What an odd Saturday.
In easily one of the strangest games in its history, Idaho managed to pull off a 29-23 win over South Alabama in double overtime on Saturday, a game that began at 11 a.m. and would not conclude until around 6 p.m., due to about two and a half hours of lightning delay.
It was not pretty by any means. Frustration could be seen in the faces of both Vandal and Jaguar players, but not only because they had to take to the locker room for about as long as they were on the playing field advantage was a rarity to say the least.
It really could have gone either way. Both teams played well enough to win, but the Vandals were graced by a good bit of luck and, with another mark in the win-column, who’s to complain?
Both teams were hard-pressed in finding advantages, as the contest was relatively even throughout. When senior quarterback Matt Linehan connected downfield with senior wide receivers Jacob Sannon or Alfonso Onunwor, the next play seemed to result in either a sack, a tackle-for-loss or a near-interception.
The largest lead of the game was just seven points. Momentum shifted by the possession, so both teams could only hope for small wins and losses.
Idaho’s defense would make a big play, but then South Alabama’s defense would strike right back. The Vandals would knock in a field-goal, only to be followed by a Jaguar field-goal. When senior running back Aaron Duckworth broke off a few big runs that led to points, South Alabama would find a way to mimic the action on the back of Xavier Johnson, who finished with 155 yards and two touchdowns.
What made Idaho fans most optimistic a good rushing defense led by an experienced linebacking core and defensive linewas not quite what was expected coming into the game.
What could best be described as a confusing muddle of missed opportunities, both teams could not quite find footing. Linehan had two incredibly errant throws intercepted and returned for touchdowns, but both were called back on South Alabama as defensive penalties.
The Jaguars were plagued with penalties in dire situations, including an offensive holding call on an overtime run by Johnson in which he was pushed out at the two-yard-line. That may have sealed the win for South Alabama, but it simply followed the trend of the game weird.
With just eight minutes remaining in the match up, the whistles blew. Both teams and fans, many of whom would leave after the first delay, were asked to seek shelter by officials, as the lightning in Mobile was approaching. The livestream went black and Vandal supporters were left with baffling silence. Finally, Idaho’s radio came alive and alerted viewers of the bad news.
After the delay, the Jaguars took a 20-13 lead on a 34-yard Johnson run, and it looked like the pause had deadened Idaho.
But Idaho was far from dead. It was as if the lightning had shocked the Vandal offense back to life, Linehan led a game-tying drive in one minute, tossing a touchdown to Onunwor to send the game into overtime.
Idaho’s defense got a stop in double overtime, leaving the game in the hands of the offense. But fans had to wait another half-hour in agony before seeing senior running back Isaiah Saunders plunge into the end zone for a game-winning touchdown, as another lightning delay was called, this time for 30 minutes.
The lightning delays were less than fortuitous. But perhaps an extended break was what the Vandals needed to gain their bearings and pick up their first Sun Belt Conference win of the season. An extended break is what Idaho will receive this week before returning to the Kibbie Dome for homecoming, where lightning delays are impossible.
Colton Clark can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @coltonclark95