Time for Round 2

Idaho coach Jason Eck makes no bones about it. His Vandals got whipped by the top-ranked Montana State Bobcats on Oct. 12.

“It’s good to be playing a game,” Eck said at his weekly press conference, ahead of Idaho’s Friday night rematch with the Bobcats. “Proud of this team, to get back to the quarterfinals after a lot of adversity. Probably one of the biggest bits of adversity was getting this butt-whipping by Montana State the last time we played them.” 

The final in October was 38-7, and the Cats led 38-0 until very late. Now comes the rematch, back in the same place as Game 1: Bobcat Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. It will be televised by ESPN. 

“Things did snowball on us,” Eck said. “I do think trying to find immediate success is important. You look at the game last year, when we beat them (24-21) we got up 10-nothing. This game we got down pretty soon in the game, 14-nothing. 

“We don’t want to play from behind. We were tempo, no-huddle and two-minute drill for much of the second half and that’s not how we play.” 

Eck went onto to praise Big Sky offensive player of the year Tommy Mellott (“He got my vote”) while calling Scottre Humphrey and MSU’s offensive line the best at their positions. 

Meanwhile Idaho is 10-3, after falling to 4-3 with the loss to the Bobcats. 

“I think we’ve gotten a lot better,” he said. “The disappointing thing is when you flip the field, they’ve gotten a lot better.” 

Key Matchup

Montana State is 13-0 and coach Brent Vigen tends to agree with Eck’s assessment of his offensive line. 

“I think in our 13 games they have been very consistent,” Vigen said. “On the flip side, I get why (the Vandals) would say their D-line would be one of their top units. It’s talented, it’s deep, they’ve done a good job generally against the run. (Keyshawn) James-Newby and Malakai Williams are in particular two of the best D-linemen in our league.” 

James-Newby, the Helena High product and Montana Tech transfer, leads the Big Sky Conference with 10.5 sacks. Williams is tied for sixth with 6.5. 

The two combined for nine tackles — James-Newby had one tackle for loss — on Oct. 12, while the Bobcats rolled up 360 rushing yards. 

For the record, Big Sky defensive player of the year Brody Grebe of MSU has 7.5 sacks. He’ll be chasing around quarterback Jack Layne, who did not play in the first meeting because of injury. 

Doubling Up

Montana State has one previous playoff rematch, and it is recent: In 2022 the Bobcats beat Weber State 43-38 in the regular season, then defeated the Wildcats again 33-25 in a second-round game. 

The regular season game was notable for a) Weber State taking a punt and kickoff return for touchdowns and b) MSU scoring four safeties via jailbreak punt snaps. 

Idaho last doubled up on a conference rival in 1988, beating the Montana Grizzlies in Moscow 38-19 after UM had won the first meeting in Missoula, 29-17. 

Idaho also doubled up in 1987, winning 41-38 at Weber State in the regular season, then losing a home playoff game to the Wildcats 59-30. In 1986 they lost twice at Nevada: 23-17 in the regular season and 27-7 in the playoffs. 

In 1982 the Vandals lost 40-16 at Montana in Big Sky play, then beat the Griz 21-7 in Moscow in the playoffs. 

QUICK KICKS: Idaho is seeking a third FCS semifinal appearance. The Vandals lost in the semis in 1988 and 1993, to Furman and Youngstown State. ... Montana State last made the semifinals in 2022, a loss to eventual national champion South Dakota State. ... The Cats beat SDSU 31-17 in the 2021 semifinals. ... Idaho QB Layne’s efficiency rating of 173.74 would rank fourth in the FCS if he had enough attempts. ... Mellott leads the FCS at 183.94.