. He said, now it’s that time. (And) without Hogan (Hatten), the line, LJ (Harm), it’s not going, shoutout to them.”
Idaho and Southern Illinois battled in the final second round game of the FCS Playoffs on Saturday night. In a game where most of the focus was on two elite defenses, it ended up in the hands (and feet) of the special teams.
With two seconds left in regulation, SIU sent out sophomore kicker Jake Baumgarte to attempt a 41-yard field goal for the win. As the kick started to go up, freshman linebacker Xe’Ree Alexander burst through the line untouched and blocked it.
Idaho then won the coin toss in overtime and elected to play defense on the east endzone. The Salukis’ drive consisted of a three-yard loss, incomplete pass, and an interception to junior defensive back Marcus Harris. On Idaho’s first play, sophomore running back Anthony Woods ran it into the endzone, but he was ruled out of bounds at the nine-yard line. The Vandals also got backed up 15 yards to the 24-yard line because of an unsportsmanlike conduct call.
From there, Woods gained a total of 11 yards, then redshirt sophomore quarterback Gevani McCoy took a knee on third down to bring out Chavez. Despite SIU trying to ice him, he hit the 29-yard field goal to give Idaho the 20-17 win.
“Ricardo… he’s been outstanding,” Head Coach Jason Eck said. “I think he’s the best kicker in the country, which is really important come playoff time.”
Chavez was also crucial at the end of the first half when Idaho was down 10-0. The Vandals couldn’t get anything going, but Chavez was able to hit a 40-yard field goal to give Idaho some momentum at halftime.
The Salukis started the second half with the ball, and they came out hot. After a 12-yard gain on the ground to reset the downs, SIU heaved the ball deep a few plays later on third-and-10. Senior QB Nic Baker found sophomore wide receiver Vinson Davis III for a 36-yard gain to set them up at the Idaho 26-yard line. However, their drive was cut short as redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Malakai Williams forced and recovered the fumble.
Although the Vandals’ defense came up big, the offense wasn’t able to back it up as they were forced to punt. That punt was followed by an SIU punt, which was followed by a McCoy pass to SIU junior linebacker Branson Combs, which was also followed by a punt.
Redshirt freshman LB Dylan Lane forced the punt with an 11-yard sack, his first of the season. Then, redshirt freshman Chase Reeves punted the ball 43 yards to the Idaho 14-yard line and into the hands of Second Team All-Conference punt returner Jermaine Jackson.
The redshirt senior broke his previous career-high return of 76-yards by running 86 yards down the field, through the endzone and out of the building. The return tied the game at 10-10.
Southern Illinois chewed through the final minutes of the third quarter and scored almost instantly in the fourth. Senior running back Ro Elliott picked up four yards to get to the one-yard line, then punched it in one play later.
Down 17-10 with 14 minutes left, the Vandals started their drive with a false start. They were able to make up for it with a 26-yard completion from McCoy to redshirt junior WR Hayden Hatten. However, they couldn’t keep the ball moving as SIU sacked McCoy on fourth-and-two to take over right at midfield.
Luckily for the Vandals, the defense stepped up again. This time around, it was freshman DL Dallas Afalava in for a 10-yard sack. “I thought Dallas Afalava was a difference maker in this game,” Eck said. The difference he made was Idaho going from down 17-10 to all tied up.
After struggling on offense all day, the Vandals finally started cooking on their final drive. McCoy backed up a 23-yard pass to Hatten with a 14-yard completion, found senior running back Nick Romano for 26 yards, then hit Hatten again for 24 yards, landing Idaho at the one-yard line. That’s when things got interesting.
On first down, it went to Woods for no gain, but a flag was thrown for an illegal substitution by SIU. Now slightly closer, Idaho went back to Woods, but he got stuffed again. However, senior defensive tackle Devin Love for SIU was offsides.
It was on the third-straight first down that the fifth-best rushing defense in the country took advantage of a high snap, tackling Woods for a three-yard loss. McCoy then tried to do it himself, following a one-yard gain with a two-yard gain to get Idaho back where they started. On fourth-and-one, McCoy looked for redshirt junior WR Terez Traynor, who was the only slightly open receiver in the endzone.
Just as three other plays saw, the refs from the Coastal Athletic Association threw a flag in favor of the Vandals. Pass interference was called on junior cornerback Mark Davis, and the downs reset. On first-and-goal, from basically where Idaho started six plays earlier, the ball went back to Woods. He finally punched it in to tie it up 17-17.
Four minutes later, the P1FCU Kibbie Dome may have been the loudest it’s been in years. A packed student section was doing everything in their power to shake up SIU and fire up Idaho. The Vandalizers did their job as the game went into overtime and Idaho eventually won.
If college football was scripted, this game would have been one of the best scripts ever written. Jason Eck faced a conference opponent from when he was at South Dakota State. Harris tied the record for career passes defended at Idaho with 34. Chavez moved to ninth in career field goals made at Idaho and made up for the missed field goal last season. Jackson broke his career-best punt return by seven yards. And, most importantly, it was Idaho’s first playoff win at home since it beat Boston 21-14 in 1993.
The Vandals will face the University of Albany at 7 p.m. on Dec. 9. As of now, the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
“Maybe we can get national TV again,” Eck said. “They might like the ratings we keep bringing in with these Saturday night games.”
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on X @jamesaldrich25