FRESNO, Calif. - Idaho's hopes of a second successive bowl game were dashed in the most heart-breaking, gut-wrenching of fashions Saturday night at Fresno State's Bulldog Stadium.

After taking a 20-16 lead on Deonte' Jackson's four-yard run with 2:01 left in what had been a classic defensive battle on a rain-drenched field.

The Vandal defense, which had come up stop after stop in the second half as well as a fistful of turnovers, bottled up the Bulldogs on their final possession until Ryan Colburn teamed with Jamel Hamel for a 24-yard catch-and-run to take the ball to the Idaho one. A.J. Ellis pushed over on the next play to, with the successful PAT, give FSU the 23-20 victory.

"They finished the last drive," said Idaho coach Robb Akey after the Vandals dropped to 5-7 overall and 2-5 in the Western Athletic Conference. "I'm very disappointed in the outcome of this game. I'm sick to my stomach for these seniors - that we couldn't get them another bowl game."

In a game of oddities, neither team scored an offensive touchdown until the waning moments. Jackson's TD run was Idaho's first offensive score and Ellis' was the first for the Bulldogs. Otherwise, it was a game of field goals, defense and special teams.  For Idaho, the special teams' moment was Justin Veltung's 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with 6:29 left to pull Idaho to within 16-13 and set the stage for the final dramatic minutes.

Defensively for the Vandals, Robert Siavii recovered two fumbles, while Shiloh Keo and Matthew Harvey had eight tackles each.

"They fought their tails off," Akey said of the Vandals. "But we didn't close it out. They finished it better than we did."

The teams traded possessions to start the game before Fresno State scored first with 4:25 to go in the opening quarter on Kevin Goessling's 47-yard field goal, which capped a 95-yard drive that was fueled by a 55-yard Robbie Rouse run.

The Bulldogs were on the march again - this time a 37-yard pass from Ryan Colburn to Jamel Hamel taking the ball to the Idaho 6. This time the defense came up big when Shiloh Keo hit Colburn as he dropped back. As the ball popped loose, Gary Walker fell on it to return the ball to the Vandals.

Idaho's offense, however, continued to struggle. A holding call and a couple sacks moved the ball from the Vandal 19 to their own 3. The best they could do on third-down-and-26 was move the ball to the 5 to give Bobby Cowan a little more room for his second punt of the game.

Fresno State's second turnover came via a Benson Mayowa force and a Robert Siavii recovery of Colburn's second fumble, which gave the Vandals the ball at the Bulldog 40. After an incomplete pass on first down, Enderle found Kama Bailey underneath with the hookup resulted in a first down at the FSU 42.  Another sack, a short pass to Deonte' Jackson and an incompletion thwarted this drive and again Cowan was called on to punt.

Siavii was at the bottom of the pile when FSU fumbled the snap on third-and-two at its own 25. With just over seven minutes left in the half, Idaho took over. Princeton McCarty gained one yard on first down but couldn't pull in Enderle's pass on second down. Eric Greenwood couldn't hold onto Enderle's pass in the end zone on third down, which brought in Trey Farquhar to attempt a 41-yard field goal with 6:29 to play. A delay of game, however, pushed the Vandals back to the Bulldogs' 29 to make Farquhar's try a 46-yarder. Holder Brandon Artz couldn't hold onto the ball and Fresno State took over at its own 36 with 6:25 left in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs drove to the Idaho 13 and settled for a 30-yard Goessling field goal as time expired for a 6-0 halftime lead.

The offense that couldn't gain any traction in the first half struggled to start the second. After a 7-yard pick on an Enderle-to-Maurice Shaw pass, Travis Brown stepped in front of an Enderle pass and rambled 30 yards to score with 13:54 left in the third. The PAT kick gave the Bulldogs a 13-0 lead.

Idaho's offense came to life on the next possession after Justin Veltung's 30-yard return gave them the ball at their own 40. They marched to the FSU 8 before settling for a 25-yard Farquhar field goal. With 8:32 to play in the third, FSU led 13-3.

The Bulldogs were on the march again when Andre Ferguson recovered fumble No. 4 for the Bulldogs at the Idaho 28 with four minutes to go in the third. However, the result was the same - the Vandals were not able to capitalize and wound up with another Cowan punt.

Idaho's defense came up again and forced the first FSU punt of the game and Idaho took over on its own 15. Troy Vital moved the ball to the 20 before a facemask gave pushed the Vandals to their own 35 before back-to-back passes to Eric Greenwood put them on the Bulldogs' 15. A sack and an Enderle run put the Vandals in a third-and-nine situation at the FSU 14. Enderle again went to Greenwood - this time for first and goal at the 3 but the offense stalled again and Idaho went to Farquhar for a 26-yard field goal for a 13-6 deficit with 10:13 to play.

The Bulldogs capped their next drive with Goessling's third field goal - a 35-yarder, with 6:42 to play and a 16-6 lead.

Veltung had a quick answer with an 84-yard kickoff return to score just 13 seconds later. Farquhar's PAT made it 16-13 with 6:29 to play.

The defense limited FSU to one yard on its next possession and the punt gave Idaho the ball at its own 29 with 5:!9 to play.