MOSCOW, Idaho  ? Idaho held a 16-14 lead entering the fourth quarter and appeared to have momentum on its side, but two late scores by Louisiana Tech (4-5, 3-3 WAC) spoiled the game and sent the Vandals (1-9, 0-6 WAC) to their eighth straight football loss.

In a tight, hard-fought game, it came down to big plays and the Vandals just couldn't quite come up with the ones they needed to put the game away.

“In the ballgame as a whole, both teams made big plays, but they made one more than we did and that's the unfortunate thing,” Idaho head coach Robb Akey said.

Idaho's defense and special teams played solid and came up with all of Idaho's points, but the Vandal offense “just didn't click,” according to quarterback Nathan Enderle.

Running back Deonte' Jackson, who became Idaho's first 1,000-yard rusher since Zach Gerstner in 2003, echoed Enderle's sentiments.

“I think we made it harder on ourselves than it really was,” Jackson said.

For Jackson, the 1,000-yard mark was bittersweet because he said he'd hoped to achieve the mark on an “explosion.” He finished the game with just 42 yards on 15 carries.

Idaho's special teams played a truly special game for the Vandals. Kicker Tino Amancio nailed field goals of 39, 34 and 24 yards, but it was punter T.J. Conley who stole the show. Conley punted nine times for an average of 45.8 yards, with five kicks inside the 20, four kicks over 50 yards and two over 60 yards. He also completed a big pass on a fake punt on fourth-and-20 from Idaho's own 10-yard-line.

“It's a good thing they didn't read my face on that punt, because as soon as I heard the call, I started to smile. I knew he was going to throw it out there,” linebacker David Vobora said.

Conley also helped set up Idaho's lone touchdown of the day. A Conley punt backed the Bulldogs up to their own nine-yard-line and two plays later, the Vandals got their big break. Jonathan Faraimo and Siua Musika converged on quarterback Zac Champion in the end zone and forced a fumble, which defensive end Josh Shaw scooped up for the score.

“It was great?the greatest feeling I've had so far playing college football,” Shaw said.

The Vandals had another great feeling just five minutes later, courtesy of Conley once again, as a Bulldog returner mishandled a 52-yard rocket of a punt and Vobora recovered at the Louisiana Tech five-yard-line with 1:37 remaining in the first half. The great feeling was short-lived, however, as quarterback Quin Ashley had the ball jarred loose on the very next play and the Bulldogs recovered.

Vobora, Idaho's senior defensive leader and the third-leading tackler in the nation prior to the game, had another huge day for the Vandals. Along with the fumble recovery on the punt, he had 14 tackles, all solo, with one quarterback hurry and one tackle for loss. It was his sixth-straight double-digit tackle performance.

Senior safety Chris Smith came up with a big interception in the first quarter, Faraimo had a pair of sacks and the defense as a whole had nine tackles for 28 yards lost, but all the time spent on the field finally caught up with the defense late in the game when the Bulldogs got the two scores to seal the victory.

“It certainly makes your life better for your football team when your defense can go out there and be three-and-out and your offense can go out there and at least maintain a drive for a period of time and eat some time off the clock and get some air back into those guys,” Akey said. “That's not always the nature of what you're able to do and we did have too many quick turnarounds today.”

When the Vandals needed a spark more than ever, the offense only managed a pair of three-and-outs in its first two possessions in the fourth and Louisiana Tech held the ball for nearly 10 minutes in the period.

The Vandals take a much-needed week off after playing for 10 straight games. The team has a bye week to heal and rest before heading to Boise for rivalry weekend.