Not their first rodeo — Vandal defense shines as Idaho beats FBS foe on road for second straight year

LARAMIE, Wyo. — Trick plays are sexy when they work. 

When they don’t, well ... it helps to have an awesome defense — in particular, a stellar pass rush led by Keyshawn James-Newby — to bail you out. 

James-Newby had three sacks — two in the fourth quarter — to help a first-half lead stand up as the Idaho Vandals held off the Wyoming Cowboys 17-13 on Saturday afternoon before 25,070 at War Memorial Stadium — Wyoming’s first sellout since 2011. 

“Our defense was just outstanding, time and time again ... made me look not as bad for calling a fake punt that we got nothing out of,” Idaho coach Jason Eck said. 

It was a costly win, however, as Idaho’s starting quarterback was injured for the second week in a row. 

Jack Wagner, a redshirt freshman making his first Vandal star, left the game in the fourth quarter after being driven to turf and landing on his right shoulder. 

“I don’t know yet; we’ll see,” Eck said when asked of Wagner’s status. “He couldn’t come back in, but I don’t know the severity of it yet.” 

Last week, redshirt sophomore Jack Layne suffered a broken collarbone late in the loss at Oregon, and is expected to miss several weeks. 

It was Idaho’s first win over Wyoming since 1921, its first win ever in Laramie, and the Vandals’ second win over an FBS opponent in as many seasons. Idaho won 33-6 at Nevada last year. 

With Wagner making his first start, the Vandals went with several direct snaps to running backs, some with Wagner flanked out wide. 

Late in the third quarter, leading 17-10, the Vandals tried a fake punt on fourth and 8 at its own 45. Zach Johnson, the up back and former Lake City High star, took the snap but was stopped short of the first down. 

Wyoming drove to within inches of a touchdown, and had a potential tying TD overturned on video review, and eventually settled for a field goal to pull within four early in the fourth quarter. 

“It was my bad decision there that set them up,” Eck said. “We thought we had a good look all week on that ... I’ve got to see the film to see what exactly happened. One of the reasons we’re aggressive on fourth down is I’ve got a lot of belief; one, that we’ll get it, but also in our defense to make it right if we don’t. The defense did a great job holding them to three.” 

Idaho couldn’t generate much offense in the second half, but its defense came through. 

On three straight drives, Wyoming had the ball near midfield. Twice, sacks by James-Newby forced the Cowboys to punt.  

Idaho, with redshirt freshman Nick Josifek in at quarterback, was able to run for one first down, eating up some clock before punting. 

Wyoming’s last chance came with 24 seconds left, and the ball on its 22. Again the Vandal pass rush bothered the Cowboys, and Xavier Slayton finished the game with a sack of Wyoming quarterback Evan Svoboda, and the clock ran out. 

“It was big that we got one first down there, because it put their offense in a really tough situation,” Eck said. “We weren’t great (on offense) in the second half, but at least we found a way to get one first down (and run some clock).” 

On the first possession of the game, Svoboda broke a 37-yard run, but Wyoming settled for a 48-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead. 

Idaho went three and out, but caught a break punting away, when the Cowboys snapped the ball over Svoboda’s head, and the Vandals’ Isiah King recovered. 

On fourth and inches, Idaho’s Elisha Cummings swept around right end for a 2-yard touchdown — from a formation which looked like a “Tush Push” was coming. It was Cummings’ first TD since 2022, after redshirting last year. 

Later in the quarter, Devin Boddie got behind the Idaho defense on a busted coverage, and hauled in a 20-yard TD pass from Svoboda to put Wyoming up 10-7. 

Idaho answered when Wagner hit tight end Jake Cox for a touchdown on fourth and 2. 

Cameron Pope booted a 49-yard field goal on his first attempt as a Vandal, and Idaho led 17-10 at halftime. 

Newby finished with three sacks, giving him five on the season. The Montana Tech transfer had five all of last season. 

“He’s playing like an FBS player ... he’s really come a long way from last year,” Eck said. 

Idaho totaled five sacks and held Wyoming to 270 yards of offense. Johnson, a redshirt freshman starting his second straight game at linebacker, had five tackles. 

Wagner was 12 for 21 for 101 yards. Nate Thomas, the South Dakota transfer, ran for 64 yards on 15 carries, and Cummings rushed for 52 yards on 16 carries. 

Idaho plays host to UAlbany on Saturday at the Kibbie Dome.

Idaho 17, Wyoming 13 

Idaho    7    10    0    0    —    17 

Wyoming    10    0    0    3    —    13 

First Quarter 

WYO_FG Hoyland 48, 12:50. 

IDHO_Cummings 3 run (Pope kick), 6:36. 

WYO_Boddie 20 pass from Svoboda (Hoyland kick), 2:06. 

Second Quarter 

IDHO_Cox 2 pass from Wagner (Pope kick), 11:33. 

IDHO_FG Pope 49, 4:40. 

Fourth Quarter 

WYO_FG Hoyland 22, 14:57. 

A_25,070. 

       IDHO    WYO 

First downs    14    16 

Total Net Yards    225    270 

Rushes-yards    39-124    43-144 

Passing    101    126 

Punt Returns    2-5    2-5 

Kickoff Returns    1-29    1-28 

Interceptions Ret.    0-0    0-0 

Comp-Att-Int    12-21-0    10-26-0 

Sacked-Yards Lost    1-4    4-26 

Punts    6-41.667    5-39.4 

Fumbles-Lost    1-0    2-1 

Penalties-Yards    11-73    9-70 

Time of Possession    31:20    28:40 

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS 

RUSHING_Idaho, N.Thomas 15-64, Cummings 16-52, Peters 1-5, Wagner 6-5, (Team) 1-(minus 2). Wyoming, Jones 17-80, Svoboda 14-45, Stevenson 1-16, Ferrell 7-13, McNeely 1-4, Pelissier 1-3, Scott 1-(minus 2), (Team) 1-(minus 15). 

PASSING_Idaho, Wagner 12-21-0-101. Wyoming, Svoboda 10-24-0-126, (Team) 0-1-0-0, Ka.Anderson 0-1-0-0. 

RECEIVING_Idaho, Dwyer 6-66, Hamper 2-34, Cox 2-4, Cummings 1-3, Ar.Williams 1-(minus 6). Wyoming, Boddie 2-34, Ferrell 2-22, Scott 2-18, Pelissier 1-38, Miles 1-9, A.Brown 1-6, Jones 1-(minus 1). 

MISSED FIELD GOALS_Wyoming, Hoyland 53. 

    Photo by IDAHO ATHLETICS Keyshawn James-Newby (1) of Idaho had three sacks on Saturday, including this one of Wyoming quarterback Evan Svoboda in Laramie, Wyo.