Vandals reach .500 level

MOSCOW, Idaho – Junior tight end Luke Smith-Anderson, the longest tenured Vandal, has seen quite a bit during his six years in Moscow, but he’s never seen an Idaho football team with a .500 record – until Saturday.

The Vandals reached that plateau with an entertaining 28-20 Western Athletic Conference win over New Mexico State in front of a homecoming crowd of 15,102 at the Kibbie Dome.

“We’re .500 for the first time since 2000,” said the oft-injured Smith-Anderson, pausing to set up his own punch line, “… before I even got here. It was a while ago, man.”

The victory, preserved by a Vandals defense that held the country’s top-ranked passing offense relatively in check most of the game, hiked Idaho’s record to 3-3, 2-0 in the WAC. In 2000, Idaho lost its first three, fought back to 5-5 before losing to Boise State in the finale.

“Can we quit? Does 3-3 qualify for a bowl game?” head coach Dennis Erickson wisecracked. “It’s great for those players and the fans. At least we’ve got some hope in this program. We’re getting better all the time and we’re going to have to. They’ve got to get better to compete.”

This one started out wild and never strayed far from that theme. The first half started with the teams taking the wrong sides of the field for the opening kickoff, forcing them to quickly switch ends, and it ended with UI receiver Max Komar alertly chasing down Eric Carrie, who was end-zone bound on an interception return until Komar caught him near Idaho’s 25.

“I wasn’t sure, but I was going to put in the effort to try to catch him,” said Komar, whose hustle kept Idaho on top 28-13 at half.

Somehow, the score stayed that way until the final minutes, though both teams had several chances to change it. Idaho’s Tino Amancio missed field goals from 47 and 46 yards in the final 12 minutes that would have made it a three-possession game.

Meanwhile, the Aggies (2-3, 0-1) had possessions end on a Stanley Franks’ interception (his fifth of the season), a sack by Ryan Davis, a fake punt that went awry and a botched center-quarterback exchange on fourth down.

The Aggies also had Chris Williams’ punt return for a touchdown nullified by penalty – their second TD called back by an infraction – and quarterback Chase Holbrook overthrew Derek Dubois by a couple of inches on another play that had touchdown written all over it.

“This was a pretty bad performance all the way around,” said Holbrook, who threw for 342 yards, but was sacked three times and tossed three interceptions.

Williams, who tormented Idaho’s secondary and punt- and kick-coverage units throughout, had a different opinion.

“This is the best a team has been prepared for us all year,” said Williams, who had 260 all-purpose yards.

Williams pumped new life into the Aggies with a 49-yard punt return, setting up a touchdown that narrowed Idaho’s lead to 28-20 with 2:09 left.

UI’s Marlon Haynes then fielded an onside kick for the second time this season – the other helped Idaho defeat Idaho State 27-24 last month. The Vandals didn’t milk the clock properly, however, leaving NMSU’s offense one final play, which resulted in a dropped pass nowhere near Idaho’s goal line.

“We got tired at times, but I think we held our own and made the plays that mattered,” said Vandals linebacker David Vobora, who had 15 tackles.

Idaho’s offense made countless plays in the first half. The Vandals needed just three plays to score on their first possession, only to see the Aggies answer on a 96-yard scoring pass – the longest play in NMSU history – to the speedy Williams, who blew past Franks.

Idaho went on top 14-7 with a 10-play drive – all running plays – and then overcame three consecutive penalties, one of which wiped out a 46-yard pass to Komar, to lead 21-7 on the second of Brian Flowers’ two rushing TDs. On the latter drive, Wichman connected three times with Smith-Anderson, the Lake City High product who missed the last two games (knee injury).

The Aggies responded when A.J. Harris turned a short pass over the middle into a 47-yard touchdown, but NMSU trailed 21-13 after missing its fourth PAT of the season. It stayed that way for exactly five plays. Wichman fired a 29-yard strike to a wide-open Wendell Octave to give Idaho a 28-13 lead at half.

The Vandals gained 340 yards in the first half, averaging 8.7 yards per snap. The Aggies had only 23 offensive plays but still picked up 200 yards, 143 coming on the two TD passes.

Idaho managed only 109 yards in the second half, but its defense took over.

“Our offense played as well as it could possibly play in the first half,” Erickson said. “In the second half, the defense came out and shut out an awfully good team until the end.”