With a 20-3 lead going into halftime, the Vandals seemed to have Abilene Christian figured out. The one sided first half gave ease to fans as the Vandals played their first FCS ranked team for the season. However, the Wildcats had other ideas, storming back to cut the point deficit to just 3 points with just 3:47 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Idaho’s offense put up some impressive numbers, notching 424 yards on the day, with 253 yards through the air and 171 on the ground with 0 turnovers. The ground game saw three players hit the 50-yard mark, with redshirt junior Nate Thomas tallying 69 yards and a touchdown, redshirt junior Elisha Cummings tallying 51 yards, and redshirt freshman wide receiver Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar who had a single 53-yard run, that being the longest play of the day for the Vandals.
Redshirt freshman Jack Wagner had himself a respectable game, having 2 TDs to go with 253 yards, in which both TDs came in the first quarter to his top 2 targets, redshirt sophomore Jordan Dwyer and redshirt freshman Mark Hamper.
On their second drive of the game, Wagner found Dwyer in the endzone on a beautifully placed ball and a fantastic catch to put Idaho up 7-0 early. After the defense forced their second straight 3 and out, the offense came out and capitalized a 7 play, 73-yard drive with a 44-yard touchdown pass to Mark Hamper on a flea flicker.
Abilene Christian was able to notch a 27-yard field goal to make it 14-3 in the second quarter. That would be the last time ACU would be in Vandal territory in the first half.
The defense was able to force 3 turnovers on ACU’s quarterback Maverick McIvor, with 2 interceptions and a fumble.
Senior Kyrin Beachem intercepted McIvor on the first drive of the game, and “Takeaway” Tommy McCormick also notched an interception on the day. Senior defensive end and FCS sack leader, Keyshawn James-Newby, was also able to get into the backfield and add to his standout start this season, bringing him to 7 sacks on the year.
Idaho was able to take a 20-3 lead into halftime after a pair of Cameron Pope field goals from 33 yards and 25 yards.
The Vandals didn’t skip a beat in their first drive of the second half, as they started with the big 53-yard rush by Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar, which also notched a horse collar tackle penalty on top of the big play to give Idaho a net gain of 64 yards on the play. That is when 3 straight Nate Thomas rushes punched it in for a touchdown to make the game 27-3.
Abilene Christian, desperate for something on offense, proceeded to score on their last drive of the 3rd, scoring and converting a 2-point conversion to make it 27-11 going into the 4th quarter.
ACU was able to force a turnover on downs while backed up in their redzone, and Maverick McIvor threw for his 2nd touchdown, in which their conversion failed, making it no 27-17 Idaho.
Idaho’s struggles kept on continuing on offense, and another Wildcat touchdown made it 27-24. Just like that the Vandals 24-point lead disappeared to a mere 3 points.
ACU had the ball with 57 seconds to go, down 3, and at the end of a 15-yard Maverick McIvor run, redshirt junior defensive lineman Zach Krotzer forced a fumble that was recovered by freshman defensive back Matt Irwin to seal the win for the Vandals.
Idaho moves to 3-1 on the year heading into Big Sky Conference play and have a tough one heading their way this week. The Vandals will go on the road to face the #13 UC Davis Aggies, in which Idaho looks to get their program’s first win against the Aggies since rejoining the FCS. The two face off on Sep. 28 at 7 p.m. live on ESPN+.
Bryce Norwood can be reached at [email protected]