MOSCOW, Idaho - A 71-yard interception return by Mike Anderson was the exclamation point on the University of Idaho (1-4, 1-1) football team's 27-13 win over Utah State (1-2, 0-1). Anderson's return ended Utah State's seven-play, 46-yard drive with 55 seconds remaining in the game and ensured Idaho's first win of the 2005 season.

"I was just doing my job," Anderson said. "I was standing in the hook like I was supposed to and the quarterback was staring down the tight end. I stepped in front of him and nobody was in front of me. I made it about 20 yards before the trailer got attached to the hitch. The rest of that run was pure guts."

"Pure guts" describes the way the entire Vandal team performed in the victory as Idaho was minus six starters to begin the contest. The holes in the lineup were filled, and filled well, as Idaho managed 339 of total offense and three takeaways on defense.

We played like I thought we were going to play," Idaho head coach Nick Holt said. "We still made a lot of mistakes that are correctable, we had too many penalties, and we turned it over too many times, but we played really hard and that's what we expect here. The kids did a really nice job of rebounding from the last four weeks.

"We don't have a lot of guys who are healthy, but that is no big deal because we're going to win with the guys we have out there and that's what we did."

The depleted offensive line helped Idaho quarterback Steven Wichman to an impressive game as he completed 20-of-25 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown. Wichman seemingly had all day to throw most passes and picked apart the defense while completing his first 13 throws.

"We expect that (from Wichman)," Holt said. "He's a pretty good thrower. We just have
to keep getting him better. He started off pretty well, but we should have had more points on the board."

Rolly Lumbala and Jason Brown took care of the running back duties with Lumbala gaining 73 yards on 21 carries and scoring a touchdown. Brown carried 14 times for 39 yards.

With D.J. Smith still recovering from a concussion suffered in last week's game, Wendell Octave, Tracy Ford and Matt Askew had an opportunity to step up. Octave caught five passes for 78 yards, Ford had four receptions for 48 yards, and Askew finished with four catches for 39 yards.

"Askew was good and Wendell played well and they just have to keep coming now that we get Daniel back. Tracy is finally doing what I thought he would do and we have to get him more involved because he's an exciting player. The more he gets involved, the better he'll be because he has a lot of energy," Holt said.

Another player filling in for an injury was Mike Barrow, taking over for T.J. Conley who suffered an injury during practice. Barrow had a solid game, converting both field goal attempts of 41 yards and 29 yards, and averaging 47.5 yards on two punts.

The Idaho defense came up big with Anderson, DeAngelo Ramsey and D.J. Dykes all intercepting passes. Josh Bousman, Ben Alexander, and Siua Musika each had a sack and Charles Campbell contributed with three quarterback hurries - one of which led to an interception.

"The defense is going to be salty here. We just have to play hard and eliminate some of these foolish penalties. We keep on working and keep on getting better. You hold people to 13 points in Division I football and you're going to win some games," Holt said.

Idaho received the opening kickoff and punted away after a three-and-out. Utah State drove 41 yards on 10 plays on its first possession but a 41-yard field goal missed wide right and the score remained 0-0.

Idaho next possession would be its first scoring drive in two games as the Vandals went 76 yards on 12 plays before Lumbala scored on a fourth-and-goal from the one with just over a minute remaining in the first quarter.

A couple of turnovers marred the next two possession as Utah State threw an inception after traveling 40 yards and Idaho would later fumble after driving 26 yards. Utah State's ensuing drive went just three yards and the 23 punt set up Idaho's next score.

The Vandals took over at the Utah State 47-yard line and a steady balance of runs and throws finished with a 12-yard pass from Wichman to Lumbala for the score.

Utah State's final possession of the half was tripped up by penalties and the Vandals went into the lockerroom leading 14-0.

The Aggies opened the second half with an 11-play, 77-yard scoring drive to cut the lead to 14-7.

The team's traded possessions before Idaho had the ball again with 2:52 to play in the third quarter. Wichman's pass was intercepted on the first play of the drive and Utah State's very next play was a 51-yard touchdown run. The score remained 14-13 after the Aggie kicker missed the extra point.

Idaho added two field goals in the fourth quarter and led by a touchdown late with the score 20-13. Utah State ran an effective two-minute drill for seven plays, moving the ball all the way to the Idaho 34-yard line before Anderson's interception return for the final score of the game.

"With all the hard work we put in we need some payoff so these players keep believing," Holt said. "They believe, regardless of whether the score is 27-0 or 0-27. We just have to keep battling and battling and good things will happen. We have to enjoy the win, but a new week starts tomorrow."

The Vandals continue Western Athletic Conference play next Saturday (Oct. 8) as they travel to Reno, Nev., to take on the University of Nevada.