After taking big lead, Idaho survives for wild 27-24 win over Abilene Christian

Idaho survived a wild rally, forcing a turnover in the final seconds to seal a nerve-racking 27-24 nonconference road win over Abilene Christian.

The fourth-ranked Vandals led by 24 points early in the third quarter, but the No. 19 Wildcats woke up and rattled off 21 unanswered points.

On its final drive, Abilene Christian advanced into Idaho territory, but Vandals defensive end Zach Krotzer stripped the ball away from Wildcats quarterback Maverick McIvor as he scrambled with about 10 seconds remaining. Idaho defensive back Matt Irwin recovered, and the Vandals escaped Wildcat Stadium with a victory on Saturday night in Abilene, Texas.

“Awesome win,” Idaho coach Jason Eck said on the Vandals postgame radio show. “It wasn’t always beautiful in the second half, but I knew it was going to be a tough game.

“Very proud of them. Very happy about this. We gotta enjoy this one, then come back and learn from it. There’ll be a lot of things we can learn from this game, some situational things that can be better, but I’m very proud.”

Abilene Christian (2-2) seemed defeated after Idaho (3-1) opened the third quarter with a 53-yard end-around run from receiver Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar, setting up a short touchdown plunge from Vandals tailback Nate Thomas to make the score 27-3. Vandals safety Tommy McCormick recorded a red-zone interception on Abilene Christian’s ensuing possession.

At that point, a Wildcats comeback felt improbable, but the hosts generated some momentum on their next series, an 11-play, 61-yard drive that ended with JJ Henry’s 5-yard touchdown reception. After a 2-point conversion, Abilene Christian had trimmed the deficit to two scores.

The Vandals marched into the red zone on their next possession, but turned the ball over on downs on a fourth-and-short incompletion. McIvor then led a quick scoring drive, cutting the Idaho lead to 27-17 with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Nehemiah Martinez.

Idaho’s offense went three-and-out on its next drive, and McIvor guided another efficient touchdown drive. Isaiah Johnson’s 1-yard TD made it 27-24 with 3:47 remaining.

The Vandals leaned on their running game and drained a few minutes off the clock, but they were forced to punt near midfield. Abilene Christian regained possession with 57 seconds left. McIvor connected with Hut Graham for a 21-yard passing play, and Idaho was tagged with a late hit on the play, putting the Wildcats about 15 yards shy of field-goal range. On a third-and-10 from the Idaho 49, McIvor escaped pressure in the backfield and rushed ahead, but Krotzer tracked him down from behind and ripped the ball away.

“(Krotzer) was a backup last year and always did a good job as a backup,” Eck said of the Shadle Park grad. “He just kept working and working.

“We just kept believing and our defense is good in 2-minute drills. I wouldn’t want to have to go against our defense to win the game.”

The Vandals finished with 424 yards while Abilene Christian totaled 393. But the Wildcats outgained Idaho 289-171 in the second half.

Idaho’s defense, one of the top units in the FCS, dominated during the first half. And Vandals quarterback Jack Wagner – making his third start in place of injured starter Jack Layne – looked sharp.

Abilene Christian entered the game boasting the No. 3 offense in the FCS (500 yards per game) and the No. 2 passer in the subdivision (1,032 yards). But McIvor went just 7 of 19 for 70 yards and an interception in the first half, and Abilene Christian averaged 3.2 yards per play. Idaho registered 253 yards in the first half.

Wagner opened the scoring with a well-placed 22-yard touchdown pass to standout receiver Jordan Dwyer on Idaho’s second possession. The Vandals went up 14-0 late in the opening period on a perfectly executed trick play. Out of the wildcat formation, Thomas took the snap and handed the ball to backup tailback Art Williams, who tossed it back to Wagner. The QB fired a 44-yard TD pass to Mark Hamper, who was left wide open for his first-career score.

Vandals kicker Cameron Pope was true on two short field-goal attempts late in the second quarter to send Idaho into the break with a 20-3 advantage.

The Vandals scored on their opening drive of the second half, but their offense went quiet afterward.

“The players kept playing, and we made enough plays to win the game. That’s the bottom line,” Eck said.

Wagner completed 18 of 35 passes for a career-high 253 yards and two touchdowns. McIvor went 26 of 46 for 288 yards and two touchdowns with his first two interceptions of the year – Vandals safety Kyrin Beachem picked off an overthrown ball on Abilene Christian’s opening series.

Thomas led Idaho’s rushing attack with 64 yards and a score. Dwyer had 91 receiving yards, and Hamper logged 81 yards.

Idaho edge-rusher Keyshawn James-Newby recorded a sack to push his FCS-leading total to seven. He and Krotzer combined on a clutch sack to kill some clock on Abilene Christian’s final drive.

The Vandals, who were coming off a blowout victory over No. 20 UAlbany, now head into conference play with three notable nonconference wins on their resume. Idaho opens its Big Sky Conference slate at 7 p.m. Saturday at No. 13 UC Davis.