Vandals collapse again

LOGAN, Utah – For a second straight week, the University of Idaho football team suffered a second-half collapse.

Utah State pulled away from the Vandals 42-17 in a Western Athletic Conference opener Saturday that pitted the teams that finished next to last and last, respectively, a year ago.

Idaho (1-3) took a 17-14 lead on a Tino Amancio 43-yard field goal with 2:10 remaining in the third quarter. But USU (1-3) scored the go-ahead touchdown with 34 seconds left in the quarter and added three more TDs in the fourth quarter.

“This football team has to play better than it did,” Vandals coach Robb Akey said. “The defense has to stop people. You tackle the guy who has the football. You be where you’re supposed to be even if the guy who’s usually there isn’t.”

The storyline for the Vandals was all too familiar – some good, some bad and some ugly. They played to a 7-7 tie through the first half and opened the second half in impressive fashion, driving 81 yards on 13 plays before sophomore quarterback Nathan Enderle found true freshman Preston Davis for a 6-yard scoring pass.

The Aggies responded quickly. USU quarterback Diondre Borel found Stanley Morrison a step behind Idaho’s defense for a 46-yard scoring strike at the 5:53 mark.

After Amancio’s field goal gave Idaho its final lead, the Aggies took the lead for the first time when, after a 49-yard run by Robert Turbin advanced the ball deep into Idaho territory, Borel found Jeremy Mitchell with a 15-yard TD pass. The PAT pushed USU ahead 21-17.

That was the beginning of a monumental momentum swing.

Idaho lost starting safety Shiloh Keo to a shoulder injury in the first half and starting receiver Maurice Shaw (ankle) in the second half.