Idaho State Escapes Southern Utah 28-24 After a Late Rally
Idaho State was down 10-0 and up by double digits and then down 24-21, and still came out of it 28-24. Three lead changes, seven turnovers between the teams, and the winner turned out to be the one with Chedon James.
Southern Utah scored first on a 3-yard Will Burns run, then added a 54-yard Jayden Rogers field goal for a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. Idaho State got going with a 2-yard Jordan Cooke pass to Kai Wheeler before the half, took its first lead on Cooke's 19-yard run early in the third, and went up by double digits after James ran one in from 4 yards. That was the margin entering the fourth.
Then Southern Utah scored twice in under five minutes. Burns ran for 23 yards and Floyd Chalk IV added a 45-yard run, which put the Thunderbirds ahead 24-21 with 9:32 left. Cooke and James answered with a 43-yard touchdown pass with 7:19 to go, and nobody scored again.
Neither side was tidy. Idaho State lost 3 fumbles and threw an interception, four giveaways, against Southern Utah's three (2 fumbles and an interception). The Bengals outgained the Thunderbirds 451 yards to 395 and picked up three sacks to Southern Utah's one.
Idaho State is 3-0 after this. Southern Utah is 1-3 and has a good case that it should be 2-2. Fantasy owners got a big game from James at 32.8, and Chalk scored 30.0 on the losing side despite coughing the ball up twice. I do not make the rules.