After loaning it to the University of Montana for 23 years, Idaho has finally brought the Little Brown Stein back home.
The offensive prowess of redshirt freshman quarterback Gevani McCoy was one of the main reasons the Vandals were able to get the 30-23 win in Missoula.
Idaho received the ball at their own six-yard line to start the game, and they weren’t able to do much. The drive stalled on fourth-and-six just 16 yards down the field, forcing junior punter Ricardo Chavez to kick the ball away.
The first drive for Montana was even worse as senior linebacker Fa’avae Fa’avae lit up redshirt sophomore wide receiver Keelan White for a four-yard loss that caused a three-and-out, forcing the Griz to punt
On the next drive, Idaho chewed clock and marched down the field. There were only two plays that resulted in a double-digit gain, the first being a 21-yard pass to redshirt sophomore WR Hayden Hatten and the second being a 27-yard pass to redshirt junior WR Jermaine Jackson. After Jackson’s catch, Montana stalled Idaho, sacking McCoy for a 13-yard loss. Chavez came back out on the field, this time for a field goal attempt, and he made it from 47 yards to put Idaho up 3-0.
With only 3:19 remaining in the first quarter, Montana got to work. The Montana run game has been solid all year, and it showed on this drive. The Grizz ran for 30 of their 34 total rushing yards, 25 of which came when redshirt senior WR Malik Flowers broke away on the second play. With 19 yards to go, Johnson aired it out to the back of the endzone where sophomore wide receiver Junior Bergen made one of the best touchdown receptions in any college football game played Saturday. Although Montana got a touchdown, they were unable to convert the point-after attempt as sophomore defensive back Tommy McCormick blocked it.
Idaho had a couple big plays on the next drive with Jackson getting a 19-yard reception and Hayden Hatten racking a catch for 23 yards, but the UM defense shut down Idaho at the Montana 36-yard line. Chavez came out to attempt the field goal from 53 yards to try and tie both the game, and his second longest career field goal. The ball looked as though it had the range, but it went just left to give Chavez his first miss of the season.
The next three drives resulted in punts and punt attempts. After an eight-yard sack from redshirt junior linebacker, Montana went to punt on fourth-and-18 from their own 19-yard line. The snap went over the head of freshman kicker Patrick Rohrback and he recovered it, but junior LB Hogan Hatten came screaming in for the safety to make it 6-5 with 6:15 remaining in the half.
Idaho got the ball back after the safety and looked to regain the lead. McCoy hit Hayden Hatten for 15 yards to start the drive, but after a five-yard rush by sophomore running back Elisha Cummings, McCoy threw his first interception since the Washington State game.
After redshirt senior LB Patrick O’Connell returned the interception to the Idaho 15-yard line, Johnson didn’t have much work to do. He used his arm to gain 12 yards and then capped off the drive with a one-yard keeper for the touchdown to put Montana up 13-5.
The Vandals only had 1:48 to try get some points on the board before halftime. McCoy continued to utilize his arm as he connected with Jackson for 16 yards, senior tight end Connor Whitney for 12 yards and Hayden Hatten for 33 total yards, including the 24-yard touchdown. Head coach Jason Eck decided to send Chavez out instead of going for two, making it 13-12 going into halftime.
“Everyone told me ‘We want to have the ball to start the second half,’” Eck said. “(An onside kick) was the only way to get it after they won the toss.”
Montana looked as though they had the ball in the pile, but Idaho was able to get in there and secure it first to start the second quarter with the ball.
The Vandals started with great field position as they grabbed the ball on their own 47-yard line. They were able to get 30 yards down the field before Montana’s leading tackler, redshirt senior safety Robby Hauck, got the stop on third-and-three to bring Chavez back out. He sent the ball through the uprights and Idaho regained the lead with 10:22 remaining in the third quarter.
Three more punts would happen before another score went on the board.
“Before that drive, coach (Matt) Linehan actually came up to me and was like ‘how do you feel about this play?’” Hayden Hatten said. “I love it.”
On the first play, with 2:02 remaining in the third quarter, McCoy aired it down field. Approximately 40 yards away was Hayden Hatten ready to take it into the endzone. He got it past the goal line and Chavez hit the PAT to make it 22-13.
After Bergen’s “immaculate catch” in the back of the endzone, Montana wanted to get a highlight play on the ground. Flowers took the punt return 44 yards to cement himself as the best returner in UM history (he finished the game with 2,170 career return yards, 41 more than the previous record). Despite the great return, the Griz were only able to add three points off a 24-yard field goal to end the quarter.
The Vandals received the ball to start the fourth, and with only a six-point lead in hand, they started to chew clock. They were able to take 7:23 off the clock before having to punt.
Bergen decided to put another highlight on his résumé as he also had a 40-yard return. Although Bergen was able to give Montana good field position, it didn’t matter as Johnson threw the ball directly to redshirt junior LB Paul Moala. However, Idaho was unable to capitalize and had to punt after a three-and-out.
Johnson came back on the field for one play before “turnover” Tommy McCormick grabbed his third interception of the season. He returned it 29 yards to put the Vandals two yards away from the endzone. Senior RB Roshaun Johnson drove the ball in, and McCoy rushed for the two-point conversion to make it 30-16 with 2:14 to go.
Montana was able to get 75 yards down the field for the touchdown and PAT to make it a one-score game. They went for the onside kick, and the ball did almost exactly what it was supposed to. It bounced off the ground and went 10 yards, but it ended up in the hands of Hayden Hatten, giving Idaho the 30-23 win and, for the first time since 1999, the Little Brown Stein.
The win landed Idaho on number 24 in the FCS rankings and gave a couple offensive players individual awards. McCoy went 21/27 for 286 yards and two touchdowns to receive Big Sky Co-offensive Player of the Week. Hatten’s 149 yards and two touchdowns on nine receptions made him the FCS Offensive Player of the Week.
The Vandals will return home to play Portland State at noon on Oct. 22 in their “Blackout the Dome” game
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jamesaldrich25