MOSCOW, Idaho – ULM gave itself a chance to win late but missed opportunities early proved costly in a 31-23 loss to Idaho in the Kibbie Dome.   
 
The Warhawks (3-5, 3-3) dropped their third consecutive Sun Belt contest despite 513 total yards from its offense.

Quarterback Caleb Evans completed 24-of-37 passes for 415 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Brian Williams posted his first career 100-yard receiving game, with eight receptions for 145 yards and a score.

"We had a heck of a comeback," Williams said. "We're going to always fight to the end, no matter what."

Bullied in the first half, ULM's defense settled in to allow just three points in the second half and made a pivotal fourth-down stand that helped spark the late comeback from a 21-point halftime deficit. 

"Give our kids a lot of credit for hanging in there and fighting," ULM head coach Matt Viator said. "We certainly fought hard on defense in the second half and made some plays on offense. But you can't dig yourself that big a hole, obviously."

Things looked increasingly bleak for ULM when Cade Coffey's 38-yard field goal boosted Idaho's lead to 31-7 lead with 8:46 remaining in the third. 

But then ULM's offense started to come around.

Evans beat the blitz and threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Williams with 5:19 left in the third quarter. ULM's 2-point conversion attempt was no good as the Warhawks narrowed the score to 31-13.

The defense stopped Idaho on downs late in the third quarter at the ULM 30, and the Warhawks parlayed the ensuing series into a 32-yard field goal by Craig Ford. Evans hit passes of 33 yards to Williams and 27 yards to Derrick Gore to move into scoring position. 

"Once the defense got that stop, we felt like we could go down and score," Williams said. "That was our mindset."

With Evans heating up, momentum shifted to ULM in the second half. The Warhawks needed five plays to go 80 yards and Evans connected with Gore for a 13-yard touchdown. The PAT kick by Ford cut the lead to eight at 31-23 with 5:51 left in the game. 

After another Idaho punt, ULM's offense took over again at their own 28 with 3:15 on the clock. The Warhawks moved within striking distance before facing fourth-and-goal from the Idaho 9.

Evans was flushed right before targeting Williams in the end zone. Williams caught the ball out of bounds with five seconds left and the Vandals survived.

"I knew he was coming my way," Williams said. "Unfortunately, I was out of bounds. He had to make a guy miss and was scrambling, which made the throw drift. If he could have stayed in the pocket, I feel like I could have made a play." 

Idaho (3-5, 2-2) amassed 350 yards in the first half while building a 28-7 lead. The 21-point halftime lead was the largest ever under Idaho head coach Paul Petrino.

Idaho jumped ahead 7-0 on its first offensive series, with a 26-yard pass from quarterback Matt Linehan to David Ungerer with 11:39 to play. The Vandals covered 75 yards in eight plays.

Linehan completed 28-of-42 passes for 360 yards and three scores.

Idaho picked off Evans on a tipped pass that also hit a defender's foot on ULM's opening possession and converted the turnover into points. Eight plays and 57 yards later, running back Aaron Duckworth barreled into the end zone for a 14-0 lead.

The Warhawks moved the ball fine but couldn't score consistently early in the contest.

A 10-play, 44-yard drive came up empty as Ford missed a 48-yard field-goal attempt wide left in the first quarter.

ULM came up short on a prime scoring opportunity again early in the second quarter. The Warhawks drove 95 yards in 10 plays to the Idaho 2 but turned it over on downs as the Vandals stuffed Gore on fourth-and-2.

"From an offensive standpoint, how many times can you get inside the 20 or 10 and not come away with points?" Viator said. "That's the last few weeks, and right now, that's the difference."

Meanwhile Idaho's offense could do no wrong. Linebacker Kaden Elliss came on at tight end for the Vandals, made an athletic leaping catch and ran it in for a 46-yard touchdown that upped the lead to 21-0.  

The Warhawks finally cracked the end zone as Evans tossed a 54-yard touchdown pass to D'Marius Gillespie, who caught the rainbow in one-on-one coverage around the 7 and eluded the defender for his first score of the year. With 5:36 remaining in the half, ULM trailed 21-7.

A defensive stand highlighted by a Sam Miller sack gave ULM's offense a shot to close out the first half on a positive note. Instead, ULM stalled and punted to give Idaho another try.

Taking over with 40 seconds showing, Linehan directed a four-play, 54-yard drive and tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Alfonso Onunwar to go up 28-7.

"We've got to figure out a way to get it in on offense," Viator said at halftime. "They really haven't stopped us yet. We only have one punt. We're kind of stopping ourselves."
 
Tyler returns: ULM nose tackle Tyler Johnson was a welcome returnee for the defense. A high ankle sprain kept Johnson out the past four games.

Johnson showed up big late in the third quarter, as he helped stuff Idaho on a fourth-and-1 run at the ULM 29. He finished with three tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.

Postgame chatter: "We had a couple of shots there. It's unfortunate that we had the motion penalty. It kind of got loud there for a second for the first time really. But we'll try to build from here. We just have to start better" – ULM coach Matt Viator on the comeback.

"I'm just going to keep working hard and learn from this. Get back to work Monday and get ready for Appalachian State." - ULM receiver Brian Williams on his career-best performance.

Enemy lines: This was the final meeting with Idaho as a Sun Belt member. The Vandals are dropping from the Football Bowl Subdivision level to the Football Championship Subdivision. The Vandals will become the first school to make the drop.

With the win, the Vandals now lead the series with ULM 6-3, including a 3-1 record in the Kibbie Dome.

Up next: ULM returns to Malone Stadium on Nov. 4 to face Appalachian State. Kickoff is 2 p.m.
UMass surprised the Mountaineers, 30-27, on Saturday in overtime.

Tail feathers: Evans topped 300 passing yards for the third time this season. … ULM game captains were Mason Husmann, Luke Hutchinson, Josh Pederson and Austin Vaughn. … The Warhawks wore all maroon uniforms with maroon facemasks.