No. 7 Idaho Vandals beat Bengals to keep Potato State Trophy in Moscow

As Idaho State’s second-half kickoff sailed through the air, Idaho returner Andrew Marshall thought about calling a fair catch. He elected not to do that and 12 seconds later was dancing in the end zone after a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown to give the Vandals a 17-point lead.

Marshall’s 181 total return yards and Idaho’s 400-plus yards of offense and three takeaways led the No. 7 Vandals to a 40-17 win over Idaho State on Saturday at the ICCU Dome in Pocatello.

“I was able to come out second half and impact the game,” Marshall said. “I knew we needed that spark coming out of the half. So my whole mindset going into that kickoff return, I gotta bring it home.”

The Vandals’ victory marked the first time since 1994 that the Vandals have won nine games in the regular season and all but officially guaranteed that they will have a first-round bye in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

Marshall’s momentum-shifting impact

Marshall totaled 181 yards on three kickoff returns. His two major kickoff returns sandwiched his standout defensive play when he and the Vandal defense stopped the Bengals at the 1-yard line to preserve the Vandals’ 10-point lead going into halftime.

With under a minute remaining in the first half, Marshall took the ball 62 yards to the Idaho State 27.

Three plays later, the Jack Layne-led Idaho offense was in the end zone off of a Mark Hamper screen to extend the lead to 17-7 right before halftime.

The Bengals traversed three-quarters of the field in six plays and just over 30 seconds, but came up one yard shy when Corry Thomas Jr. tackled Idaho State receiver Jeff Weimer at the 1-yard line and the Vandals held strong when Hunter Hays’ pass fell incomplete on the next play.

“That was a great stop and Marshall was on the coverage there,” Idaho coach Jason Eck said. “We won the first half by 10, but then we won the second half by 13. So that’s what we talked about all week is we wanted to be finishers, keep pressing to pull away from people (and) not let them hang around.”

Marshall said he told his teammates after his 62-yard second-quarter return that the next one was going to the house.

To kick off the second half, Marshall returned the ball from several yards deep in the end zone, cutting to his left, following the path defined by his blockers as he weaved around Bengal defenders, leaving some tackling air and others in the dust as he tip-toed the sideline for a 100-yard return touchdown.

In 1:02 of football time, Marshall racked up 162 return yards, took part in a goal-line stand and expanded the Vandals’ lead from three points to 17 points.

Layne, Thomas, Dwyer lead huge offensive day

In his sixth career start, fourth of the season and third against the Idaho State Bengals, Layne turned in another excellent performance under center, completing 17-of-22 passes for 234 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Layne relied on four targets to catch at least one pass, but all but two of his completions were to the hands of receivers Jordan Dwyer and Hamper. Dwyer hauled in 11 catches for 134 yards and a touchdown and Hamper followed up his 180-yard day last week versus Weber State with four catches for 61 yards, including the 15-yard score right before halftime.

The Vandals scored their first touchdown with a little taste of trickery. Layne handed the ball to receiver Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar in the backfield, who pitched to Hamper, who flicked the pass back to Layne.

The third-year Vandal rainbowed the ball back to Cortez-Menjivar, who waded through a sea of Bengals for the 41-yard score.

Running back Nate Thomas racked up a career-high 171 yards, surpassing his South Dakota career-high of 164 yards in September 2023 and blowing past his season-high mark of 75 yards versus UAlbany on Sept. 14.

While Thomas broke free for five runs of 19-or-more yards, including gains of 31 and 35 yards, he did not find the end zone.

Thomas said he told Eck his goals earlier in the week.

“One hundred yards, two touchdowns. That sound good, right? He was like, ‘Yeah,’ I’m like, ‘All right, bet.’ So we got the 100 yards part, but we didn’t get the two touchdowns,” Thomas said. “But, you know, really, the end goal as a team was to get a win, you know, and try to set us up right for the playoffs and everything. So that’s what we did. So at the end of the day, I’m happy with that.”

With the Vandals up by two scores late in the game, redshirt freshman running back Carlos Matheney of Tumwater, Wash., got several carries and scored a 9-yard touchdown run. Thomas and Matheney were the top two running backs on the roster with the Vandals’ three other main contributors unavailable.

“We practice hard, you know, so the game could be a little bit easier,” Thomas said.

Business as usual for Vandal defense

The Vandals built a 10-0 lead in the first quarter but could not expand their lead until the final minute of the half.

While the offense sputtered, the Vandal defense created opportunities and killed any sign of Bengal momentum.

Zach Krotzer, Tommy McCormick and Matt Irwin each got interceptions as the Vandals held the Bengals to 17 points, despite gaining 373 offensive yards

The Vandals’ case for a high seed

Idaho sports information director Jerek Wolcott made the new Potato State trophy in Moscow and in its inaugural year, it will return to Moscow.

The Vandals’ ninth victory of the season is likely enough for a first-round bye in the FCS playoffs which begin next week. The Vandals will learn their playoff positioning during the FCS playoffs selection show at 9:30 a.m. today on ESPNU.

The three teams Idaho lost to — Oregon, Montana State and UC Davis — are a combined 33-2 with the Ducks the lone undefeated team in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

“I’m kind of hoping to see the six-seed,” Eck said. “The Missouri Valley and the Big Sky — I think the way it’s unfolding — should be ... the top six seeds, but sometimes the committee might see it different.”

Eck said the team would gather for a big breakfast and a watch party on the University of Idaho campus at 9:30 a.m. today to learn their playoff fate together.

Idaho 10 7 13 10—40

Idaho State 0 7 3 7—17

FIRST QUARTER

IDA — Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar 41 pass from Jack Layne (Cameron Pope kick) 9:19

IDA — Pope 35 field goal 5:51

SECOND QUARTER

IDST — Michael Shulikov 8 pass from Hunter Hays (Gabe Panikowski kick) 1:04

IDA — Mark Hamper 15 pass from Layne (Pope kick) 00:38

THIRD QUARTER

IDA — Marshall 100 kickoff return (Pope kick) 14:48

IDST — Panikowski 27 field goal 10:45

IDA — Jordan Dwyer 9 pass from Layne (Pope kick blocked) 5:17

FOURTH QUARTER

IDST — Kobe Tracy 3 run (Panikowski kick) 10:27

IDA — Pope 34 field goal 2:46

IDA — Carlos Matheney 9 run (Pope) 1:54

PASSING — Idaho: Jack Layne 17-22-0-234; Idaho State: Kobe Tracey 27-44-3-249, Hunter Hays 2-3-0-13.

RUSHING — Idaho: Nate Thomas 21-171, Mark Hamper 2-11, Carlos Matheney 3-8, Layne 7-1, Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar 1-(-6); Idaho State Dason Brooks 6-56, Keoua Kauhi II 7-32, Justice Jackson 3-16, Donald Austin 2-5, Hays 3-4, Tracy 9-(-2).

RECEIVING — Idaho: Jordan Dwyer 11-134, Hamper 4-61, Cortez-Menjivar 1-41, Mike Martinez 1-(-2); Idaho State: Michael Shulikov 6-61, Jeff Weimer 4-57, Ian Duarte 4-56, Tsion Nunnally 8-44, Raiden Brown 4-21, Dason Brooks 2-17, Aaron Blancas 1-6.

Attendance — 10,032.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.