SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The University of Idaho Vandals were seven yards from tying the game against San Diego State as the fourth quarter unfolded at Qualcomm Stadium. Then as the lines collided and surged toward the end zone the ball popped out of the pile and SDSU's Josh Gavert pounced on it.
Eleven minutes later, the Aztecs were celebrating a 35-21 victory and Idaho was headed home with another heart-wrenching loss.
“Until we quit hurting ourselves in key situations,” coach Paul Petrino said, “we're not going to get over the hump. To come in here and compete at their place and be that competitive shows how far we've come.”
But …
“It's time to go to the next level and not hurt ourselves and not beat ourselves and find a way to win.”
Chad Chalich started at quarterback and was effective running and passing throughout the first half. But was hampered with a groin pull as the second half unfolded. Still, he finished with 67 yards to 90 for leading rusher Elijhaa Penny. Chalich also threw for 145 yards and one touchdown. He and Penny each rushed for one score.
The end result, though, had Petrino quoting a coaching adage.
“We have to step up and be at our best when our best is needed,” he said. “We need to catch two fades for touchdowns when we're wide open. We need to cover the guy on third down and get off the field. We need to be our best … that's not turning the ball over. It's making big plays and getting stops when we need them.”
San Diego State scored on its first drive but so, too, did the Vandals. Chad Chalich engineered a 75-yard scoring drive that was capped by Elijhaa Penny's two-yard dive with five minutes to play in the first half. Chalich rushed for 40 of the Vandals' yards in that drive with Matt Linehan coming in to pick up the only positive passing yards – six on a throw to Joshua McCain, in the series.
The Aztecs came back to score on their next possession, which went 75 yards and was capped by Donne Pumphrey's five-yard run with 27 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Chalich evened the score again when he found a lane through the left side of the line to score on a 15-yard run with 10:45 to go in the second. He picked up 37 yards on the ground during the drive and completed three passes for 20 yard of the 77 yards.
The Vandal defense, with two sacks (one by Quayshawne Buckley and the other by Kevin Shelton and Marc Millan), held the Aztecs on their next drive. The San Diego StNate defense responded in kind by stopping Idaho and, with a fake punt and subsequent run by Austin Rehkow coming up just short, the Aztecs started the next drive at the Idaho 46.
San Diego State opened a two-touchdown lead with scores on back-to-back drives in the third quarter. The Aztecs went to the air to open the lead – first with a 58-yard pass then by covering 60 of 61 yards of their next scoring drive through the air.
Idaho responded when Chalich, who kept the Aztecs guessing with his ability to throw and run, found McCain wide open on the left sideline for a 51-yard scoring play with 2:15 left in the third. Then came the fumble at the end of a length of the field drive and SDSU controlled the rest of the game.
