BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — New Idaho quarterback Dominique Blackman was solid in his debut, but sacks and penalties were more than the Vandals could overcome in a 21-13 loss at Bowling Green on Saturday night.

“We fought and we played hard,” coach Robb Akey said. “We need to fight and play hard and win.”

Blackman, who was suspended for the season-opening loss against Eastern Washington, completed 30-of-37 passes for 352 yards and one TD. He was intercepted once and sacked four times.

“Anything that happened is my fault,” said Blackman, who completed his first FBS touchdown in the fourth quarter when he found Marquan Major for 16 yards. “I shoulder everything.”

Bowling Green (1-1) opened a 7-0 lead behind a 4-yard run from Anthony Samuel, but two Trey Farquhar field goals (20 and 22 yards) helped Idaho close the gap to 7-6 at halftime.

Samuel scored again in the third quarter, this time from 29 yards out, extending the lead to 14-6.

Matt Schilz’s 15-yard TD pass to Je’Ron Stokes on Bowling Green’s next possession gave the Falcons the lead for good. The junior quarterback finished with 283 yards on 24-of-35 passing while Samuel, last year’s MAC freshman of the year, finished with 67 yards on 14 carries.

Bowling Green’s Shaun Joplin led all receivers with 117 yards on seven catches.

Idaho had two turnovers and 10 penalties for 83 yards.

“We need to play a little bit cleaner; we need to protect our quarterback,” Akey said.

The Vandals finished with 6 rushing yards on 20 carries, led by Ryan Bass (14 yards).