For the first time ever, #2 Montana State and #9/8 Idaho are both ranked going into a head-to-head matchup. The Bobcats come in at 6-1 (4-0) with their only loss coming against #1 South Dakota State.
On the opposite sideline, this game means a lot for the Vandals. Idaho failed to comeback against Montana, who is now ranked #7/5. A win over MSU would put the Vandals back into the conversation for a Big Sky Championship. A loss could mean a playoff seed outside of the top eight.
The biggest challenge for Idaho will be MSU’s two-quarterback system. Junior QB Tommy Mellott will likely be the starter for the Bobcats. He went down with an injury in week two against SDSU but returned two weeks ago against Cal Poly. However, his comeback game was really against Sacramento State last week.
Mellott threw for 99 yards, completing 9/14 passes, but his biggest additions were on the ground. He rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns in the Bobcats, 42-30 victory. During Mellott’s absence, senior QB Sean Chambers really stepped up.
Chambers has played in every game this season, totaling 733 yards on 44 completions. He’s also second in the Big Sky Conference in rushing yards with 521 yards on 62 attempts. His 11 rushing touchdowns are tied for first.
“Their quarterbacks are tremendous, both of them are very good runners and throwers,” Head Coach Jason Eck said during a press conference. “One of the keys is trying to hold those guys in check.”
The one person ahead of Chambers in rushing yards is sophomore running back Anthony Woods. He’s put up 703 yards on 111 attempts this season. However, he only put up 41 yards against Montana, which has the second-best defense in the Big Sky. Montana State has the best.
Idaho comes into this game with the third best offense and defense in the Big Sky, but that won’t be good enough if the Vandals want to win. The offensive line will need to hold up to give redshirt sophomore QB Gevani McCoy time to throw, or Woods space and time to run. The line gave up six sacks and only allowed 58 rushing yards in the game against Montana.
“Their D-line stands out to me,” Eck said. “(Sebastian) Valdez is a really good player, Brody (Grebe) is a really good player at defensive end. They’re physical on the back end, they’ll come up and hit you.”
While Idaho may not hold the advantage on paper, they have a big advantage with their stadium. As the P1FCU Kibbie Dome will be sold out for the second-straight game. When Montana State lost to SDSU, sound was one of the biggest factors.
“You look at the South Dakota State game, they had (nine) false starts with a great crowd there,” Eck said. “We need you crowd; we need you to be loud and into the game.”
While the Vandals need the crowd to force MSU into some errors, they also need the crowd to not force Idaho into the same errors. “Loud on defense, quiet on offense” has been the motto of the team, alumni and even leaders of the Vandalizers heading into this week.
Idaho and Montana State will kick off their 46th meeting at 1 p.m. on Oct. 28. Idaho leads the all-time series 25-19-1, going 15-7-1 in Moscow.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on X @jamesaldrich25