13

Lehigh
LEH

9-4, 5-1

34

winner

Idaho
IDA

10-3, 6-2

13

34

winner

Points by quarter

team	1	2	3	4	F
LEH Lehigh	0	6	0	7	13
IDA Idaho	6	13	15	0	34

Match Review: Football | 12/08/2024

MOSCOW, Idaho – Jack Layne was 16-22 for 318 yards and three touchdowns Jordan Dwyer caught seven passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns and the Vandal defense held Lehigh to just 13 points en route to a 34-13 victory in the FCS quarterfinals Saturday night at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome.

The win capped a 6-0 home season for the Vandals while also giving Idaho 10 wins. It became only the third team in program history to reach the double-digit win mark. Idaho also reached the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs for the second straight year and sixth time ever. It was also the largest margin of victory for Idaho in a playoff game.

The Mountain Hawks started the game with the ball, but Idaho’s defense stopped the drive after just one first down. Idaho responded with a long drive capped with a five-yard touchdown Jordan Dwyer.

After a change of possession, the Vandals recovered the ball at their own nine-yard line early in the second quarter. Idaho needed just four plays to move the entire field, including a 62-yard touchdown to Dwyer for his second touchdown of the game and his 10th of the season.

Lehigh got the game started with a field goal before Idaho added a touchdown with a 42-yard touchdown pass Mark Hamper 1:33 remaining in the half. The Mountain Hawks added a field goal as time expired, cutting the lead to 19-6 at halftime.

Idaho scored on a two-yard shot on its first possession of the second half Deshaun Buchanan Rush, which capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive to take a 27-6 lead.

Linebackers Zach Johnson capped the Vandal scoring drive in the third quarter with a 74-yard interception return touchdown, the first of the redshirt freshman’s career and the longest in Idaho playoff history.

Lehigh scored its only touchdown on a one-yard rush in the final seconds, but it was too little, too late as Idaho escaped with the 21-point victory.

Dwyer’s 166-yard performance gave him 1,003 receiving yards this season. A Vandal receiver has reached the 1,000-yard mark every season under head coach Jason Eck.
Mark Hamper finished with five catches for 97 yards and has reached 950 yards on the year. Lehigh had not allowed a completed pass of 36 yards this season heading into this game before Idaho scored three of them, including touchdowns by Dwyer and Hamper.

The Idaho defense held Lehigh to just 5-15 on third down. Jaxton Eck tallied 11 tackles and one TFL. Keyshawn James Newby reached the double-digit sack mark of the season with his tenth sack of the year. Jakarhi Larmond added seven tackles and 1.5 TFLs. Johnson had five tackles, including 2.0 TFLs to go along with his interception.

Idaho now prepares for a rematch with undefeated Montana State on Friday at 6 p.m. Pacific time in Bozeman. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN.

The Bobcats won the regular-season game 38-7 in October, but the Vandals have a history of playoff rematches. Idaho lost to Montana in Missoula in 1982 and 1988 before avenging the loss in the 1AA playoffs.

In the previous five games, the Vandals played a Big Sky team in the playoffs. The team that won the regular season game has won the playoff game only once.