Idaho (1-5) vs. #7 Montana (5-2)

• Washington-Grizzly Stadium | Missoula, MT

• 12:00 PM PT / 1:00 PM MT - Kickoff on ESPN+/Scripps Sports

• Listen: Vandal Football Radio Network | The Varsity Network App (Dennis Patchin and Trent Cowan)

• Live Stats

• 2026 Football Record Book

MOSCOW, Idaho - The time of year is here: Idaho Football is set to play another team with hardware on the line, traveling to Missoula, MT to face off with the Montana Grizzlies, the second-most storied opponent in program history.

UI and UM will face off for a 92nd time, second only for the Vandals to Washington State (93). The flagship institutions first matched up in 1903, just the ninth year of the UI team's existence, and the Vandals ran away with a 28-0 shutout. The teams began an annual rivalry in 1914, and the Little Brown Stein was introduced at the 25th rendition in 1938, having the results of each year of the series painted on it's wooden sides. At 88 years old, it is the oldest active trophy in FCS football.

Idaho holds a commanding 57-32-2 lead in the rivalry, though the Griz have had more success since the Vandals came back to the Big Sky. Regardless of record, the latest contests have been tight, with the last three being decided by 11 points or fewer.

HEAR FROM THE COACHING STAFF



A LOOK AT MONTANA
Ranked in the top 10 all season long and as high as #2, the Griz are led by first-year head coach Bobby Kennedy who, while in his first stint at the helm anywhere, has a coaching pedigree that speaks for itself as one of the top assistants in the game over the last three decades. Some of his most notable stops include two BCS championship appearances, and the famous 2005 win over USC, while at Texas. He took over for Bobby Hauck after one season in Missoula as Wide Receivers coach, during which he mentored current Jacksonville Jaguar Michael Wortham.

Montana is led offensively by running back Eli Gillman, who is poised to finish his career as an all-time great in the Big Sky Conference. He sits just seven touchdowns short of Cooper Kupp's league record of 77 with room to spare, and has rushed for a league-leading 877 yards to date. QB Keali'i Ah Yat is dealing north of 277 passing yards a game with 17 TDs to just two INTs and WR Brooks Davis leads the conference in catches (56) and yards (810).

LB Nai Mose is around the pile nearly every play with a team-leading 45 tackles. Montana has seen immediate success with non-DI transfers as former Central Washington standout Tyler King leads the team with 5.5 sacks and 5.5 TFLs, and former Carroll College DB Braeden Orlandi is second on the team with 38 stops.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR

• Saturday's contest will mark a return to games with a regional broadcast or better for Idaho, being picked up by Scripps Sports. UI opened the year with back-to-back national broadcasts at Cal Poly on ESPN and at Utah on ESPNU.

  • The Vandals have a total of nine contests in 2026 to be shown on SWX, Scripps Sports, or linear ESPN.

• Idaho's offense has put up strong numbers, especially against FCS competition. In the season opener vs. Cal Poly, the Vandals put up 482 yards of total offense in Ian Shoemaker's OC debut, more than any game last season and the most since a 38-28 win over Eastern Washington in 2024 (487). 

  • The Black and Gold recorded a season-high 496 yards of total offense vs. Weber State

  • Vs. FCS competition, Idaho is averaging 432 yards of offense per game.

• Joshua Wood has been one of the best at moving the ball in the Big Sky, averaging a league-leading 283.8 passing yards per contest while collecting 7 rushing scores, T-3rd in the conference.

• The Vandal defense has been stout in crunch time, holding two top-ten teams in Lamar and Montana State to a combined 13 points in the second half.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

• 1: To kick off October, Idaho secured its first career win over the #1 team in the country, knocking off defending national champions Montana State in Moscow. The win not only gave UI the first of the season, but ended the Bobcats' 19-game winning streak dating back to September of 2025.

• 3: Idaho is one of three FCS teams to record multiple wins over FBS programs since 2023 (Idaho beat Nevada 33-6 in 2023, Idaho beat Wyoming 17-13 in 2024)

• 17: This past offseason, the Vandals celebrated the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history and the second-best '25 class in the FCS, bringing in a total of 17 three-star prospects.

• 8: Number of FBS, Preseason Top 25 FCS, and teams that received ranked votes that Idaho plays this year.

• 3: Idaho's strength of schedule rating per Massey, out of 128 FCS teams.

• 9: Nine of Idaho's twelve regular-season contests have received a regional or national broadcast assignment. The Vandals will face Cal Poly and Montana State on ESPN and Utah on ESPNU, while Lamar, Abilene Christian, Southern Utah, Eastern Washington, and UC Davis have all been picked up by SWX, and the Battle of the Little Brown Stein with Montana will be broadcast on Scripps Sports.

• 34: Idaho scored 34 points against Cal Poly in Week 1, the third-highest total in a season opener since 2015.

  • The Black and Gold are averaging just over 32 points a game vs. FCS teams.

• 83: The Vandals boast a veteran offensive line with four of five 2025 starters returning, each of whom has started games prior as well. Layton Vining, Charlie Vliem, Kiegan Henson, and Leon Evans have combined for 83 career starts coming into 2026.

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TICKETS: Season tickets, mini plans, and single-game tickets are available here or by calling the Idaho Ticket Office at (208) 885-6466.