Idaho’s Chavez boots winning FG with 1 second left
MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Ricardo Chavez kicked a 30-yard field goal with one second left and Idaho added a touchdown on the final play, defeating Sacramento State 36-27 in a wild Big Sky Conference opener on Saturday.
Chavez's third field goal of the game broke a 27-all tie but left one tick on the clock. Sacramento State's attempt to score on the ensuing kickoff ended with a fumble that the Vandals' Turon Ivy Jr. recovered for a touchdown.
Idaho's Gevani McCoy threw two long touchdown passes in the third quarter to give the Vandals a 10-point lead. He hit Ivy for 52 yards and Terez Traynor for 60 yards and the Vandals led 27-17 heading to the fourth quarter.
Sacramento State eventually tied it at 27 when Kaiden Bennett threw to Marcus Fulcher for an 11-yard touchdown with 4:54 remaining but that was the last snap for the Hornets offense.
Idaho's 36-yard drive to the winning field goal was set up by Jermaine Jackson's 36-yard kickoff return that had a personal foul on the Hornets tacked on at the end.
McCoy was 15-of-21 passing for 234 yards with the two long touchdowns. Anthony Woods had 117 yards rushing on 24 carries for the Vandals (3-1, No. 10 in FCS coaches poll).
Bennett completed 15 of 29 passes for 236 yards with two touchdowns for the Hornets (3-1, No. 4 FCS).
The Vandals led 13-10 at halftime on the strength of a 2-yard run by Anthony Woods and field goals of 29 and 50 yards from Chavez.
Sacramento State entered the game with a 22-game regular-season winning streak and a 19-game Big Sky winning streak. The Hornets defeated Stanford and former coach Troy Taylor 30-23 last week.
It was the first top-10 matchup at the Kibbie Dome since the Vandals faced Northern Iowa in 1994.
Idaho won its home opener after being one of five FCS teams to open the season with three true road games.
Portland State 59, Cal Poly 21
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Jobi Malary and quarterback Dante Chachere each ran for a pair of touchdowns and Portland State beat Cal Poly in a Big Sky Conference opener for the teams on Saturday.
Malary ran for 119 yards on 11 carries and Chachere ran for 87 yards on four carries. Quincy Craig ran 11 times for 82 yards and Andrew Van Buren ran for 79 yards on six carries. Van Buren had a long run of 70 yards, Malary 56, Craig 53 and Chachere 51. Those long rushes of 230 yards in four carries eclipsed the Mustangs' entire rushing game of 97 yards on 34 carries.
Portland State rushed for 404 yards on 47 carries.
The Vikings' (2-2, 1-0) Christian Grubb ran back the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. The Mustangs scored on their first drive when Sam Huard threw a 49-yard score to Bryson Allen to tie it.
From there, the Vikings went on to score eight times on their next 12 possessions and led 52-14 at halftime.
Huard and Bo Kelly each threw for a touchdown and Aiden Ramos posted a rushing TD for the Mustangs (2-2, 0-1).
Idaho State 35, Northern Colorado 21
POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — Quarterbacks Jordan Cooke and Hunter Hays each led a key second-half touchdown drive, Matthew Sanchez had two interceptions, and Idaho State defeated Northern Colorado on Saturday in a Big Sky Conference opener.
Idaho State led 21-7 at halftime before Northern Colorado scored twice in the third quarter to tie it up. Cooke then led a 6-play, 75-yard drive that ended with an 8-yard touchdown run by Aiden Taylor. Midway through the fourth quarter, Hays led a 12-play, 58-yard touchdown drive, his 2-yard keeper giving the Bengals a two-touchdown lead with five minutes left.
Idaho State's Sanchez intercepted Jacob Sirmon passes on Northern Colorado's remaining two possessions, sealing the win for the Bengals.
Cooke completed 14 of 23 passes for 218 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Bengals (1-3). Hays was 10-of-17 passing for 76 yards with a touchdown and led ISU with 55 yards rushing.
Darius Stewart had 124 yards rushing and David Afari added 108 yards as the Bears (0-4) piled up 240 yards rushing. Sirmon was 22 of 32 for 123 yards with the two late interceptions.