For the third time this season, Idaho (0-4) found itself with a chance to win in the fourth quarter. Despite a late comeback effort that nearly erased a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit, the Vandals came up short again.
Idaho fell 41-39 to Abilene Christian (1-3) on Saturday at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome. Joshua Wood accounted for 363 total yards and five touchdowns, including four rushing scores, and Tony Harste caught six passes for 151 yards and a touchdown.
Two fourth-quarter turnovers helped Abilene Christian turn a 24-24 game into a 41-24 lead before Idaho mounted one final rally.
The loss continued a frustrating trend for the Vandals. Idaho led Cal Poly in the fourth quarter of its season opener before losing 38-34, then fell behind early in a 23-17 loss to Lamar. Against Abilene Christian, Idaho played a much stronger first half and entered halftime trailing only 21-17, but could not finish the game.
“We keep getting ourselves in this position where we’re just not able to finish,” head coach Thomas Ford Jr. said. “We just have self-inflicting wounds that we’ve got to clean up.”
Idaho opened the game with one of its best offensive drives of the season. Wood completed five of six passes for 68 yards, including a 22-yard completion to Hayden Kincheloe, before scoring on a 1-yard keeper.
After ACU answered with a touchdown, Idaho took a 10-7 lead on a 38-yard Owen Forsman field goal. The Vandals then fell behind 14-10 before Wood found Harste for the biggest play of the night.
Harste caught a 25-yard pass before Wood found him again on a 47-yard touchdown, giving Idaho a 17-14 lead late in the second quarter. ACU answered with a touchdown in the final seconds of the half.
Idaho reclaimed the lead in the third quarter after its running game finally began to find some success. The Vandals ran the ball on nine of 11 plays during a 75-yard drive, with Wood finishing the possession with a 2-yard touchdown run.
Wood used his legs to extend several plays on that drive, as Idaho reclaimed the lead. The Wildcats tied the game at 24 apiece in the first minute of the fourth quarter. On Idaho’s ensuing possession, Marquawn McCraney fumbled the ball, which gave the Wildcats possession in territory.
After ACU kicked a field goal to take the lead, Wood fumbled on the second play of their next possession, and Obi Udom picked up the ball and ran it into the endzone. This gave ACU their first double-digit lead of the game.
Desperately needing a score, Idaho didn’t hesitate when facing a 4th-and-3, but Wood was unable to connect with Harste and ACU took over on downs at the Vandals’ 37-yard line. ACU’s Tucker Parks hit Deonte Dean on the first play of the drive for a touchdown. In just over five minutes, the Wildcats had turned a tied game into a 17 point lead.
Still, Idaho refused to go away.
Wood led a quick scoring drive and ran for his third touchdown of the afternoon and the Vandals converted a two-point try to cut the deficit to 41-32. After the defense forced an ACU punt, Wood completed six consecutive passes on the ensuing drive before scoring again on a 3-yard keeper.
The touchdown brought the score to 41-39 with 1:46 remaining. ACU recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.
Wood’s performance was the latest reminder of how much Idaho’s offense continues to rely on its quarterback. He accounted for all five Vandal touchdowns and 82 percent of the team’s total yardage.
Ford said the goal now is to find ways to make Wood’s job easier.
“Joshua is a phenomenal player,” Ford said. “He’s going to continue to make phenomenal plays the rest of the season, but we’ve got to find ways to make the game easier for him.”
Idaho will return to action Oct. 2 against Montana State, the defending national champion and current No. 1 FCS team in the country.
“We know this team is capable of winning,” Ford said. “We know we have players that are capable of making plays. Now we just have to execute and play four quarters of football.”
The Vandals next matchup will be last year’s FCS champions, the Montana State Bobcats on Friday, October 2 at 7:30 p.m.