Idaho’s junior placekicker, Owen Forsman, came to Moscow as a highly-touted local recruit from Lakeland High School in Rathdrum. He earned his first chance to kick extra points and field goals last season in the first year under head coach Thomas Ford Jr., who recruited Forsman in 2023 when he was Idaho’s special teams coordinator.
Forsman made his first nine collegiate field goal attempts and had not yet been tested with any adversity. Two weeks ago against Weber State, Forsman faced his first real bump in the road. In the cold afternoon wind of Ogden, Utah, Forsman missed all three of his field goal attempts.
Against Montana, he made six PATs, and he has now made the first 33 extra points of his career. Saturday, he lined up with one second remaining on the clock and the game tied. He delivered, sending a 53-yard kick through the uprights as time expired to give the Vandals (3-5, 3-2) a 31-28 Homecoming victory over Southern Utah (3-5, 2-3) at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome.
Forsman’s kick capped a frantic finish to a game in which Idaho built a 10-point fourth-quarter lead, watched Southern Utah erase it in the final minute, and then won it on a walk-off field goal.
The victory continued Idaho’s turnaround after an 0-4 start. The Vandals have now won three of their last four games, including victories over No. 1 Montana State and No. 7 Montana.
“The heart rate is a little bit high after that,” Ford said.
Forsman’s decisive kick came after a six-play, 40-yard drive in the final 42 seconds. Joshua Wood found Zack Card for a 10-yard completion and then connected with Gus Donnerberg for nine yards to move the Vandals across midfield. After a pass-interference penalty against Southern Utah extended the drive, Wood found Card again for six yards to the 35-yard line.
That set up Forsman, who completed a perfect afternoon on field goals to move to 15-for-19 in his career.
“I had no doubt when he took the field that he was going to make that kick,” Ford said. “Everyone on that sideline knew that if we could get a field goal attempt anywhere inside of 55, he was going to make it,”
Despite a good defensive showing from Idaho, Southern Utah’s final stats benefited from a handful of explosive runs from their quarterback Will Burns.
The Thunderbirds finished with 450 total yards, including 245 rushing yards. Burns accounted for 392 yards of total offense, throwing for 205 yards and rushing for 187.
Despite Burns’ production, Idaho’s defense made limiting Southern Utah running back Floyd Chalk a priority. Chalk entered the game among the FCS leaders in rushing but finished with 58 yards on 17 carries, his first game of the season below 100 yards.
“I thought our defense played their best game of the season,” Ford said. “Coach Stalker put together a phenomenal plan that allowed our guys to play really fast.”
The defense was dominant early on, but the Thunderbirds eventually found their rhythm. Burns broke a 37-yard run during a scoring drive in the second quarter, setting up Chalk’s 19-yard touchdown run that gave Southern Utah a 7-3 lead.
On the ensuing drive, Damonte Bias broke loose for a 37-yard run, and Wood followed by finding Markel Taylor for a 19-yard touchdown pass. The score gave Taylor his first Division I touchdown.
On Idaho’s final drive of the first half, Wood scrambled for 36 yards to put the Vandals near the goal line, and Hayden Kincheloe finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. After a Southern Utah penalty on the extra-point attempt, Idaho went for two, with Wood connecting with Donnerberg to make it 18-10 at halftime.
The Thunderbirds needed little time to respond after the break. Burns took off scrambling for a 76-yard touchdown run on Southern Utah’s opening possession of the second half and tied the game at 18.
Early in the fourth quarter, Donnerberg joined Taylor by catching his first career touchdown as Idaho took a 28-18 lead.
Ford said Idaho’s physical approach on the ground was central to the offensive performance. The Vandals rushed for 227 yards, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Bias led the ground game with 89 yards on 11 carries, and Kincheloe added 46 yards and a touchdown.
“Our offensive line really did a great job being physical, really dominating the line of scrimmage,” Ford said.
Southern Utah drew within seven with under five minutes remaining on a 32-yard field goal. Idaho went three-and-out, giving the Thunderbirds the ball with under four minutes to go.
Isiah Bivins came up huge with a fourth-down pass breakup, giving Idaho the ball back; Idaho needed just one first down to end the game. Kincheloe fumbled on the second play of the drive, giving the Thunderbirds one final chance.
Trailing 28-21 with less than a minute remaining, the Thunderbirds converted a fourth down as Burns connected with Mark Bails Jr. for a 57-yard touchdown pass with 42 seconds left. It was a strong comeback effort, but Forsman’s field goal negated all of it.
Idaho travels to face Portland State on Oct. 31, looking to extend its recent run of success. The game kicks off at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.