Idaho earns first victory in shoot-out

The Idaho Vandals made their move back inside the friendly confines of the Kibbie Dome on Saturday, beating San Diego State in an old- fashion shoot-out, 45-38.

For the past few years, the Vandals have been playing the majority of their home games eight miles across the state line at Washington State’s Martin Stadium. Due to new NCAA rules, the Vandals are happy that they are back on campus to play football.

“The biggest thing is getting to play here on campus,” Idaho coach Tom Cable said. “It means the world to us. For us to come back and play on campus in our Kibbie Dome is huge.”

Up until Saturday, the Vandals had been the punching bag for their first three opponents, getting outscored by Boise State (2-1), Washington State (3-1) and Oregon (4-0) by a combined total of 89 points.

The Vandals found themselves in familiar territory trailing 24-10 with only a few seconds remaining in the half when quarterback Brian Lindgren hooked up with Orlando Winston on an 8-yard pass to close the gap to seven and build momentum for the second half.

The Vandals came out storming and tied the game as Lindgren tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Josh Jelmberg. Idaho would take the lead 31-24 with another touchdown pass by Lindgren this time connecting 25 yards with Zach Gerstner.

The Aztecs would continue to trade touchdowns with the Vandals and tie the game at 38.

With less than five minutes to go, Lindgren would seal the game with his sixth touchdown hitting Jelmberg on a 25-yard pass.

Lindgren’s 382 passing yards and six touchdowns proved to be enough as the Vandals earned their first victory of the season against the Aztecs.

Both Idaho and San Diego State combined for 1,118 yards of total offense.

The road doesn’t get any easier for the Vandals as they travel to Seattle this Saturday to take on the third top 15 team of the year in Washington.

On Oct. 5 Idaho is back in the Kibbie Dome to take on last seasons Division I-AA National Champion, Montana.

Phil Daily, The Arbiter

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