Sep. 7—A defensive performance for the ages, punctuated by Xavier Slayton’s sack of Wyoming quarterback Evan Svoboda on the final play to stop what could have been a game-winning drive propelled Idaho to a 17-13 win against the Cowboys.
It allowed Idaho to even its record at 1-1, gave it a victory against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent this season and let the Vandals write a new chapter to what had mostly been a woeful history in their occasional series with the Cowboys. Since Idaho’s last win against Wyoming, in 1921, Wyoming ran its win streak to seven over Idaho, and the Vandals had never won in Laramie.
Neither is true anymore.
“Road wins are tough to get. Wins against FBS teams are tough to get. I am very proud of our team,” Vandals coach Jason Eck said afterwards.
Wyoming fell to 0-2 with the loss.
The Vandals took a 17-10 lead into halftime and frustrated the Cowboys in the final two quarters.
An Idaho fake punt on fourth down near midfield that the Cowboys stopped short of a first down gave Wyoming its best chance to wrest the lead from the Vandals. After the change of possession, an 8-yard pass from Svoboda to DJ Jones gave the Cowboys first down at the 12-yard line. Two plays later Svoboda dove for an apparent touchdown. It was waved off following a review that showed his knee was down when he crossed the goal line. A false start backed up the Cowboys to the 6-yard line
From there, Dallas Afalava tackled running back Sam Scott in the backfield, and after he caught a short pass from Svoboda, Scott was stopped short of the goal line by Idaho safety Tommy McCormick. An incomplete pass on third down at the close of the third quarter forced Wyoming to settle for John Hoyland’s 22-yard field goal, and those were the only points the Vandals gave up.
Idaho sacked Svoboda four times in the game, and edge rusher…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/idaho-defense-steps-down-wyoming-020200941.html
Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Publish date : 2024-09-08 02:02:00
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