HILLSBORO, Ore. – Competing against an NCAA Division I program for the second time in program history, the College of Idaho scored a pair of first half touchdowns and kept Portland State out of the end zone in the third quarter – but the Vikings proved to be too much in a 63-14 decision at Hillsboro Stadium.
PSU (1-2) ended a 15-game losing streak with the win, rolling up 657 yards of total offense and turning four C of I turnovers into 21 points.
The Viks scored on their first two possessions – a 71-yard pass from Davis Alexander to Charlie Taumoepeau and a Darian Green 2-yard touchdown run – but the Yotes (0-4) cut the margin to 14-7 late in the quarter. C of I was aided by two PSU personal foul calls, with
Darius-James Peterson going 3-for-3 through the air on the drive, capped by a 13-yard scoring strike to
Dominic Garzoli.
After recovering an onside kick, the hosts marched six plays for a touchdown and pushed the lead to 28-7 when a botched handoff on the Yotes next series was scooped up by Anthony Adams in the endzone for a Vikings touchdown.
Trailing 35-7 midway through the second quarter, the Coyotes had their best drive of the day – converting on a 4th-and-1 and adding a Peterson 19-yard pass to
Hunter Juarez to set up a 17-yard touchdown pass to
Keegan Crafton.
From there, it was all Vikings – tacking on two scores before the break – while outgaining C of I 331-82 in the second half.
Peterson finished 9-of-16 for 90 yards through the air, while rushing for 51 yards on 12 carries. Garzoli had 54 yards on the ground and added three receptions for 21 yards.
Alexander passed for 173 yards and three touchdowns, rushing for 77 yards and a score to lead PSU – which racked up 350 of their 657 yards on the ground.
C of I returns to action next weekend, hosting No. 14 ranked Rocky Mountain at 1 p.m.
NOTES: The four-game losing streak for the Yotes is their fourth such streak since football returned in 2014…the 657 yards allowed were the most by a C of I team since Southern Oregon gained 693 yards in 2014…defensive backs
Taeson Hardin and Nik Lyons led C of I with seven total tackles, while
Zach White recorded the Yotes lone sack…punter
Spencer Lambert had a solid day, averaging 42 yards a kick, including two punts downed inside the 10-yard-line…the Yotes shared quarterback duties – with Peterson playing the first half and
Nathaniel Holcomb and
Gage Ferguson playing the second half…attendance at Hillsboro Stadium was just 2,354.
