BOISE - For a moment, it looked like the Idaho Vandals might have a small lifeline.
Though they had stopped Boise State only once, gone down 14-0 in the first five minutes and turned the ball over three times, they were somehow going to enter halftime down just 18 points after a DeMaundray Woolridge touchdown with 27 seconds left in the second quarter.
And when Boise State's Titus Young gathered the ensuing kickoff at the back of his end zone, it appeared that he would smartly kneel and let his offense run out the clock for a comfy halftime lead.
But 13 seconds later Young was celebrating in the opposite end zone - 108 yards away - and the rout that had been building during the first two quarters was back on in full force, eventually ending in a 63-25 final score at Bronco Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It was a game Idaho had hoped would reignite the rivalry and follow suit with its resurgent season, but ended up with a score and game flow comparable to recent lopsided encounters in the series. A beyond-capacity crowd of 33,986 watched the sixth-ranked Broncos score their 11th consecutive win over Idaho, giving them a 20-17-1 edge in the all-time series.
"There was nothing positive from the way we played. I'm sorry about that, but there's not," Idaho coach Robb Akey said. "I'm disappointed in it there's nothing to say that was great about today - they played great, and it's as simple as that."
It was also a game that built on similar themes for the Vandals, who are now 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the WAC.
First and foremost was the start of the game, which has gradually become a weekly issue. This time is was a Brian Reader fumble inside the UI 20 on the opening possession and an interception on the following drive when tight end Daniel Hardy was hit hard as the ball arrived.
The Broncos (10-0, 5-0) converted both turnovers into touchdowns, and it was 14-0 with 10:46 remaining in the first quarter.
But though the UI offense was more to blame for those two scores, the defense continued its recent struggles against a dynamic Bronco attack led by sophomore quarterback Kellen Moore.
Consistently hitting receivers in open spaces all over the field, Moore led three other first-half touchdown drives of 66, 78 and 80 yards.
"We've gotta knock that off. We've gotta come and play four quarters, the whole game," safety Shiloh Keo said.
Idaho's response was a heavy dose of Woolridge, who cut the lead to 14-7 with a 29-yard touchdown scamper to cap a 79-yard drive - 70 of which came from him.
But when Idaho got near the end zone on the next drive down 21-7, Princeton McCarty got the ball twice rather than Woolridge. That helped lead to a third-down miss and a field goal. The power back also didn't touch the ball when Idaho went three-and-out on its next drive, and two BSU touchdowns put the score at 35-10.
The Woolridge score at the very end of the half was then negated by Young's kickoff return, and Trey Farquhar also missed a 52-yard field goal as time expired.
"We had a chance to get that momentum back, and the kickoff return really hurt," Akey said.
For the second straight game, the Idaho vertical passing game struggled to get going under the direction of Reader. Starter Nate Enderle again sat out with his right shoulder injury - though he did warm up beforehand - and Reader ended the game with five interceptions to go with the early fumble.
One of those picks came early in the third quarter, when he tried to throw a sideline route. BSU star corner Kyle Wilson anticipated the pass and stepped in front for a 71-yard interception return for a TD - with Reader chasing futilely - to make the score 49-17.
"He made a nice play on the ball," Boise State coach Chris Petersen said of Wilson. "The ball was pretty well thrown, it wasn't just a gimmie."
Another inaccurate pass to that sideline was snagged by Brand Thompson on the next drive, and the final errant throw came on an underthrown deep ball.
Unfortunately for the Vandals, Enderle's absence has come against two of the toughest opponents on their schedule.
"That's tough. Especially because Nate's been running the show all year and we're all just real confident having him in the huddle, and he has real good command of the offense," wide receiver Max Komar said, adding that he had confidence in Reader.
"He's used to playing in big games like this. So it's definitely tough."
But even Enderle's presence likely wouldn't have been enough to overcome Boise State's offensive dominance. The Idaho defense, which has not made the same leap as the offense this season, surrendered 458 yards and didn't force a punt until late in the second quarter.
Moore ended up 22-for-32 with 299 yards with no picks and five touchdowns - four of them to receiver Austin Pettis.
Akey was asked after the game if the defense has taken a step back.
"Well we didn't take a step anywhere today. ... We've gotta get some guys making plays where they have opportunities to make plays. We've gotta get some confidence built into some guys. And when you're giving up a lot of points and lot of yards, that's a difficult thing to do."
Akey also said he would not "allow one ballgame to destroy what can be a very good season for us," and talked about the importance of Idaho's regular-season finale against Utah State on Nov. 28.
But the here and now was visibly painful for the Vandals on Saturday, and when a reporter began a question by saying, "Forget the score for just a second," Akey interrupted him momentarily.
"I would love to."
Idaho 7 10 0 8 - 25
Boise St. 21 21 14 7 - 63
First Quarter
Boi-Pettis 4 pass from Ke.Moore (Efaw pass from Pettis), 12:11.
Boi-Young 25 pass from Ke.Moore (pass failed), 10:46.
Id-Woolridge 29 run (Farquhar kick), 6:28.
Boi-Pettis 8 pass from Ke.Moore (Brotzman kick), 4:35.
Second Quarter
Id-FG Farquhar 30, 12:46.
Boi-Avery 1 run (Brotzman kick), 9:10.
Boi-Pettis 20 pass from Ke.Moore (Brotzman kick), 5:23.
Id-Woolridge 1 run (Farquhar kick), :27.
Boi-Young 100 kickoff return (Brotzman kick), :14.
Third Quarter
Boi-K.Wilson 71 interception return (Brotzman kick), 10:20.
Boi-Efaw 11 pass from Kaiserman (Brotzman kick), 7:12.
Fourth Quarter
Boi-Pettis 14 pass from Ke.Moore (Brotzman kick), 14:55.
Id-McCarty 52 pass from Reader (Jackson run), :27.
A-33,986.
Id Boi
First downs 26 23
Rushes-yards 46-209 26-148
Passing 305 310
Comp-Att-Int 17-27-5 23-33-0
Return Yards 20 86
Punts-Avg. 3-37.0 5-41.2
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 0-0
Penalties-Yards 4-37 5-28
Time of Possession 36:54 23:06
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Idaho, Woolridge 24-143, McCarty 7-31, Jackson 7-17, Veltung 1-13, Reader 5-4, Komar 2-1. Boise St., Avery 14-110, Martin 4-26, Hodge 3-8, Ke.Moore 1-2, Kaiserman 2-2, Young 1-1, Team 1-(minus 1).
PASSING-Idaho, Reader 17-27-5-305. Boise St., Ke.Moore 22-32-0-299, Kaiserman 1-1-0-11.
RECEIVING-Idaho, Hardy 4-119, McCarty 3-72, Komar 3-52, P.Davis 3-28, Shaw 2-21, Jackson 1-7, Bailey 1-6. Boise St., Pettis 8-123, Young 6-101, Shoemaker 4-48, Efaw 2-27, Ki.Moore 2-9, Martin 1-2.
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Baumgartner may be contacted at jbaumgartner@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2277.
