MOSCOW, Idaho ? Daniel Hardy provided an electrifying start and the rest of the University of Idaho Vandals banded together to stay within striking distance of in-state rival Boise State as the first half of the Western Athletic Conference football game unfolded before a sell-out crowd of 17,000 at the Kibbie Dome.

Then the momentum pendulum took a monumental swing in Boise State's favor as the second half began and the ninth-ranked Broncos went on to win 45-10.

“We made mistakes in the second half and they got that momentum rolling,” Idaho coach Robb Akey said. “We didn't respond well with making some big plays of our own.”

Hardy's game-opening score electrified the crowd and energized the Vandals, who were trailing just 17-10 at halftime. Hardy pulled in a pass from Nathan Enderle and made for the sideline. A BSU defender grabbed him but instead of taking him to the turf, he rolled Hardy over and Hardy never touched the ground. He wrestled his way out of the Bronco defender's grasp and raced to the end zone to complete the 81-yard scoring play ? the sixth-longest pass play in Vandal history.

“I thought he was getting power-bombed,” Enderle said. “Then he spun out of it. I knew he wasn't down because I had the perfect view so I was just hoping they hadn't blown it dead or something.”

It's a play that long will be remembered.

“That was a great start,” Akey said. “That first play was awesome and I would like to thank everybody that showed up in the Dome. It's nice to see that place filled up.”

It wasn't the outcome, however, the second-year coach obviously wanted.

“I'm disappointed,” he said. “Obviously, I wanted to see us step up a little bit more and certainly make more out of the rival game. Obviously, the goal going into it was to get the streak broken. We didn't play well enough in the second half to be able to make that happen.”

It did seem as if all went the way of the Broncos in the second half. While there was a yardage disparity ? 262-159, it was big plays that made the difference. There was Jeremy Avery's 57-yard scoring run, Ellis Powers' 45-yard return of a fumble and Vinny Perretta's 16-yard TD to cap a drive that totaled five plays of more than 10 yards. Those scores accounted for a 21-point third quarter to effectively take the wind out of the Vandals' sails.

“Big plays gave them all the momentum,” linebacker Justin Allen said. “They built upon that and they never stopped.

“In the first half, I think we played real well together and it was a reasonably close game at that point. Then in the second half, we just let it get away. We didn't play our assignments and a couple bad plays turned it around and gave them all the momentum.”