Oct. 8—MOSCOW, Idaho — Rows and rows of tables and chairs spread from the end zone where Noah West-Baranco's block led quarterback Joshua Wood to the two-point conversion that concluded winless Idaho's astonishing 35-34 win over top-ranked and unbeaten Montana State only days earlier.
They stretched beyond the 25-yard line where West-Baranco caught a 23-yard pass from Wood with one second remaining that enabled Wood to throw a touchdown to Ryan Jezioro, and the tables and chairs covered the Kibbie Dome turf where giddy and astonished Idaho fans rushed the field after the improbable victory.
Briefly, West-Baranco, from the stands, looked over the site of a University of Idaho career fair in the dome that spoke to a couple of things: the relentless march of time and the dynamic nature of a university continually pulsing with activity in all directions. It was a good day to be West-Baranco on a kinetic campus on an early October day under sunny, 70-degree skies.
"Campus life here is awesome," said the junior tight end from Melba High School, in Nampa, Idaho.
For as long as there is a University of Idaho and alums who can tell you where they were when the Vandals beat the Bobcats, West-Baranco will no doubt be asked to recount his participation in the game. He caught four passes for 34 yards, none more consequential than the 23-yarder over the middle where he dropped to the turf with a second to go.
"When I caught the ball, my first reaction was to get out of bounds.
"I really should have run the route shorter to save more time," he mused.
"It was a crazy game. We all had the belief we were going to win.
"I felt like there was no way we weren't going to score. When RJ caught that touchdown, it was awesome. He's my best friend."
On the conversion, the Vandals had intended to throw a shovel pass. However, Montana State had seen Idaho run a similar play in a 38-34 season-opening loss to Cal Poly, and defenders were calling it out. Wood adjusted on the fly, West-Baranco lowered his head and threw his block, and Vandals history was made.
Players celebrated with fans on the field and afterwards in the locker room for about 90 minutes. It was 12:30 a.m. when he finally left the dome, West-Baranco said.
"It was my craziest experience playing football."
That it happened for him at all might be traced to a decision by Idaho coach Thomas Ford Jr. last spring. West-Baranco reluctantly went from being a lean but tall 6-4 wide receiver to a tight end who spent the spring and summer taking on lifting and eating as a job to pack on 20 pounds of muscle. He's about 230 now and would like to add another 10 pounds before his career concludes following the 2028 season.
West-Baranco was recruited to the Vandals by former coach Jason Eck. Ford was an assistant on Eck's staff, and when Eck left for New Mexico after the 2024 season after the Vandals were beaten in the third round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs by Montana State, 52-19, there was an exodus of Idaho players.
"Coach Ford was a big factor in why I came here," West-Baranco said. "Why I stayed is because of Coach Ford. He's a great coach.
"Coach Ford saw tight end was the best fit for me." Now, "I love the transition, honestly."
It required not only a physical but a mental adjustment.
"Even when I was a receiver, I always enjoyed blocking," West-Baranco said. But instead of hitting safeties, he is now taking on defensive ends and linebackers.
"You have got to bring physicality to everything you do," he said.
Interestingly, West-Baranco said, "While I am not really a big talker, personally, it is different being in the box with these players." Apparently, a lot of lively jawing goes on down there.
Growing up near Boise, "I actually was an Oregon fan," West-Baranco said. His father, K.J. West, ran track at Boise State, and his grandfather, Kenneth West, played football for BSU and played in the Kibbie Dome in 1979 when the Broncos beat the Vandals 41-17.
Idaho and BSU are expected to renew their bitter rivalry in 2031, a couple of years after West-Baranco's career concludes. Should that game be moved up and allow West-Baranco to play in it, "that would be an awesome matchup," he said.
He is confident his father would be in the stands wearing Idaho's black, silver and gold.
"I don't know about my grandpa, though," he acknowledges of the former football rivalry that happily exceeded all bounds of reason.
In the meantime, as the Kibbie Dome transitioned from football to career fair, the Vandals, having put the frustration of four season-opening losses behind them, have turned their focus to their road game Saturday at Weber State (3-3, 2-1 Big Sky Conference).
"It was super frustrating, all the hard work we put in," West-Baranco said of the start of the season. "Coach Ford kept us focused, process oriented instead of result oriented.
"We always had the idea we could go and beat anybody," West-Baranco said.
Now that they have done it, the Vandals (1-4, 1-2), with seven games remaining, have a season to reclaim.
