Idaho State Beats Utah Tech 34-27 on Two Fourth-Quarter Defensive Touchdowns

Utah Tech did almost everything it needed to do to beat Idaho State on Saturday in St. George. The Trailblazers outgained the Bengals 424 to 255, held the ball for nearly 38 minutes and lined up for a go-ahead field goal in the final three minutes. They lost anyway, because the Idaho State defense scored twice in the fourth quarter.

Zion To'oto'o turned a strip-sack into a 32-yard touchdown to tie the game with 7:54 left, and Trehsyn Fesili intercepted Bronson Barben and ran it back 43 yards for the winning score with 55 seconds to play. Idaho State won 34-27 at Greater Zion Stadium to improve to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in Big Sky play. Utah Tech fell to 1-8 and 1-5.

The Bengals never led in the fourth quarter until Fesili crossed the goal line. They finished with four takeaways and no turnovers, and 24 of their 34 points came either directly from a defensive score or from a short field handed over by a takeaway.

Utah Tech Struck First, and Fast

The opening play from scrimmage set a tone Idaho State spent the whole afternoon trying to recover from. Barben found Mike Williams deep down the right side for a 79-yard touchdown just 11 seconds into the game.

Idaho State's first drive moved into Utah Tech territory before stalling at the 44, and the Trailblazers answered with the best possession either team put together all day. Starting at their own 8, they went 92 yards in 13 plays and 7:02, mixing Ace Chatman and Junior Curtis runs with short throws before Barben kept it himself for a 6-yard touchdown run. Utah Tech led 14-0 with 3:04 left in the first quarter, and the Bengals had little going on offense.

The First Two Takeaways Kept Idaho State Alive

The comeback began with the defense. Early in the second quarter, Fesili got to Barben for a sack at the Utah Tech 36, the ball came loose, and Bronson Childs recovered at the 35. Jordan Cooke and Idaho State needed eight plays to cash it in, with Cooke converting a fourth-and-1 from the 7 on a 3-yard run and then finding Tommy Poe for a 4-yard touchdown at 9:24.

On the third snap of Utah Tech's next possession, Titan Saxton picked off Barben near midfield and returned it 16 yards to the Utah Tech 29. The Bengals went nowhere from there, but Mason Lindberg drilled a 47-yard field goal to make it 14-10.

Utah Tech answered with a 49-yard completion to Zay Akinsanya that set up a 35-yard Max Shepherd field goal, and Cooke then led a two-minute drive that reached the Utah Tech 9 before Lindberg kicked a 27-yarder with six seconds left in the half. Utah Tech led 17-13 at the break despite controlling most of the game.

Trading Body Blows in the Third Quarter

Idaho State took its first lead on the opening drive of the second half. Tytan Mason broke a 17-yard run, and Cooke hit Poe for 26 yards and a touchdown on an 11-play, 80-yard march that put the Bengals ahead 20-17 at 10:06.

Utah Tech responded with a drive that ate more than half of the quarter. The Trailblazers went 75 yards in 15 plays and 8:33, converting a fourth-and-1 along the way, and Barben finished it with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Darnell O'Quinn for a 24-20 lead with 1:33 left in the third.

An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on an Idaho State punt then gave Utah Tech the ball at the Idaho State 40, and Shepherd added a 31-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. At 27-20 with 10:43 left, and with Will Alovao wrecking the Bengals' pass protection, the Trailblazers looked like they were about to finish the job.

The Turning Point: To'oto'o Ties It

Idaho State's next drive died on downs at the Utah Tech 39 when Alovao sacked Cooke on third down and a fourth-and-16 throw to Poe fell incomplete. Utah Tech took over with 8:04 left and a seven-point lead.

On the very next snap, To'oto'o sacked Barben at the 32 and knocked the ball loose, then picked it up himself and ran 32 yards for the touchdown, and Lindberg's extra point tied the game at 27 with 7:54 remaining. Utah Tech had been less than eight minutes from its second Big Sky win. In one play the game was even.

A Missed Kick, Then the Pick-Six

Utah Tech did not fold. The Trailblazers put together a 13-play, 52-yard drive that chewed up 5:42 and reached the Idaho State 18, where they faced fourth-and-1 with 2:17 left. After both teams called timeouts, a false start pushed Utah Tech back to fourth-and-6, and Shepherd's 41-yard field goal try was no good with 2:12 to play.

Idaho State could not take advantage. Cooke ran twice, the Bengals were flagged for a false start on fourth-and-1 at their own 32, and Sam Buck punted to the Utah Tech 36 with 1:07 left. Overtime looked likely.

Instead, on second down, Fesili, a freshman defensive lineman, intercepted Barben at the Utah Tech 43 and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown. Lindberg's kick made it 34-27 with 55 seconds left. Utah Tech's final possession, which ended with a series of desperation laterals, came up empty.

It was the second pick-six of the season for Fesili, who returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown against Weber State and was named a Big Sky Player of the Week after the 38-8 rout of Portland State last weekend.

The Numbers That Mattered

On paper, this was a Utah Tech game. The Trailblazers ran 44 times for 164 yards, Barben completed 23 of 34 passes for 260 yards with two touchdowns, and Utah Tech converted all three of its fourth-down tries. Chatman carried 19 times for 52 yards, Curtis added 48 on nine attempts, and Akinsanya had three catches for 65 yards.

But Barben also threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles, and both lost fumbles came on sacks. Utah Tech was also flagged nine times for 90 yards, including the false start that turned fourth-and-1 into a long field goal try.

Idaho State's offense was modest. Cooke went 21 of 38 for 178 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, and the Bengals ran for just 77 yards on 22 carries. Poe was the go-to target with seven catches for 96 yards and both receiving touchdowns, and Lindberg made both field goals.

Alovao was the best player on the field for Utah Tech with three sacks. For Idaho State, Nathan Reynolds and Ryder Holt led the team with eight tackles each, To'oto'o finished with five tackles, two tackles for loss and the scoop-and-score, and Fesili added six tackles, a sack that produced a fumble, the interception and the winning touchdown.

What It Means

Idaho State has now won two straight after a three-game skid made up of one-score losses, and at 3-3 in the Big Sky the Bengals are back in the middle of the league picture. They did it this week without their offense playing well, which is a different kind of win than the Portland State blowout but maybe a more useful one in November.

For Utah Tech, this one will hurt for a while. The Trailblazers came into the week off their first Big Sky win, a 43-26 victory at Cal Poly, and they outplayed a heavily favored opponent for most of the afternoon. They lost because of four turnovers, two of which went for touchdowns, and a missed field goal.

The Take

The box score says Utah Tech should have won, and for about 52 minutes the Trailblazers looked like the better team. But defenses that create havoc win close games, and Idaho State's front made the plays that mattered. To'oto'o and Fesili both got to the quarterback, both took the ball away, and both scored.

Utah Tech will look back at the fourth-and-1 at the 18, the false start and the 41-yard miss. Idaho State will look back at a day when its offense was ordinary and it still found 14 points in the fourth quarter. That is how a 1-8 team stays 1-8, and how a team that lost three straight one-score games a few weeks ago climbs back to .500 in the league.

Full stats are in the official box score (opens in a new tab).

Sources: ESPN, Idaho State Athletics. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Idaho State Athletics (file photo of Jordan Cooke).