MOSCOW — Eric Soza had three touchdowns, passed for 232 yards and helped UTSA hold off a 24-point surge in the second half to beat the Idaho Vandals 34-27 on Saturday.
The Roadrunners (7-4, 2-3 WAC) built a 20-3 lead by halftime. Soza had a 9-yard run for his first touchdown, and David Glasco capped a nine play, 84-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown. UTSA added two field goals to give the Roadrunners the lead at the half.
Idaho (1-10, 1-4) came out in the third quarter and quickly erased the deficit. Quarterback Taylor Davis, who sat most of the first half, started the third quarter and found Mike Scott for a 10-yard touchdown pass at the 7:24 mark. Later, with just three minutes remaining, Davis hit Najee Lovett in the corner of the end zone to bring Idaho to within three, 20-17.
The Vandals had an opportunity to take the lead with 12:24 left in the fourth quarter but dropped a wide open pass in the end zone. The Vandals settled for a field goal by Trey Farquhar to tie the game at 20-20.
Idaho committed a series of penalties in the fourth quarter, which seemed to take the wind out of its sails. Idaho would end the game with 12 penalties for 100 yards.
“It’s not rocket science,” Idaho interim coach Jason Gesser said. “We gave them every opportunity and they took advantage of it. We had 12 penalties. We had three fumbles — two of them lost. Another pick. Missed assignments on defense; missed tackles.
“We talked all week long about we can beat ourselves — and we did. UTSA is a great team, a great program.”
Souza ran in two TDs in the fourth quarter to seal the win for UTSA.
Scott added one more touchdown, with five minutes remaining, but time wasn’t in Idaho’s favor.
WEBER ST. 40, IDAHO ST. 14
POCATELLO — C.J. Tuckett rushed for a school-record 289 yards and two TDs as Weber State beat Idaho State in its season finale. Tuckett scored on runs of 4 and 19 yards for the Wildcats (2-9, 2-6 Big Sky).
Mike Hoke passed for 108 yards and a TD, a 7-yard pass to Jordan Clemente, for Weber State.
Rodrick Rumble caught eight passes for 171 yards and two third-quarter TDs for the Bengals (1-10, 0-8 Big Sky). Rumble’s 81-yard TD catch of a Kevin Yost pass was ISU’s longest offensive play since 2007. He also had a 33-yard scoring reception.
Rodrick became the top receiver in Idaho State history. He finished his career with 223 receptions, passing Eddie Thompson’s 219 receptions from 2005-08.
