MOSCOW, Idaho ? Robb Akey roared into the post-game news conference soaked from a recent Gatorade shower. Animated by nature, Akey had even more cause Saturday evening after the Idaho Vandals bounced New Mexico State 20-14 to snap a six-game skid and win for the first time in the Western Athletic Conference since 2006.

“That's about a 750,000-ton gorilla that just got ripped off our backs today,” Akey said. “I'm happy as I can be for this football team, for those kids. They've been busting their butts and they keep coming back to work, keep coming back to work, and they keep working to do things better and do things right and we finally got ourselves a game put together today. They were rewarded for that. That means everything to me. It's been a long haul getting to this point in time.”

Akey and his players were joined in their post-game celebration by hundreds of students and fans who rushed the field to take part in the moment that highlighted Homecoming weekend at the University of Idaho.

The Vandals successfully transferred their film and practice sessions to the field.

Redshirt freshman running back Princeton McCarty dashed and darted for a career-high 161 yards on 15 carries ? a total that includes a 54-yard romp to score for the Vandals with 9:40 to play in the first. He and his backfield mates ? Deonte` Jackson and Troy Vital, helped Idaho to a season-best 271 rushing yards. Even quarterback Nate Enderle found positive yardage with a total of 19 as part of an afternoon during which he artfully directly the Vandals' choice of a run-oriented attack.

Defensively, there were big plays and big players throughout the evening. Senior defensive end Josh Shaw tallied 10 tackles and two big sacks of Aggie quarterback Chase Holbrook. Sophomore linebacker Justin Allen totaled eight tackles but also came up with a fumble recovery and an interception. True freshman Kenneth Patton and junior Virdell Larkins also had eight tackles each with Isaac Butts coming up with his third interception of the season for the final play of the game.

Senior kicker Tino Amancio had a career-long 52-yard field goal as well as a 51-yarder to the Vandals gather enough points for a victory celebration, while his fellow specialists also had commendable outings with Vicente Rico allowing only one kickoff return and T.J. Conley averaging 44.3 yards on his three punts.

For senior captain Adam Korby, who started his 44^th consecutive game at center, winning seemed a long time coming.

“It just feels good. It's hard to explain,” said Korby when queried about his feelings moments after the game. “We knew coming into this game and that we had to run the ball to win. The main thing, we got the run started early. We just kept with it and that led us to victory today.”

The credit went all around, though, he said.

“The defense played their butts off today. They played the best game of their season and we won because of them,” he said.

As for Allen, who came up with two of the four turnovers forced by Idaho, it was a matter of seizing the moment.

“Right place at the right time, I guess,” he said. “We took the field trying to get our own turnovers. That was our goal all day, to get turnovers. We thought coming into the game that we knew where they were running, based on their alignments and formations, and that we were going to take advantage of that and fly around.”

The Vandal defense was called on immediately. After stopping the Aggies at their own 36 on the game's opening possession, Kama Bailey fumbled the punt and New Mexico State suddenly had the ball back at the Idaho 26. Holbrook completed one pass before an incompletion, a seven-yard sack by Shaw and another incompletion returned the ball to the Vandals.

They made the most of their first offensive opportunity. McCarty had runs of seven yards, then six to bring the Vandals to near midfield. Enderle's first pass of the day was short and the next play was a handoff to McCarty. He found running room and outran the Aggie defenders for the 54-yard TD. Amancio's kick made it 7-0 with 9:40 to go in the first.

The Aggies, whose favorite way to move the ball is through the air ? a serious test to Idaho's depleted and young secondary, scored their first TD when Holbrook connected with Chris Williams from 18 yards out with 13:43 left before halftime.

The teams traded series again before New Mexico State took the lead on a 13-yard pass from Holbrook to Williams that was set up when Nick Paden intercepted Enderle at the Idaho 43 and returned it to the Vandal 23. That score gave the Aggies a 14-7 edge with 5:13 left in the second.

McCarty said he knew he had an atonement to make when he fielded the ensuing kickoff at the Idaho 10. He pushed through for three yards on his first run and was pulled in a circle by a facemask on second down. The penalty moved the ball to the Idaho 29 where Enderle scrambled for three yards before McCarty took off on a 49 yards gain. Five plays later, Enderle went to a leaping Daniel Hardy for a three-yard TD pass which, with Amancio's PAT kick, tied the game at 14 with 1:11 to go before halftime.

Idaho went up 17-14 when Amancio's kick from 52 yards was good with 2:47 left in the third quarter ? a period that marked a succession of traded possession. The same scenario played out in the final period with Amancio's 51-yard field goal with 1:29 left in the game the lone score.

Butts ended the game when he picked off Holbrook at the Idaho 5. As Butts started to run with the ball, time expired and the jubilant Vandals and their fans flooded the field in celebration.