Elijhaa Penny rushed for 184 yards on 36 carries as Idaho beat Sun Belt Conference opponent Louisiana-Monroe 27-13 in front of a homecoming crowd of 14,414 Saturday at the Kibbie Dome.
It was Idaho’s second straight win after the Vandals beat Troy last Saturday on the road.
The Vandals (3-4 overall, 2-2 Sun Belt) play New Mexico State at 5 p.m. next Saturday in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Louisiana-Monroe led 10-6 late in the second half. But Idaho sophomore quarterback Matt Linehan connected with junior tight end Trent Cowan for a 36-yard touchdown pass with seven seconds left in the first half to take a 13-10 halftime lead.
In the second half, another Idaho junior tight end found the end zone — twice. Deon Watson caught a 34-yard touchdown pass with 6:27 left in the third quarter to put the Vandals up 20-13. Linehan found Watson again early in the fourth quarter for a 23-yard touchdown pass to extend the Vandal lead to 27-13.
Linehan completed 23 of his 39 passes for 315 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
Idaho’s defense held the Warhawks to 243 yards of total offense, including 57 rushing yards.
Garrett Cabeza can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @CabezaGarrett