Many strange and, for Idaho, just enough fortunate things happened in a 34-29 win against Cal Poly with a degree of difficulty that was off the charts. But the Vandals’ season may have been saved in the third quarter.

One week after UC Davis blew out Cal Poly on the road, the Mustangs took a 14-6 lead into halftime against No.13/14-ranked Idaho. But the momentary advantage didn’t last long, as the Mustangs gave up the advantage under a barrage of Idaho scoring and fell 34-29.

Late in the first half, with the Vandals (5-3, 2-2 Big Sky) trailing 14-6 and with the ball on their own 15, Eck, knowing Idaho would get the ball first in the third quarter, opted to run out the clock instead of trying to push the ball downfield.