The “Miracle in Moscow” Shows How Unpredictable These Next Few Months May Be in the FCS
No reason to hide it, I’m a diehard Idaho fan.
So, writing about the Vandals isn’t something I expected to do much this season after a 0-4 start, including a trio of one-score losses to Cal Poly, No. 11 Lamar and Abilene Christian.
But any Idaho fan knows that weird stuff can happen in the Kibbie Dome, especially with a national ESPN audience watching.
Although in hindsight, weird might not even be the appropriate word. Instead, let’s go with miraculous.
Joshua Wood hit on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Jezioro as time expired and then converted the two-point conversion using his own legs to lift the previously winless Vandals past No. 1 and undefeated Montana State 35-34 on Friday night in Moscow.
Wood threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns, while Jezioro hauled in six catches for 147 yards and two scores as well.
The result will raise eyebrows for Montana State players and fans, who are looking to become back-to-back national champions. But it is important to note the players who were missing, and have been for a few weeks, in the Kibbie Dome.
MSU (5-1, 2-1 Big Sky) and coach Brent Vigen were without a quartet of All-Americans in quarterback Justin Lamson, running back Adam Jones, wide receiver Taco Dowler and defensive back Caden Dowler against the Vandals. The hope for the Bobcats is that the first three can return after the team’s bye this weekend before travelling to Eastern Washington on Oct. 17.
There have also been questions around a key coaching decision at the end of the game. Trailing by seven, Idaho got the ball back with 49 seconds remaining and no timeouts. Wood had back-to-back carries to start the drive for 16 and six yards, followed by a quick pass to Tony Harste to get the ball near midfield with eight seconds remaining. Wood then delivered the first of his two perfect passes over the middle to Noah West-Baranco, who went down with no time left on the clock.
The referees quickly huddled and decided that the Idaho tight end was down with 1 second remaining, and the clock would start on their whistle. But that whistle never came as Vigen called a MSU timeout to set his defense. The Vandals then scored and made the conversion on the next two plays to win the game. It’s not clear if Idaho would have been able to get a play off without the timeout, but now we will never know.
But Idaho and second-year coach Thomas Ford deserve all the credit for playing a hard-fought game in a season that went sideways quickly. The Vandals (1-4, 1-1) lost their season opener at Cal Poly on a last-season touchdown pass for the Mustangs. Idaho then suffered a blowout loss at FBS Utah before storming back from double-digit deficits against Lamar and ACU to keep the final score close. The Vandals will now travel to Weber State before a showdown with second-ranked Montana on Oct. 17 in Missoula for a chance to complete the state sweep.
The Big Sky has already shown itself to be volatile this season, with upsets happening each week and defense being optional in most every other contest. It will be key to watch how the standings shake out in a conference that expects to send at least four teams to the playoffs.
Playing Through the Pain
Sometimes sports write stories better than Hollywood ever could. That was the case Saturday for Yale quarterback Dante Reno.
The Bulldogs signal caller was outstanding in Yale’s 41-24 thumping of Merrimack over the weekend, throwing for nearly 300 yards and four touchdowns. But what makes Reno’s state line even more impressive is how well he played with what was going on off the field.
Just one day before, former Yale football coach Tony Reno, Dante’s father, died at the age of 52. He stepped down from coaching following last season after being diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Tony Reno guided Yale to five Ivy League titles in his 13 seasons at the helm and stepped down as the second-winningest coach in program history.
Now Dante Reno and the rest of the Yale program, which is ranked 25th this week after the win, will head into the rest of their Ivy League slate with an extra level of motivation.
Penguins Keep Marching
Youngstown State just keeps cooking in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Behind another two-touchdown game from standout quarterback Beau Brungrad, the Penguins (4-2, 2-1 MVFC) earned another ranked win over the weekend with a 28-16 victory at Southern Illinois.
The YSU defense has also been stout, not allowing an FCS team to score 30 points yet this season.
The fifth-ranked Penguins now turn their attention to Indiana State (1 p.m. EDT on Saturday, ESPN+) before taking on Northern Iowa, who has already upset Illinois State this season, and then No. 4 North Dakota on Halloween.
Top-ranked South Dakota State has shown they are once again the team to beat in the conference, but the battle at the top part of the standings will be a fascinating watch over the next two months.
A New No. 1 in the Country
South Dakota State is the new No. 1 in the FCS after Montana State’s loss at Idaho. The Jackrabbits are 5-0 in FCS contests and are coming off a convincing 31-14 win at No. 16 Illinois State.
Montana moves up to the No. 2 slot, followed by Tarleton State, North Dakota and Youngstown State. Then comes the Bobcats at No. 6 followed by Lehigh, Stephen F. Austin, South Dakota and Austin Peay to round out the top 10.
One of the biggest movers of the week was Northern Arizona, who jumped from No. 20 to No. 14 after the Lumberjacks upset No. 15 Idaho State over the weekend.
New entries into the top 25 include No. 24 Jackson State and No. 25 Yale, while West Florida and Southern Illinois drop out of the rankings.
Looking Ahead
Another great slate of games is on tap for this weekend, but the must-watch contest has to be No. 3 Tarleton State at No. 10 Austin Peay (6 p.m. CDT on Saturday, ESPN+). Tarleton State (5-0) has been electric this season, but their UAC opener will be no cake walk. Governors’ quarterback Chris Parson has thrown for nearly 1,400 yards and 11 touchdowns already this season.
The other top 25 showdown will have another Big Sky favorite on upset watch as No. 2 Montana heads to Flagstaff, Arizona, to take on Ty Pennington and No. 14 Northern Arizona (3 p.m. on Saturday, ESPN+). The Griz (5-1, 3-0 Big Sky) will continue to lean on star running back Eli Gillman and quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat, who has thrown for 1,595 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season. NAU (4-2, 2-1) will counter at quarterback with Pennington, who has thrown for nearly 1,300 yards and nine touchdowns.
Other FCS games worth tuning into Saturday include Southern Illinois at No. 9 South Dakota (1 p.m. CDT, ESPN+), Western Carolina at Mercer (3 p.m. EDT, ESPN+), Furman at No. 18 Tennessee Tech (3:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN+) and Incarnate Word at No. 11 Lamar (3 p.m. CDT, ESPN+).
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