The University of St. Thomas football team fell to No. 10 Idaho 37-30 Saturday afternoon at the Kibbie Dome.
Despite the outcome, graduate quarterback Andy Peters threw for 264 yards, second most in the Division I era, and three touchdowns. Peters also took off for 94 yards rushing
“I’m so widely proud of (the players) and their effort. They fought,” coach Glenn Caruso told ESPN Radio. “To go into a top (program), to go to their stadium, which is probably one of the most raucous FCS environments, and have a chance at the end to win that is phenomenal.”
Peters went down late in the fourth quarter and exited with trainers. But the signal caller returned with 2:12 left to play. His level of play remained unchanged.
Peters connected with senior tight end Patrick Wagner to cap an 11-play, 74-yard drive with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter. St. Thomas attempted an onside kick but failed to recover.
The Tommies offense combined for 472 yards against an Idaho team that allowed 211 yards to FBS Washington State and limited the Cougar’s rushing attack to three yards. Graduate running back Patrick Bowen Jr. showed-off a bruising run in the fourth quarter, snaking through the Idaho defense for a 38-yard touchdown.
Ultimately, St. Thomas couldn’t move the chains on third down, going 3-for-10 in third down conversions.
“We got ourselves into third-and-eights, nines and 10’s more than I wanted to, whereas last week we were in more third-and-fours, fives and sixes,” Caruso said. “We did a good job in the run game, we need to be able to do that same thing in the protection game, though.”
St. Thomas’ ripped a page off the Philadelphia Eagles’ playbook. The “Tush Push” is a play used in short-yardage situations. The quarterback pushes behind his offensive line and picks up a couple of yards for a first down or a touchdown.
With Peters under center, the Tommies used the “Tush Push” formation three times. They picked up the first down once on three tries, including an alternate design run in which Peters handed the football to Bowen but failed to convert on fourth down.
St. Thomas barreled through the first quarter. Graduate defensive back Nick Hand intercepted Idaho sophomore quarterback Joshua Wood in the first play after kickoff.
With 0:57 left in the first quarter, Peters put the Tommies up 7-3 after a 17-yard strike to sophomore receiver Quentin Cobb-Butler.
After a rushing touchdown by Idaho redshirt first-year quarterback Rocco Koch, Peters came back with a 27-yard touchdown to sophomore tight end Mariano Birdno to make it a three-point game.
But St. Thomas struggled to stop Wood’s two-away attack. Wood torched the Tommies with four touchdowns. He went 20-of-25 passing with 281 yards and 96 rushing yards.
The Tommies were banged up on defense. Hand left the game in the second half, and starting senior cornerbacks Den Juette and Joseph Obeto did not play in Saturday’s game.
Caruso said injuries have piled up in recent weeks, and that the team was “stressed out personnel wise.”
The Tommies committed one turnover, but it was costly. Seconds shy of the two-minute warning, Peters scrambled through the middle but fumbled, giving away possession on their half.
With 0:16 left in the second quarter, Wood launched a 21-yard touchdown to sophomore receiver Tony Harste and pulled the Vandals up 10 points heading into halftime.
After a botched Idaho punt and a Tommie field goal in the third quarter, St. Thomas was down 23-16. Both teams scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but the Idaho attack iced the game with explosive plays against a depleted St. Thomas secondary.
After the game, Caruso pointed out the prestige of an Idaho football program that played in the FBS until 2016. The Tommies have matched with several top FCS programs, but Caruso said “this is a whole different level” when referring to Idaho.
“This is a top-five team that’s preparing … for a deep playoff run. Their talent level is extremely high, they’re huge, they’re fast, their big guys are athletic,” Caruso.
Caruso also anticipated that many in-conference games will be against first-year coaches like Idaho’s Thomas Ford Jr., and that the process to adapt to new schemes will be similar.
“In the eight games we play in-league, five of them have brand new coaches and every coordinator is new, so it’s just the way it is,” Caruso said.
The Tommies are set to face D-II Northern Michigan Sept. 13 at Superior Dome in Marquette, Mich. Kickoff is at noon.
Juan Del Valle can be reached at delv9625@stthomas.edu.
