LOGAN, Utah (AP)—Travis Cox threw two touchdown passes Saturday to lead Utah State to a 14-7 win over Idaho.
Cox, who threw two interceptions in the first half, was 20-for-31 with 214 yards and two touchdowns.
His 5-yard touchdown pass to Tony Pennyman and successful two-point conversion with 6:17 left in the third quarter gave the Aggies (1-1, 1-0 Sun Belt) a 14-7 lead.
The Aggies turned back a late Idaho challenge after the Vandals had driven to the Aggies’ 7-yard line.
But a false start penalty by Idaho moved the ball back to the 12. On fourth down, Utah State linebacker Jared Johnstun stripped the ball away from Idaho quarterback Michael Harrington, and Aggies took over on their own 30 with 1:15 remaining.
Idaho’s defense forced five turnovers, but the Vandals’ offense was only able to capitalize once after a Cox fumble in the second quarter.
Michael Harrington led the Vandals (0-2, 0-1) on a 56-yard, eight-play drive capped by his 12-yard touchdown pass to Wendell Octave that gave Idaho a 7-6 halftime lead.
Harrington completed 17 of his 23 pass attempts for 101 yards and an interception. The Vandals finished with 235 yards of total offense, including 94 yards rushing from Jayson Bird. Utah State was limited to 223 yards of total offense.
Cox gave the Aggies a 6-0 lead with 3:13 left in the first quarter when he teamed up with Kevin Robinson for a 24-yard touchdown pass. Robinson caught five passes for 106 yards, but fumbled once on Idaho’s 1-yard line to stop another potential scoring drive.
Head to Head - Week 3
| Team | Total Yds | Pass Yds | Rush Yds | First Downs | 3rdD% | Pen./Yds | Turnovers | Time of Poss. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho | 234 | 101 | 133 | 16 | 40.0% | 7/102 | 2 | 36:57 |
| Utah State | 271 | 214 | 57 | 12 | 50.0% | 3/35 | 5 | 23:03 |