Oct. 16—MOSCOW, Idaho — The renewal of the Little Brown Stein rivalry between Montana and Idaho is important to the Grizzlies, sitting atop the Big Sky Conference standings at 5-2, 3-1 BSC, with Weber State, Cal Poly and Northern Arizona but coming off a 49-44 loss to the Lumberjacks.
However, the game is absolutely vital to the Vandals (1-5, 1-2 BSC) whose fading hopes of salvaging the season utterly depend upon them coming home from Missoula with a victory and the stein.
"We need to get that thing back here," Idaho coach Thomas Ford Jr. said of the trophy that has been the rivalry prize since 1938 but was last in Moscow in 2022 when former coach Jason Eck paraded it around Moscow and gave everyone on the UI campus an opportunity to get their picture taken with it.
Basking in the glow of a rivalry win would no doubt be fun again. But if the Vandals don't win, any hopes they harbor of making the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs will be dashed, and the remainder of the season will be relegated to simply finishing at .500.
With so much at stake for Idaho, here are three things to watch.
1. Two productive quarterbacks will face off: Idaho's Joshua Wood leads the league in passing at 1,703 total yards with 9 touchdowns, averaging 283.8 yards per game, and he is the total offense leader, averaging 327.7 ypg.
Keali'l Ah Yat is right on his heels. Ah Yat, the son of Grizzly Hall of Fame quarterback Brian Ah Yat, has thrown for 277.4 ypg with 17 touchdowns. He is fourth overall in the Big Sky in total offense, averaging 284.9 ypg. Ah Yat's favorite target is league-leading Davis Brooks with 56 receptions for 810 yards and 6 touchdowns. "He's phenomenal," says Ford.
Wood has had most success throwing to Tony Harste, fourth overall in the league with 30 catches for 546 yards and 5 touchdowns.
2. Idaho's defense versus Eli Gilman: The Montana running back has 877 yards on the ground, an average of 7 yards per rush, with 13 touchdowns. Ford calls him the best FCS running back in the country. Gilman is a blend of strength, elusiveness and top end speed. A Vandals defense that is improving but has still been inconsistent about keeping opponents from getting to the perimeter and turning the corner on them will be charged with keeping Gilman in the middle of the field where linebackers and safeties can handle him. If Idaho can manage that, it will probably be in the game all the way against Montana. If it falls short, Gilman's average per rush could take a big jump.
3. The Idaho comeback factor: Vandals rallies against Lamar and Abeline Christian fell short but made second halves compelling, and, of course, Idaho came through in the biggest way possible, rallying from down 14 points to defeat top-ranked and defending national champion Montana State and ending the Bobcats' 19-game winning streak, 35-34, with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Wood to Ryan Jezioro with one second remaining, and a two-point conversion. But coming off that epic victory, in its most recent game Idaho fell against Weber State, 38-27. Wood to Jezioro got the Vandals within 3 points, 24-21, midway through the fourth quarter. But Idaho could get no closer, and a Vandals' touchdown with 15 seconds remaining had no impact on the outcome.
"We did not finish at a level we are capable of," Ford said.
If that Idaho team shows up in Missoula, the Grizzlies may have to hold their collective breath until the end before securing a win. But if the team that upset Montana State is on the field late in the fourth quarter, look out.