Vandals get outmatched by Weber State in Ogden, Utah

Nov. 12—The No. 4 Idaho football team was outmatched in all three phases during its 31-29 loss to Big Sky opponent Weber State on Saturday at Stewart Stadium in Ogden, Utah.

Vandals senior running back Nick Romano plunged into the end zone from 1 yard out to put the Vandals in front 10-0 with 10:08 remaining in the first half.

Romano started at running back in place of sophomore Anthony Woods, who was out with an undisclosed injury.

Idaho clearly missed Woods' consistency, as Romano finished with just 89 yards on 22 carries (4.04 yards per carry), and sophomore quarterback Gevani McCoy dropped back 51 times.

"Nick did a solid job, and it's not all on him to fill in at that level," Eck said. "When you're missing a great player like Anthony, you really need everybody on both sides of the ball and special teams to pick up the slack, and we didn't do a good enough job of that today."

After the Vandals (7-3, 5-2) jumped ahead by two possessions, momentum started to swing toward the Wildcats (5-5, 3-4), who went on an eight-play 75-yard drive, capped off by a 1-yard rushing TD from senior running back Kris Jackson, to cut their deficit to 10-7.

Jackson had two runs of more than 20 yards during the sequence, including a 21-yard trot that set the Wildcats up at Idaho's 18-yard line. A personal foul penalty on freshman linebacker Xe'ree Alexander tacked on an additional 15 yards.

Jackson finished with 16 carries for 85 yards and two scores.

The Vandals padded their lead to 13-7 with 2:35 remaining in the first half after senior kicker Ricardo Chavez converted a season-long 53-yard field goal.

"It means a lot," Chavez said after hitting his season-long field goal. "Obviously, it's a bittersweet feeling because we didn't get the result that we wanted, but I mean, it feels good. I just wish we were able to come out with a 'W.'"

The Wildcats would pull in front for good during their final drive before halftime, going 75 yards on seven plays.

The drive was capped off by a 3-yard rushing touchdown by Jackson, but the highlight play was a 37-yard connection between redshirt freshman quarterback Richie Munoz and Jaden Thrower.

"We were outplayed in all three phases, which led to them winning," Eck said. "We had breakdowns on offense, defense and special teams that led to them winning the game, and I got to do a better job of getting us to play better."

With the loss, Idaho is on the outside in terms of a top-4 seed in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. Its hopes of being crowned Big Sky Conference champions also fell by the wayside with the result.

Here's how it all happened:

A back-and-forth second half

Although Weber State never trailed following Jackson's 3-yard rushing TD, the Vandals were able to claw back to tie the game at 21.

The Wildcats took a 21-13 advantage with 9:53 remaining in the third quarter following a 3-yard TD pass between Munoz and Jacob Sharp.

The Vandals responded on the ensuing drive, going 75 yards on nine plays with 6:03 left in the quarter to pull themselves within 21-19.

The 2-point try was good after some trickery from the Vandals. The snap went to Romano, who handed it off to McCoy, who did the rest.

Idaho used a healthy balance of Romano and Hayden Hatten during this drive, with Romano recording three carries for 24 yards, including a 4-yard score.

Hatten had two receptions for 34 yards during the sequence.

Hatten broke 3,000 career receiving yards on Saturday, making him just the third Vandal to accomplish that feat.

The Phoenix native was busy against Weber State; he finished with 14 receptions for 175 yards and a touchdown.

McCoy also broke the 5,000-yard mark as a passer on the Vandals' first drive of the game, making him the 10th Vandal to do so.

McCoy finished 33-of-51 passing for 346 yards and a touchdown.

Special teams was the difference-maker

The score was tied at 21 with 2:26 remaining in the third quarter, and both teams were looking for a spark.

Weber State senior punt returner Haze Hadley provided that spark by returning an Idaho punt 71 yards.

"I thought that was a key play in the game," Eck said. "I thought we had momentum at the time, and that really shifted the momentum to them."

The Wildcats handed it off three straight times to redshirt freshman running back Adrian Cormier before he'd eventually score from 13 yards out to put them in front 28-21.

Turnovers and sacks were killer

The Vandals fumbled twice, once in their own territory, which resulted in points for the Wildcats.

