LOGAN, Utah - Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gusting winds, nor snow, nor the Utah State Aggies could stop the Idaho Vandals Saturday afternoon at Romney Stadium.

By the end of the game that began in howling wind and sideways rain and ended with the field growing whiter and whiter with the falling snow, Idaho kept its bowl hopes alive with the 28-6 victory before a small but hardy crowd.

In it, the Vandals did things that have been missing of late. They forced turnovers. The running game was solid, the passing game was sound and the defense put forth a stalwart effort.

"That was one of the better defensive performances we've had," said Idaho senior defensive end Aaron Lavarias of an effort that limited USU to 242 yards total offense. "We executed our game plan really well."

The offense, too, had a plan that worked.

Senior receiver Eric Greenwood led the way with four catches for 114 yards - and the two TDs the Vandals scored in the first half for their 14-6 halftime lead. In the second half, it was the ground game the coaching staff opted to put to work - and work it did. Senior Deonte' Jackson carried the ball 18 times for 62 yards - a majority of it on a key drive that gobbled more than eight minutes off the clock. He scored on that drive for a 21-6 lead with 8:50 left in the game and added another insurance TD when h e hauled in a 10-yard Nate Enderle pass with 5:20 to go and the final 28-6 margin.

"We have a football team that had a lot of fun playing again," said coach Robb Akey, whose team is 4-5 and 2-4 in the Western Athletic Conference headed into next Saturday's key game at Fresno State.

The consistency throughout the game gave him plenty of avenues to praise the Vandals.

"It was a good performance for this football team," he said.

Utah State moved the ball on its first possession but ultimately was forced to punt. Bailey fielded the ball deep in Idaho territory but the Vandals, too, were forced to punt. The Aggies scored on their next chance when Peter Caldwell connected on a 44-yard field goal with 5:15 left in the first.

Bailey, with some help from Trey Williams, gave the Vandals good field position when they combined to return the kick to the Utah State 43. Bailey had crossed midfield on the return but fumbled forward where Williams grabbed it out of the air and carried it to the 43. Eric Greenwood capped the scoring drive when he hauled in a 10-yard pass from Enderle with eight seconds remaining in the first.

The Aggies scored on another Caldwell field goal - this one a 24-yarder with 12:52 to go in the first half to close to within 7-6.

Idaho benefited from a 33-yard Enderle to Armauni Johnson hookup, which initially had been ruled out of bounds but was reversed upon review. But on first down at the Aggie 13, Enderle was picked off by Curtis Marsh, who won a jump ball over Maurice Shaw in the end zone.

The next jump ball went to the Vandals when Greenwood out-jumped his Aggie defender to pull in a 28-yard scoring pass from Enderle for a 14-6 Idaho lead with 1:18 left in the half. The TD capped a 10-play, 74-yard drive that consumed 5:21 off the clock.

It wasn't until 8:50 was remaining in the game that another score lit the board. And it was Jackson's four-yard run around the right end that put Idaho up 21-6. It was the ideal drive as it covered 79 yards and consumed more than seven minutes. Jackson's scoring run wasn't his only key run in the drive as he continually came up with key yardage throughout.

Jackson crossed the goal line 3½ minutes later with a 10-yard pass from Enderle. He caught the ball at the one, bounced off a defender and walked into the end zone for a 28-6 Idaho lead with 5:20 left in the game.