MOSCOW, Idaho - The Vandals and Grizzlies meet for 89th time in the history of these two programs in the annual Battle for the Little Brown Stein. The teams are both ranked and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2, the first linear ESPN broadcast and first sold out crowd in the P1FCU Kibbie Dome since 2010 against Boise State. Idaho and Montana are both 5-1 on the season and the Vandals have climbed to the No. 3 spot in the FCS polls while Montana sits at 16th.
ABOUT IDAHO: Idaho cruised to a 42-14 win over Cal Poly on the road last week. It was the fifth road game of the season for Idaho who is 4-1 in those games.
Gevani McCoy is one of the most efficient passers in the FCS and leads the Big Sky in passing touchdowns and is second in yards.
Hayden Hatten is among the leaders in the FCS in receiving yards and
Anthony Woods is third in the nation in rushing TDs and leads the Big Sky in a bevy of categories. The Vandal defense is a solid unit, among the leaders in FCS in passing yards allowed and total defense.
Tre Thomas leads Idaho with 35 total tackles.
Keyshawn James-Newby has a team-high four sacks.
ABOUT MONTANA: One of Idaho's oldest rivals, the game against Montana has added importance with conference championship, playoff and ranking implications in the mix. Coach Bobby Hauck has his team playing well after picking up a road win over a ranked UC Davis team. Clifton McDowell played the bulk of the last two games at QB with four passing TDs and a rushing score. Three receivers have over 200 yards receiving and four rushers have at least 100 yards and two touchdowns each. Braxton Hill leads the Grizzlies in tackles and sacks.
PICK SIX
1. THE BATTLE FOR THE LITTLE BROWN STEIN: In the fall of 1938, a letter from Montana Student body Secretary Phyllis Smith arrived for ASUI President Max Kenworthy with a challenge.
"Believing that the spirit of friendly rivalry between our two universities would be perpetuated if some trophy were to be offered annually to the winner of the Vandal-Grizzly game, we, the students of the Montana State University, challenge the students of the University of Idaho on the forthcoming football game. We would suggest that the trophy be an antique beer stein to be offered this year by Montana. The stein will be in the possession of the winner each year and will remain as a constant challenge."
Kenworthy's response solidified a tradition that has continued since.
"The stein sounds good to me. No, I don't know just what it looks like - We'll bring it back with us on October 29 and show it to you." (UI Argonaut - Oct. 21, 1938)
The Vandals backed up Kenworthy's talk with a 19-6 win over the Grizzlies in Missoula. Idaho leads the all-time series 56-30-2, but are 38-25-1 since the introduction of the Stein. Montana had its longest winning streak (seven games) snapped last year with Idaho's 30-23 win in Missoula. It is the oldest rivalry trophy in the FCS still in use today. The North Dakota-NDSU Nickel Trophy was also introduced in 1938, but was retired in 2017.
2. RUSHING ATTACK ON THE RISE: Behind improved offensive line performance and the explosive play of
Anthony Woods and
Nick Romano, the Vandals have leaned more on the run attack than any other time in head coach
Jason Eck's tenure as head coach. Over the last three games, Woods has rushed for 402 yards and seven touchdowns, including 211 and five TDs against Eastern Washington. Romano has added 241 rushing yards of his own, including 132 against the Eagles. Woods now leads the Big Sky in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns this season, despite playing a schedule that included two ranked teams and two FBS schools. Romano has three touchdowns, one receiving and two rushing.
3. IMPACT TRANSFERS: Eleven transfers joined the Idaho roster since the conclusion of last season. Eight of the 11 transfers are listed on the Vandal two-deep and three players, defensive tackle
Jahkari Larmond, linebacker
Tre Thomas and edge rusher
Keyshawn James-Newby are listed as starters for the Vandals. Larmond has made his presence felt with disruptive play in the middle of the Vandal defense. Thomas brings three-years of starting experience from South Dakota and James-Newby racked up nine sacks and 14.5 tackles, leading the NAIA's Frontier Conference while at Montana Tech.
Turon Ivy Jr. started game two and took the opening pass 75 yards for a touchdown.
4. YEAR-TO-YEAR IMPROVEMENT: Through six games this season, the Vandals are outpacing their numbers from last year at the same point in the season. Idaho is scoring 35.7 points per game compared to 32.2 in 2022. The Idaho defense is giving up just 21.8 points per game, compared to 23.5. The Vandals are averaging nearly 53 yards more per game. On the ground, Idaho is averaging 5.4 yards per carry compared to 3.4 last season. Another comparison, Idaho averaged the same yards per carry against Pac-12 member Cal as they did against non-scholarship Drake in week three of 2022.
5. MORE BEEF IN THE TRENCHES: The biggest difference year-to-year on the offensive line and defensive line for the Vandals may be improved strength and weight. Of the nine returners on the Vandal two-deep for the offensive line, the weight gain is over 11 pounds on average per player. Last year, not a single player who started a game at defensive tackle weighed over 270. This season, not a single player on the defensive line two-deep weighs less than 275.
6. STAFF CONSISTENCY: With an FCS program that had a winning season, it is not unreasonable to assume that many members of the successful coaching staff would get poached by bigger programs. In the case of the 2022 Idaho Vandals only one coach, safeties coach Tyler Yelk, left and he took an assistant job with the Philadelphia Eagles. Coach
Jason Eck hired
Bobby Jay, the Defensive Coordinator of the University of San Diego Toreros.