With 11:15 remaining in the second quarter, Romano ran into a wall of Weber State defenders, and sophomore outside linebacker Jack Kelly was able to knock the ball loose.

On the ensuing drive, the Wildcats went in front 21 — 13.

The second of Idaho's fumbles came from senior receiver Jermaine Jackson during the fourth quarter while he was trying to get some extra yards on a crossing route on a third-and-9.

The Vandals were on Weber State's side of the field and threatening to score. But it wasn't to be. Idaho's defense stood tall on the ensuing Weber State drive. But it would ultimately go four-and-out when it got the ball back.

"There were numerous (miscues)," Eck said. "We lost the turnover margin 2-0. We have to be better at ball security. We lost the rushing battle. They were excellent in the red zone. They were 5-for-5; they scored every time they got to the red zone. I thought we had to settle for some field goals in the red zone that hurt us."

Idaho's O-line struggled to keep a clean pocket for McCoy during his 51 dropbacks; he got sacked three times and was hurried five.

Nobody made McCoy's life more difficult than Kelly. He finished with two sacks, a hurry and seven tackles for Weber State.

Offensive identity found

Weber State's offense was able to move at an effective rate for 60 minutes against Idaho. The Wildcats ran for 143 yards on 33 carries (4.2 yards per carry) and were dynamic with how they got it done.

In the first half, Weber State got its chunks from its offensive line dominating at the point of attack. In the second half, the Vandals tightened up schematically, but the Wildcats were still able to get big gains by running through Vandal tacklers.

For example, on a third-and-1, Munoz faced a massive amount of Idaho pressure, and he was able to break through a wave of five defenders to pick up a first down.

As a passer, the West Covina, Calif., native did just enough to win the game for the Wildcats, finishing 10-of-18 through the air for 152 yards and a score.

"We win as a team and we lose as a team," Eck said. "And I thought we lost in all three phases today, and this game is just feedback. We're not there yet, man. We got to get better to be a conference-championship team in all three phases, and coaching is a big part of that. We have to coach better."

Players of the game

Idaho receiver Hatten had 14 receptions for 175 yards and a score.

Idaho quarterback McCoy was 33-of-51 passing for 346 yards and a score.

Idaho kicker Chavez was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts, including a season-long 53-yarder.

Plays of the game

Idaho kicker Chavez converted a 53-yard field goal, a career-long, to put Idaho in front 13-7 with 2:35 remaining in the second quarter.

Weber State running back Cormier bounced off multiple Vandal defenders to score a 13-yard rushing touchdown, putting it in front 28-21 with 46 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Weber State senior receiver Hadley returned a punt 71 yards that led to Cormier's score to put the Wildcats back in front.

Idaho 3 10 8 8—29

Weber State 0 14 14 3—31

First quarter

Idaho — Ricardo Chavez 32 field goal

Second quarter

Idaho — Nick Romano 1 run (Chavez kick).

Weber State — Kris Jackson 1 run (Kyle Thompson kick).

Idaho —Chavez 53 field goal

Weber State — Jackson 3 run (Thompson kick).

Third quarter

Weber State — Jacob Sharp 3 pass from Richie Munoz (Thompson kick).

Idaho — Romano 4 run (Gevani McCoy run).

Weber State — Adrian Cormier 13 run (Thompson kick).

Fourth quarter

Weber State — Thompson 27 field goal

Idaho — Hayden Hatten 3 pass from McCoy (Jake Cox pass from McCoy).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Idaho, Romano 22-84, Jackson 1-10, McCoy 4-(-22); Weber State, Jackson 16-84, Cormier 12-47, Munoz 3-8, Butler 2-0.

PASSING — Idaho, McCoy 33-51-0—346; Weber State, Munoz 10-18-0—152

RECEIVING — Idaho, Hatten 14-175, Moore 3-39, Ivy Jr. 3-37, Jackson 6-30, Layne 1-26, Traynor 2-19, Cox 2-13, Romano 2-7; Weber State, Hurry 2-46, Thrower 1-37, Sharp 3-28, Cormier 1-27, Hadley 1-7, Nead 1-4, Jackson 1-4

Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks.