Idaho stunned Brent Vigen's Montana State 35-34 on Friday night in a thrilling upset. The dramatic win gave the Vandals their first win of the season.
Friday's win also marked Idaho's first-ever win over a No. 1-ranked opponent. While Idaho celebrated the historic win, one of Vigen's mistakes during the loss quickly drew heavy criticism.
Montana State appeared to be firmly in control of Friday's matchup against Idaho, holding a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter. However, the Bobcats suffered a stunning collapse as Idaho rallied incredibly to end their school-record 19-game winning streak.
The defeat marked Montana State's first loss since the Bobcats fell 30-24 to South Dakota State in a double-overtime thriller last season.
However, Friday's loss was controversial for another reason, as the game took a dramatic turn during the final seconds. Idaho's Joshua Wood connected with Noah West-Baranco for a 23-yard completion that moved the Vandals to the Montana State 25-yard line and gave them a first down.
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The game clock initially reached zero, but the referee instructed the clock operator to add one second back. That decision created another opportunity for Idaho, and Vigen immediately called a timeout after being informed that one second would be restored.
The timeout quickly became a major talking point after Idaho used the extra play to score a touchdown, cutting Montana State's lead to 34-33. Wood then ran in the two-point conversion to give the Vandals a 35-34 win.
"One of the WORST coaching decisions you will ever see. The Montana State coach LOST HIS TEAM THE GAME. Worst timeout EVER," analyst Warren Sharp wrote .
"Defending National Champ Brent Vigen may have just made a huge mistake. Idaho caught a pass in bounds for a first down at the 25 with 0:01 left, down 7. There would be no time to spike the ball. Vigen called a timeout," Reddit CFB posted on X .
"The ending of Idaho-Montana State was out of a movie. Why did the coach call a timeout? What a lucky break for Idaho to get one more play. Insane," Barstool Sports' Jack Mac wrote.
Vigen later explained that he intended to give his defense a chance to organize before the decisive snap. However, fans were left unimpressed with Vigen's controversial decision and kept dissing him.
"Hope everyone is awake watching the end of Idaho/Montana State," The Athletic's Antonio Morales said .
"Idaho with 7 seconds left and NO TIMEOUTS. Throws the ball in the middle of the field and gets tackled with ONE SECOND left, and the opposing coach calls a timeout!!????? Then Idaho throws a touchdown pass and goes for 2 and WINS THE GAME. Why would the Montana State head coach call a timeout? Its makes absolutely ZERO sense to me," one said.
"HOLY (expletive) IDAHO!!!! Also, the Montana State coach was dumb AF for calling a timeout. Worst coaching decision you could've ever made, & it's 1 of the biggest coaching mistakes I've ever seen. If you're a Montana St fan, you have to be so (expletive) off at your coach for doing that," a fan said.
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Montana State will now have an opportunity to regroup during its bye week before returning to action against Eastern Washington on Oct. 17.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
