Joshua Wood threw a touchdown pass covering 25 yards to Ryan Jezioro on the final play, then ran in the 2-point conversion as Idaho shocked defending FCS national champion Montana State 35-34 in Moscow, Idaho. The result ended the No. 1 Bobcats’ 19-game winning streak.
Wood directed the Vandals (1-4, 1-1 Big Sky) through five plays in 49 seconds, moving the offense 80 yards. The dramatic closing drive delivered Idaho’s first win over a No. 1 team.
On what appeared to be the last play, Wood scrambled before completing a pass covering 23 yards to Noah West-Baranco. The receiver was tackled at the Montana State 25 as the stadium clock reached zeroes.
Officials ruled that 1 second remained when West-Baranco’s knee touched the ground. Because the play resulted in a first down, the clock stopped so the chains could be set.
Idaho hurried toward the line in an attempt to snap the ball for one final play. Montana State coach Brent Vigen called timeout before the Vandals could do so. It would come back to bite him and the Bobcats.
“Well, they said they looked at it,” Vigen said of the clock management by the officials. “It’s one of those situations where you call a timeout or you don’t call a timeout. Ultimately, they made the play. I hope there was a second left.”
Following the timeout, Wood connected with Jezioro in the end zone and reduced Montana State’s advantage to 34-33. Idaho coach Thomas Ford Jr. immediately chose to attempt the 2-point conversion for the win.
Wood kept the ball and ran up the middle, completing the victory and ending Montana State’s streak. The Bobcats entered the game as the top ranked team and defending FCS national champion.
“Excited, proud — all of those things would be absolute understatements,” Ford told reporters after the game. “We knew we had a really talented football team. We knew we had guys that could make plays, and we knew that we matched up really well with this team.”
“Like I told the guys the last two weeks: ‘When we beat this team, everyone in the country will be surprised.’ But not one single person in that room will be surprised. And that was the case.”
Montana State fell to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Big Sky play. On the Bobcats’ previous trip to the Kibbie Dome in 2023, Montana State was ranked second and lost to Idaho 24-21.
“Certainly, give Idaho credit,” Vigen said. “We knew they weren’t going to quit. We left a lot of things out there today.”
Wood completed 19 of 25 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns. He also recorded 41 yards and a touchdown on 15 rushing attempts, while Jezioro scored twice and caught six passes for 147 yards.
The two combined on Idaho’s first offensive play, when Wood fired a scoring pass covering 75 yards to Jezioro for a 7-3 lead. Patrick Duchien answered with a touchdown pass covering 20 yards to Carter Dahlke, giving Montana State a 10-7 advantage after one quarter.
Owen Forsman made two field goals to put Idaho back in front. Jared White responded with a touchdown run covering 32 yards, moving Montana State ahead 17-13.
Damonte Bias scored for Idaho on a run covering 15 yards with 2:22 left in the first half. Duchien then completed seven consecutive passes, finishing the sequence with a touchdown pass covering 15 yards to Dane Steel and a 24-20 halftime lead.
The first half featured six lead changes before Montana State took its four point advantage into the break. Myles Sansted made a field goal from 26 yards in the third quarter.
Duchien scored on a keeper from 2 yards early in the fourth quarter, giving Montana State a 34-20 advantage. Wood answered with a touchdown run from 1 yard with 9:54 remaining to bring Idaho within one score.
Duchien finished with 249 yards on 23-for-32 passing and added 92 yards on 14 carries. He had two touchdown passes and a scoring run for Montana State.