Upset bid Ducked — Vandals, 44 ½-point underdogs, push No. 3 Oregon to brink before falling

From local reports, and wire and news services 

EUGENE, Ore. — Early in the fourth quarter, the Idaho Vandals certainly had the attention of the No. 3 Oregon Ducks — as well as the rest of the college football world. 

Idaho had just scored its second trick-play touchdown of the second half to pull within three points of the Ducks with 9:45 remaining. 

Shocker in the making? 

But Oregon answered with a touchdown drive — aided by a Vandal penalty — and Idaho’s bid for a massive upset came up short in a season-opening 24-14 loss to the Ducks before 57,435 at Autzen Stadium. 

“Coming in ... a lot of people counted us out, and I saw nothing but heart out of the guys on our sideline today,” Idaho junior offensive lineman Nate Azzopardi said. 

“Proud of our team. We believed we could win the football game,” third-year Idaho coach Jason Eck said. “I thought we played extremely hard, and competed. I was especially proud of our defense, they played a ton of plays, 87 snaps, and I could see their confidence grow as the game went on. 

“But I told the team, you don’t get rings at the end of the year for playing Oregon within 10 points. This is only going to be a positive if it can be a starting point for us getting a lot better, and improving as the year goes on.” 

Idaho’s defense kept this one close, and the Vandals, who were 44 ½-point underdogs, trailed just 14-0 at halftime. 

Oregon, one of 10 schools to flee the Pac-12 after the last school year, went for it twice on fourth down in its own territory in the third quarter. Both times, the Vandals stopped the Ducks short. 

On the first play after the second turnover on downs, quarterback Jack Layne took the snap, handed to running back Elijah Cummings, who tossed it to wide receiver Mark Hamper, who flipped it back to Layne, who hit wide-open tight end Jake Cox down the right sideline for a 36-yard touchdown to cut Oregon’s lead to 14-7 with 4:15 left in the third quarter. 

Oregon answered with a field goal — how many Duck fans thought a field goal attempt would be crucial in this one? — for a 17-7 lead. 

Back came the Vandals, buoyed by a 34-yard screen pass from Layne to Cummings. From the Oregon 4-yard line, Idaho snapped the ball to Cummings, who handed it to Layne, who ran to the right, cut back and scored to pull Idaho within 17-14 with just under 10 minutes left. 

Oregon went on a drive, but faced a fourth-and-7 at the Idaho 17. The Ducks lined up to go for it, and a Vandal lineman jumped offsides, creating a fourth-and-2. On the next play, Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel, who previously played at UCF and Oklahoma, hit Tez Johnson out in the left flat, and Johnson powered just inside the pylon to complete the 12-yard scoring play.  

Idaho, ranked seventh in the FCS, was forced to punt, and threw an interception on its final two possessions. 

“Different than we thought it would look like,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “Great teams are able to learn from tight matches. This was a tight match, and we didn't create some of the explosive plays I was hoping we could create offensively. Gave up a couple of critical plays on defense.” 

In the first half, with Idaho down 7-0 and a chance to pull even, Layne was picked off in the end zone by Brandon Johnson. The Ducks drove for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead. 

Layne, who took over as starting QB this year, was 11 of 25 for 168 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. He suffered an arm injury late in the game, and Jack Wagner finished up. 

Keyshawn James-Newby had two sacks, including a strip sack recovered by Dallas Afalava. Jaxton Eck had 14 tackles, Tommy McCormick 11. 

Jason Eck said the Vandals rotated in some 11 guys on the defensive line, including redshirt freshman Matyus McLain of Priest River High, who saw his first game action as a Vandal. 

“If you’re giving 100 percent each play, we have fresh legs,” James-Newby said. “We rotated a lot of guys, and you're going to get right back in the game when your legs fresh again.” 

Zach Johnson, a redshirt freshman from Lake City High, started at linebacker. 

Oregon totaled 487 yards, but no play went for more than 24 yards. 

Gabriel passed for 380 yards and two touchdowns. 

“I didn’t want to give up big plays,” Eck said. “I thought if we could keep them from getting big plays, we could get turnovers. I thought we did a tremendous job eliminating big plays, and keeping them in front of us.” 

“You can never doubt an opponent,'' Oregon defensive lineman Matayo Uiagalelei said. ”Tip my hat off to Idaho, that's a great program. Shoot, it was a close game. I don't think we were expecting that." 

Idaho travels to Wyoming this Saturday. 

    Photo by IDAHO ATHLETICS Idaho tight end Jake Cox (33) celebrates after catching a 36-yard touchdown pass from Jack Layne in the third quarter Saturday at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore.