No. 16 Montana Grizzlies battle No. 3 Idaho for Little Brown Stein
BIG SKY FOOTBALL
MISSOULA — Montana will look to make its biggest statement of the season in front of a full house and on national television this weekend.
The No. 16 Grizzlies will play their second consecutive ranked showdown when they take on the No. 3 Idaho Vandals at 8:30 p.m. MT Saturday at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho. Both teams enter with a 5-1 record, while UM is 2-1 in Big Sky play and Idaho is 3-0.
The Griz are looking to earn their second straight road victory against a ranked team. They beat then-No. 20 UC Davis last week, their first road win over a ranked FCS team since 2019.
They'll shoot for their first win over a top-3 ranked team since Nov. 20, 2021, at home against Montana State. Their last road win over a top-3 ranked team was Sept. 10, 2016, at No. 3 Northern Iowa.
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"This is always an exciting week to go play our second-oldest rival," Montana coach Bobby Hauck said. "I know a lot of old Grizzlies really care deeply about this game. I think both teams will probably be excited to play each other this weekend.
"I think our team's improving as we need to. We played pretty well in stretches over the last month-plus. I think our guys give Montana great effort, great focus every week. We'll need that this Saturday."
UM had beaten Idaho seven consecutive times in the Battle for the Little Brown Stein before suffering a 30-23 upset loss in Missoula last year under coach Jason Eck, who was in his first year leading the Vandals. The 89th rendition of the matchup now moves to the Gem State.
This is just the second home game for Idaho, which has played five of its first six games on the road. The Vandals have won a game against Nevada of the Mountain West, lost to Cal of the Pac-12 and earned wins over ranked FCS teams Sacramento State and Eastern Washington.
This is the third consecutive week Montana is playing in a homecoming game. The Griz hosted Idaho State for their own homecoming and then played at UC Davis last week in the Aggies' homecoming.
The Vandals have sold out the 16,000-seat stadium, the school announced Thursday. It's their first sellout since Nov. 12, 2010, according to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.
"I feel like it's going to be a good game because some of us from last year still got that bitter taste in our mouth just from what happened last year," Montana wide receiver Aaron Fontes said. "We're going to take this week strong and just try to exceed every day."
Montana linebacker Ryan Tirrell added: "I remember just having a sour taste in our mouths after the game last year. That wasn't a fun game to lose. We need to control the game just as they did last year."
Here are five things to watch in the game, which will be televised on ESPN 2, streamed on Watch ESPN and broadcast on the Grizzly Sports Radio Network.
Start fast, stay consistent
UM appeared to find its offense last week, scoring 21 points in the first half but just 10 after halftime. Another strong start would be ideal because Idaho has scored first in all six games. The Griz don't want to get behind by multiple scores. That might change how they feel they have to call their offense, especially as the game goes on if UI again tries to limit possessions.
The Griz will face a tougher test against the No. 1 pass defense in the Big Sky. Idaho is holding teams to 167.2 pass yards per game and a 52.7% completion percentage. The Vandals' rush defense is good too, ranking fifth in the league with 130.5 yards allowed per game. However, Eastern Washington ran for 226 yards, with the Eagles' quarterback running for 121 yards.
Another key to success will be winning on third downs. Quarterback Clifton McDowell was 8-of14 passing for 124 yards on third downs last week. He also ran for 20 yards to convert a third-and-17 and took just one sack on the money down. The Griz finished 9-of-19 on third downs, their most third-down conversions this year and their highest conversion rate (47.4%).
"A good balance in terms of play call and production are good. I think you're really hard to stop when you're doing that," Hauck said. "The ability to move the chains in third down, we were high percentage in third down last weekend, that helped things obviously. Any time you can get a new set of downs and keep rolling, I think that's kind of how we have to do things. I think that's our way right now."
Great coverage, solid tackling
Idaho has arguably the best wide receiver trio in the Big Sky. Hayden Hatten is tied for the league lead with 430 yards, Jermaine Jackson is ninth at 300 yards and Terez Traynor is 17th with 215 yards. The Griz could affect accurate QB Gevani McCoy by getting pressure. Their pass defense ranks 11th out of 12 conference teams, allowing 262.8 yards per game.
"He's got a good pocket presence," Hauck said of McCoy, "He's accurate with the football. Just he's really developing into a fine player."
He added: "I think they have three really good receivers, guys that are really hard to cover."
The Griz have the top rush defense at 88.3 yards given up per game. They can't afford to miss tackles against running back Anthony Woods, who leads the league in rush yards (662), rush touchdowns (10) and rush attempts (99). His 110.3 rush yards per game rank second. The Griz held him to a career-low 31 yards on 12 carries last year.
Woods has a capable backup in Nick Romano, who has run for 311 yards. McCoy has 171 rush yards, the fifth most among league quarterbacks.
"They're physical runners, that comes off on the film," Hauck said. "They want to run the ball. They have great wide receivers, but they want to run the ball and those backs are good at it."
The Vandals have five offensive touchdowns of 45 or more yards, four on passes and one on a rush. If the Griz can prevent those long scores, buckling down in the red zone will be key. UM leads the Big Sky in red zone defense, giving up scores on just 68.8% of trips. Idaho is tops in red zone offense at 92.9%.
Win field-position battle
Montana and Idaho have two of the best special teams returners in the Big Sky. UM's Junior Bergen leads the league by averaging 18.6 yards per punt return and has returned one punt for a 47-yard touchdown. Jermaine Jackson is sixth at 8 yards per punt return. He's had success in the kick return game too, ranking fourth at 25.8 yards per return on a league-high 13 returns.
UM dominated the special teams phase last week at UC Davis after having virtually no return chances the previous two weeks. On the other side, the Griz have downed two punts at the 1-yard line this year, helping punter Travis Benham rank second in the Big Sky with nine punts placed inside the 20. The coverage team has helped him lead the league with 15 fair catches.
"When you can control the field position game, which we did in a wildly slanted fashion to our favor last weekend, that helps," Hauck said. "The guys in that area of the game are playing really hard and really well. When you have to go shorter fields and they have to go longer fields, that certainly helps the cause."
Value possessions
Idaho dominated the time of possession in last year's game, holding the ball for 42 minutes and eight seconds. That left Montana with the 56 snaps in 17:52. The Vandals are playing a similar way this year, leading the Big Sky in time of possession. They're holding onto the ball for 33:43, over a minute more than second-place Northern Arizona. Montana is sixth at 30:29.
The Griz must cash in when they're in the red zone. They lost two fumbles last week inside the 15-yard line, taking 14 potential points off the board. The loss of those points didn't end up costing UM the game against UC Davis, but they certainly could against Idaho. The Griz are 10th in red zone offense (72.7%), while the Vandals are ninth in red zone defense (86.7%).
The Griz managed a season-high 15 possessions last week. They've had 14 drives once, 13 twice and 11 twice. The Vandals allowed their opponent 14 drives last week but have also limited teams to 11 twice, 10 twice and nine once.
Force turnovers
Idaho has fumbled the ball 14 times, meaning it has put the ball on the ground an average of 2.3 times per game. However, the Vandals have lost just six of those fumbles as they've been able to get back on the ball. The Griz have forced five fumbles and recovered four of them. Montana leads the Big Sky and ranks fifth in the FCS with 13 turnovers gained this season.
Idaho has coughed up 10 total turnovers, which ranks seventh in the conference and 85th in the country. McCoy has been picked off four times, compared to eight touchdown passes, while completing 62.3% of his 146 pass attempts. The Grizzlies' nine interceptions lead the nation. The Vandals have a turnover margin of negative-two, while Montana is plus-five.
Frank Gogola is the Senior Sports Reporter at the Missoulian. Follow him on Twitter/X @FrankGogola or email him at frank. .
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