FRESNO, Calif. – Idaho football lost 79-13 Saturday, at Fresno State in the 2018 season opener for both teams. The Bulldogs returned two blocked field goals and one interception for touchdowns in the first half, on their way to a 44-6 lead at the break.
 
Fresno State outgained Idaho 486 to 307 and benefited from seven Vandal turnovers, without committing any of their own.

"I thought we would play way better than that," said head coach Paul Petrino. "Any time it's a whole collection of things like that, it has to start with me. The blame is on me first. Obviously I didn't do a good enough job of getting everyone ready to play. We didn't do a good enough job as a staff and we didn't play good enough."
 
The Vandals scored on a 73-yard pass from Colton Richardson to Jeff Cotton in the first quarter and a six-yard Isaiah Saunders run in the third quarter.
 
Cotton led the Vandals with 96 receiving yards in his Idaho debut. Saunders carried the ball 24 times for 89 yards.
 
Christian Elliss and Kaden Elliss led the Vandals with eight and seven tackles, respectively. Kaden Elliss recorded a sack. He has a sack in six of his last nine games.
 
Idaho hosts its home opener Saturday (Sept. 8) against Western New Mexico. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. PT. Season and single-game tickets are available at GoVandals.com/tickets.