Idaho's season ends with painful loss to Idaho State in rivalry battle

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Nov. 23—MOSCOW — A bitter end to Idaho's football season came to a head on Saturday when the Idaho State Bengals stripped away the Potato State Trophy from the Vandals' grasp with a 37-16 routing at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome.

The Bengals led 27-0 at halftime and didn't let the Vandals get back into the game in the second half.

Idaho coach Thomas Ford Jr. gave credit to the Idaho State program and said he hopes to see improvement from his team a year from now; however, he was dissatisfied with the result from Saturday.

"Obviously, very disappointed in the loss today," Ford said. "It was not the way we wanted to send our seniors out. But that's a very good team across the field this afternoon, and I think coach (Cody) Hawkins has done a very nice job with that program.

"They're improving rapidly, and I know that this program will do the same in a year from now. Obviously (that) does not help for today, we just did not play well enough to win the football game."

How it happened

Idaho's offense was stagnant for nearly three quarters.

In the first half, the offense accounted for just four first downs.

Starting quarterback Joshua Wood went 9-of-13 passing for just 73 yards and had one interception. He was also the second-leading rusher on the team with two carries for 29 yards.

Wood only played in the first half. During a quarterback counter run on Idaho's final drive of the first half, he gained 23 yards before he was tackled by an Idaho State defender, landing on his right throwing shoulder.

True freshman backup quarterback Sawyer Teeney played the entire second half.

"He tried. He tried to get it going," Ford said of Wood. "Just could not throw the football effectively. And as much as he wanted to be out there, he knew that our team had a better chance to win with a healthy Sawyer Teeney than an injured Joshua Wood."

Teeney came in and led two touchdown drives — one late in the third quarter and the other late in the fourth quarter.

Teeney was 8-of-12 passing for 53 yards and a touchdown.

Senior running back Nate Thomas led the Vandals in rushing with 15 carries for 66 yards and a score.

Idaho had seven penalties for a loss of 73 yards. Ford said that getting behind the chains often threw the Vandals' offense off rhythm.

He also said that the Idaho State defense was excellent for most of the game.

"(ISU defensive coordinator) Grant Duff is a very good coordinator. He's been doing it in the Big Sky for a long time, and I think he had some stuff early that just kind of threw us off, that they had not shown all season," Ford said. "But ultimately, those penalties that put us in third-and-forevers were really what was the difference on offense."

On the other end, Idaho State was very efficient on offense.

Junior running back Dason Brooks helped control the time of possession and carried the ball 23 times for 103 yards.

Senior wide receiver and former Washington State Cougar Tsion Nunnally led the Bengals with six receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown in his return to the Palouse.

Junior quarterback Jordan Cooke was the main problem for the Vandals. Cooke passed 20-for-33 for 212 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 13 times for 72 yards and two more scores.

"Where we needed to be a little bit better was on the third downs and when the quarterback moves," Ford said. "(Cooke) is a very good player, and he did a great job extending plays all season. And we just didn't have great eyes in the secondary when we were either in man coverage in some spots or when he did extend the play and move out of the pocket."

An emotional day and a bitter end for the seniors

Idaho honored 15 seniors on Saturday including: Jahman McNeil, Donovan Parham, Zakhari Spears, Xander Echols, LJ Harm, Dylan Fischer, Deuce Blenman, Mike Graves, Nate Thomas, Eli Cummings, Sam Brown, Zach Krotzer, Jake Cox, Isiah King and Nate Azzopardi.

Ford said it was a very emotional day for both the seniors and some of the younger players, and said he wants to honor them with the work the team puts in over the offseason.

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"We want those guys when they turn on the TV or they show up to the Dome, when they come, (to) know the Vandals are going to go win," Ford said. "And I really think that those guys will forever be a part of this program for their contributions. It's not just this year — it's two years where I was supporting them as an assistant, a year of me being their fan, and then obviously this year being their head coach. So those guys are very special to me, and we really want to honor that group with the way that we play all offseason and the way we play next year."

A quick ending to Idaho's season

Just like that, after 13 weeks, Idaho's season is over.

In the locker room after the game, Ford said that he told the group that they will be one of the hardest-working groups in America.

"What I said to them is, 'You're not going to see a coach in America that's going to work harder than me. You're not going to see a recruiting group of guys that are going to hit this offseason as hard as our guys will.'"

He said that he is most proud of the group's resilience throughout the season.

"Those guys could have easily soured, because they're used to winning, they're used to going to the playoffs, but they did anything but that," Ford said of his seniors. "I think they've really showed our group how to lead. … But I think that those guys really set the blueprint on what leadership should look like and what the standard is around here. And so I think I'm most proud of our seniors and the resolve of this entire group."

Idaho State 37, Idaho 16

First Quarter

ISU — FG Sinatra 39, 10:17.

ISU — Duarte 14 pass from Cooke (Sinatra kick), 0:50.

Second Quarter

ISU — Cooke 1 run (Sinatra kick), 6:01

ISU — Nunnally 30 pass from Cooke (Sinatra kick), 0:28.

ISU — FG Sinatra 33, 0:00.

Third Quarter

IDA — Thomas 16 run (Koch run), 3:36.

Fourth Quarter

ISU — Cooke 9 run (Sinatra kick), 11:47.

ISU — FG Sinatra 19, 7:06.

IDA — McWilliams 21 pass from Teeney (Matheney pass from Teeney), 1:57.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Idaho State: Brooks 23-103, Cooke 13-72, Burton 2-10, Sudbury 1-6, Harsin 2-4, Duarte 2-(-2). Idaho: Thomas 15-66, Wood 2-29, McCraney 1-23, Teeney 5-11, Matheney 2-5, Kincheloe 1-(-1).

Passing — Idaho State: Cooke 22-33-1—212. Idaho: Wood 9-13-1—73, Teeney 8-12-0—53.

Receiving — Idaho State: Nunnally 6-86, Duarte 5-70, Morgan 4-38, Burton 3-7, Shulikov 2-11. Idaho: McWilliams 5-49, McCraney 4-42, Bogan 3-11, Swanson 2-15, Thomas 2-13, Matheney 1-(-4).

Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, tjunt@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @TrevorJunt.

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