Oct. 12—MOSCOW, Idaho — The Idaho football team may be looking at the antidote to disappointment this week.
Following its unprecedented defeat of top -ranked, defending national champion Montana State two weeks ago, the Vandals fell short against Weber State Saturday, 38-27, in Ogden. Utah.
Now, the Vandals (1-5, 1-2 Big Sky) head to Missoula to take on the Grizzlies (5-2, 3-1) in the Little Brown Stein rivalry game. It could be a great chance to put the last game behind and get right.
There is probably no place better in the Big Sky to play a football game than at Montana's Washington-Grizzly Stadium in the middle of October. The autumn weather, the crowd and the venue combine to make memorable games. Shaking off the Weber State loss, focusing on a traditional rivalry game and regaining enthusiasm to play is almost a given.
Vandals coach Thomas Ford Jr. says it is impossible not to get up for playing in Missoula.
"It is easily one of the top three (places to coach at)," he said. "When our guys found out we were going back there, they were excited."
Idaho will be facing three of the most skilled offensive players in the conference in running back Eli Gillman (7 yards per carry, 125.3 yards per game), quarterback Keali'I Ah Yat (284.9 total yards per game) and wide receiver Davis Brooks (56 receptions for 810 yards and six touchdowns).
Gillman is the best Football Championship Subdivision running back in the country, according to Ford.
"He could play at any level," Ford says. "That joker is thick. He's a hard guy to tackle ... Those guys usually play in the SEC."
Gillman mixes his 6-foot, 215-pound frame with great speed an elusiveness. To slow him down, Ford said, the Vandals will have to "have multiple players at the point of attack."
Idaho will attempt to compress the game with a running attack of its own, led by quarterback Joshua Wood (80 rushes for 283 yards and seven touchdowns), Hayden Kincheloe (32-121-1), and Damonte Bias (33-126-1). Ford would like to see more robust running totals, but the Vandals have called a lot of run-pass options this year but have often faced loaded boxes that forced them to throw, he said.
Regardless of their efforts to limit Montana's possessions, the Vandals have to be prepared for a shootout.
"We have got to be able to keep pace," Ford said.
This is where Wood comes in. He leads the league in total offense, averaging 327.7 yards per game, and his toughness is off the chart. Last year, in a 41-30 loss to the Grizzlies, Wood outpaced Ah Yat in passing, 262 to 223 yards, and Wood played the entire second half on a sprained knee.
"He plays with reckless abandon," Ford said.
Idaho will be able to give Montana's defense something new to prepare for. Tight end Gus Donneberg, who had been used sparingly as a receiver until the Weber State game, caught eight passes for 91 yards against the Wildcats.
"We knew he was a good receiver not just a blocker," Ford said.
While Montana has won three straight games against Idaho, including wrecking Idaho's homecoming in 2023, 23-21, before last year, Idaho's most recent visit to Missoula was 2022. Then, the Vandals upset the Grizzlies, 30-23, to wrest the Little Brown Stein from Montana for the first time since 1999.
As they look ahead to Saturday, Ford said, the Vandals " need to get that thing back in our trophy case."
