Vandal football (4-5, 4-2) picked up its fourth victory in its last five games Saturday afternoon in Portland, easily handling Portland State (2-7, 2-4) by a final score of 38-14.
Starting the contest with the football, Idaho struck quickly in under three minutes. A third-down scramble from quarterback Joshua Wood kept the drive alive before a deep shot connected with Zack Card to get the Vandals on the board. Idaho would hold the lead for the rest of the contest.
A false start and a third-down stop from the Vandal defense stalled the Vikings’ first drive. Idaho’s second drive would then also stall inside its own 40-yard line after an unsuccessful fourth-and-2 conversion attempt.
The Vikings would take advantage of the prime field position on their next drive and capitalize to tie the score at 7-7, aided by a defensive pass interference call against Idaho.
A crucial 31-yard jump-ball reception on third down from Ryan Jezioro would propel the Vandals forward on their next drive.
Wood and Jezioro would connect again on the very next play for another chunk of 30 yards down to the PSU 10-yard line. Idaho would find its way into the end zone on third-and-goal, with Wood finding Damonte Bias out of the backfield for his second touchdown of the season.
A huge first sack of the season from Javen Augustus would then help the Vandal defense force another three-and-out as the second quarter got underway.
The Vikings would respond and force a defensive stop of their own, with Idaho electing to punt from around midfield on fourth-and-4. A well-placed punt from Tyler Kinsman pinned the Vikes at their own 6-yard line.
Lee Stalker’s defense would then stand firm once again and force another punt. After the two squads traded several more three-and-outs for most of the quarter, the Vandals would take advantage of field position and a defensive pass interference call.
Owen Forsman would hit from 47 yards out to extend the Vandal lead to 17-7. The Vikes would pick up 25 yards on the first play of their next drive, but the drive would then stall, giving the Vandals the football back with under a minute remaining in the half.
On their first play, Wood would connect again with a wide-open Ryan Jezioro off a blown coverage. Finding himself in so much space, Jezioro made several tacklers miss and rumbled into the end zone for a 77-yard Vandal touchdown, his new career long.
A few chunk plays and a roughing-the-passer penalty helped the Vikings down the field before the end of the half, but they couldn’t convert from the Idaho 17-yard line before the half expired.
Idaho led 24-7 at the break.
PSU’s first drive of the second half ended on an unsuccessful fourth-and-2 conversion attempt from its own 33-yard line, once again giving Idaho ideal field position.
Wood went right back to Jezioro immediately, finding his big-play target all the way down to the 6-yard line. Damonte Bias’ second touchdown of the day capped off another quick-strike scoring drive for the Vandals.
The Vikes were able to move the chains to open their next drive but were again forced into a fourth-down situation from the Idaho 29-yard line. The Vandals would collapse the pocket as Mitch Jaskowiak hauled down Tyrese Smith for a big loss and another Idaho defensive stand.
The Vandals would march down the field once again but would come up short this time off a red-zone miscue after Wood had a third-and-goal pass attempt intercepted.
PSU would eat up over five minutes of clock on its next drive, starting from its own 8-yard line, but would stall out again at the UI 46-yard line.
Idaho took its time on its next drive, starting from its own 8-yard line, eating up over eight minutes of clock as it methodically broke down the Viking defense.
A heavy rushing attack from Ferrari Miller and Kenny Golston gashed the defense, setting up Idaho in the red zone. Wood would keep it himself on fourth-and-goal to cap off a definitive drive, extending the lead to 38-7.
PSU drove down and scored on its final drive, but the Vandals recovered the ensuing onside kick and were able to kneel out the rest of the clock to secure their third consecutive win.
Dominant performances on both sides of the football helped Idaho pick up a dominant victory.
Joshua Wood finished 16 of 25 for 303 yards and three touchdowns while adding another score on the ground.
Kenny Golston finished with 55 yards on the ground. Damonte Bias had a touchdown both on the ground and through the air, along with 50 yards rushing. Ryan Jezioro continued his torrid season with a career-high 194 receiving yards on five catches, as well as his new career-long touchdown reception.
The Vandal defense turned in perhaps its most complete performance of the season. Four sacks from four different players, seven tackles for loss and only 13 rushing yards allowed.
Hysan Dalton and Cruz Hepburn had seven tackles apiece. Four different Vandals picked up sacks, including Mitch Jaskowiak, Mason Krahn, Freddy Lujan and Javen Augustus.
The Vandals are getting hot at the right time and will need strong results in their final three games to keep their Big Sky and FCS tournament hopes alive. Idaho would need help from some losses by teams above it in the Big Sky standings.
Victories in their final three games would put a scorching Idaho on a six-game winning streak and could make it a strong contender for an at-large bid for the FCS tournament should it fall short of the Big Sky crown.
The next two games will be on home turf at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome. First on Saturday, Nov. 7, against Eastern Washington, followed by Saturday, Nov. 14, against UC Davis.
The regular season then concludes with what could be a pivotal rivalry matchup in Pocatello against Idaho State on Saturday, Nov. 21.