Oct. 26—MOSCOW, Idaho — You get your money's worth at an Idaho football game. You don't want to quit on it, even down to the last second.
Wins with one second on the clock against top-ranked Montana State and, most recently at homecoming, against Southern Utah, have helped ease the painful memory of giving up the winning score to Cal Poly with nine seconds left in the season opener. The Vandals also mounted second-half charges against Lamar and Abilene Christian that, unfortunately, fell short.
So, Idaho (3-5, 3-2 Big Sky) is prepared to go for all 60 minutes at Portland State on Saturday, Vandals' coach Thomas Ford Jr, said during a weekly news conference Monday.
Ford said the Vikings (2-6, 2-3) are not the pushover their record might suggest.
"If you watch them play on tape, it tells a different story," he said. "They play with great effort, and they are well coached. Those guys believe."
The Vikings also managed to beat Weber State, which is something Idaho couldn't manage. The Vandals fell to the Wildcats, 38-27, on Oct. 10, a week after Idaho stunned Montana State in the Kibbie Dome with a 25-yard last-second touchdown pass from Joshua Wood to Ryan Jesioro and a quarterback sneak for the two-point conversion.
PSU wide receiver Terence Loville, tight end Tanner Beaman and running back Delon Thompson III will get all of Idaho's attention, Ford said, especially after Thompson ran for 213 yards against Weber State and 127 against Northern Arizona. Loville caught five passes for 130 yards and a touchdown against the Wildcats, and Beaman has 28 receptions for 347 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the season.
Ford said their bye week ahead of facing Montana State was the Vandals' tipping point in turning close losses into wins.
"It was huge for us," he said. "We could evaluate ourselves, the calls we were making. We could identify our talents and take those exact talents into our game plan."
Wood continues to lead the Big Sky in total offense with 396 rushing yards and 2,189 passing yards, an average of 323.1 yards per game. Wide receiver Tony Harste, fourth in the Big Sky with 607 receiving yards and five touchdowns, was out with an injury against Southern Utah but is expected back against Portland State. Other pass-catchers working their way back up the Big Sky rankings are: Jezioro (408 yards, five TDs), Nolan McWilliams (173 yards), Zach Card (229 yards, one TD), and Noah West-Baranco (192 yards, one TD). Filling in for injured West-Baranco, tight end Gus Donnerberg had a big day against Weber State with eight catches for 91 yards, and he scored a touchdown against Southern Utah.
Ford expects West-Baranco, Harste and Aaron Kinsey, who made Idaho's only second interception of the season against SUU before going out with an injury, will all be available against PSU.
Three running backs, led by Damonte Bias, played well against the Thunderbirds. Setting up defenders with fakes and deceptive cuts, Bias totaled 89 yards rushing. Hayden Kincheloe and Kenny Golston, speed and power runners, added 46 yards apiece, and Kincheloe scored a key touchdown. Ford called them a three-headed monster and noted in the aggregate they ran for almost 7 yards per carry.
They should all be available against PSU.
The Vandals played their best overall game on defense against the Thunderbirds, Ford said. Limiting the league's top rusher Floyd Chalk, averaging almost 148 ypg, to 58 yards was key to Idaho's win, said Ford.
Kicker Owen Forsman, who was perfect on three field goals and two extra points, including the 53-yard game-winning kick with one second remaining, is the Big Sky and Stats Perform national special team player of the week, and Ford expressed great confidence in him following the SUU win.
Ford said getting out to a fast start against PSU "is going to be critical."
"If we let them hang around, there is a lot of fight in that team," he said.
Once again for the Vandals, it may go down to the wire.
