It was Idaho's third season back in Division I-A; the Vandals had been in Division I-AA from 1978 through 1995 and were frequently in its postseason. Six weeks earlier, Idaho had defeated rivalBoise State on this field by one point, scoring a two-point conversion in overtime to gain their only Big West title.[12][13] Southern Miss was 5–1 in Conference USA, runner-up to undefeated Tulane; it was their tenth bowl game.
Clear skies and a high temperature of 50 °F (10 °C) greeted the teams on this Wednesday afternoon; kickoff was at one o'clock MST and the game was carried by ESPN2. Former Green Bay Packers guard Jerry Kramer, a Vandal from the 1950s, participated in the coin toss.
Idaho fumbled twice early and Southern Miss opened the scoring on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Lee Roberts to Sharrod Gideon. Idaho's Jerome Thomas took the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown tying the game at seven. USM's Derrick Nix scored touchdown runs of 8 and 1 yards as Southern Miss took a 21–7 lead with ten minutes remaining in the half. Idaho answered with three touchdown passes from redshirt freshman quarterback John Welsh and the Vandals surged to a 28–21 halftime lead.[1][8]
With three minutes remaining in the third quarter, running back Joel Thomas's 1-yard touchdown run gave Idaho a 14-point lead at 35–21. In the fourth quarter, Southern Miss got an 8-yard touchdown pass from Gideon to Roberts, then Derrick Nix's 15-yard touchdown run tied the game at 35 with under three seven minutes remaining. The Vandals scored the final points on Welsh's fourth touchdown pass, a 28-yarder to Ryan Prestimonico to win 42–35.[1][7]
A sack and fumble recovery sealed the victory. With under two minutes left and a first down on Southern Miss's 19-yard line, Idaho head coach Chris Tormey directed his offense to run out the clock, rather than try to run up the score in a show of sportsmanship.
