FINAL SCORE: Idaho 42, Montana 35
RECORDS: Idaho (2-5, 2-2), Montana (5-3, 3-2)
IDAHO LEADERS
PASSING: Joshua Wood (30-38, 335 YDS, 3 TD)
RUSHING: Joshua Wood (11 ATT, 85 YDS, 1 TD), Hayden Kincheloe (11 ATT, 44 YDS, 1 TD)
RECEIVING: Ryan Jezioro (4 REC, 47 YDS, 2 TD), Tony Harste (5 REC, 61 YDS)
DEFENSE: Khaled Rawls (11 TKL, 9 SOLO, 2 TFL), Jerry Allen III (5 TKL, 1 PBU), Cruz Hepburn (5 TKL, 1 TFL)
NOTABLES:
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For the first time since 1989, Idaho has defeated both Montana and Montana State in the same season.
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The Vandal Offense scored points on all six red zone possessions.
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QB Joshua Wood surpassed 2,000 passing yards in just seven games.
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RB Hayden Kincheloe secured a career-high 44 rushing yards.
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DB Khaled Rawls recorded a career-high 11 tackles
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RB Damonte Bias posted three catches for 50 yards.
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QB Israel Carter recorded his first collegiate rushing TD.
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Idaho led in time of possession, 35:43 to 24:17.
MISSOULA, Mont. - The Little Brown Stein is coming back to Moscow. 26,567 fans packed into Washington-Grizzly Stadium witnessed Joshua Wood put up 420 yards of total offense and timely fourth-quarter stops by the Vandal defense, lifting Idaho over #7 Montana in a 42-35 shootout.
For the first time since 1989, the Vandals have swept the Treasure State by knocking off the Griz and the 'Cats in the same year. UI knocked off then #1 MSU in the P1FCU Kibbie Dome to kick off October and have now secured the second top-10 win of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Vandals received the opening kickoff, capitalizing on an early unorthodox sequence of events. Joshua Wood's pass to the right sideline was tipped and picked off, but TE Gus Donnerberg made a heads-up play by stripping the football from the defender. Damonte Bias fell on it again to regain possession on the UM 39.
Wood found one of his favorite targets in Tony Harste on back-to-back completions totaling 34 yards before finding Oregon State transfer Zack Card on a 10-yard diving play in the endzone for an opening-drive score.
The Griz looked for an early response, gaining two first downs, before Lee Stalker's defense flexed its muscles and forced a punt. The Black and Gold offense stayed rolling, starting the drive with a 28-yard dot up the seams to RB
Damonte Bias. Homedale native
Hayden Kincheloe broke free from multiple would-be tacklers for a 12-yard tote, resetting the down marker for the Vandals. Wood capped off the drive by finding
Ryan Jezioro on the right side of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown to bring Idaho's lead to 14-0.
Montana regained possession of the football, looking for a spark of momentum to power their offense. Griz RB Eli Gillman provided just that with a 33-yard rush up the middle and into Idaho territory. UM continued with a sequence of passes moving the chains, cutting Idaho's lead to seven with a toe-tap TD pass.
Back with the ball, Ian Shoemaker's offense moved the chains one at a time before a declined penalty resulted in fourth-and-1 on the Idaho 33-yard line.
Thomas Ford Jr. called off the punt team, feeding it to Kincheloe up the middle and securing the first down. The Vandals moved the chains on the ground, capping the drive with a
Joshua Wood touchdown run from two yards out, bumping the lead back up to 14. UM put together a second scoring drive to shave away five of the six minutes left in the half to cut the deficit to 14-21 with 1:10 left on the clock, which is where the score stood at the break.
Montana received the second-half kickoff and forced the Idaho defense to commit to loading the box with back-to-back runs before uncorking a deep ball to Brooks Davis to tie the game at 21.
The Idaho offense responded immediately, targeting sophomore Daveon Superales on three consecutive passes over the middle before Wood moved the Vandals into the red zone with his legs. After a second-and-short moved back by a penalty, Wood found Jezioro one-on-one in the back of the end zone, and the junior receiver needed just one hand to put Idaho back in front, 28-21.
Montana answered after a big kickoff return giving the Grizzlies favorable field position, continuing its passing attack and connecting on a pair of completions worth 60 yards, the latter of which was a touchdown to knot the scoreboard up once again.
Idaho took over with an opportunity to regain the lead, putting together a methodical drive as the third quarter expired. The Vandals focused on moving the chains with short gains to work their way down the field. Facing third-and-five amongst a deafening crowd, Wood escaped pressure, rolled to his right and connected with Donnerberg along the sideline. Later in the series, Wood broke loose on a designed quarterback run for 23 yards to move Idaho into scoring position. Kincheloe finished the possession from six yards out, giving the Vandals a 35-28 lead.
Montana responded with consecutive completions going into the fourth quarter, as Keali'i Ah Yat was true on his targets to pile up yards for the Grizzlies. With Idaho focused on containing the ground game, Gillman found space on a checkdown in the flat and reached the end zone to tie the game at 35.
The Black and Gold answered with a four-play scoring drive of their own. Wood escaped pressure and scrambled for 35 yards before stepping out of bounds. On the ensuing play, he connected with WR Nolan McWilliams for a short gain that turned into a long one after the sophomore eluded multiple defenders to move the Vandals to the three. QB Israel Carter checked in goal-line personnel and finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run, the first rushing score of his college career, putting Idaho back in front, 42-35.
UM got the ball back after the touchback, moving into Vandal territory with a series of chunk plays. The Vandal defense tightened up from there, and Mason Krahn dragged Ah Yat down for a loss of nine on third down, forcing the Maroon and Silver to settle for a field goal, which sailed wide left.
Getting the ball back, Wood connected with Jezioro to get to 3rd-and-1, which the QB picked up with his legs before back-to-back carries from Kincheloe bled a big chunk of clock away before penalties backed the Vandals up.
Cameron Pope sent a 51-yard boot to the Grizzlies' 22, which Brooks Davis took back to the 45.
On the deciding drive, Ah Yat and the Montana offense got down to the red zone in five plays. Nikko Speer dragged the Griz signal caller down for a loss of three on first down, and Mitch Jaskowiak took him down for a sack on the next play, setting up third-and-16. Gillman caught a floater in the flat, working the ball back to the original line of scrimmage to give Montana a chance at fourth and 10.
On the deciding play, the Vandal defense kept a hat on a hat, with late pressure forcing Ah Yat to throw off balance, and the try sailed above the head of a UM receiver in the end zone and sealed the defensive stand. Wood kneeled out the remaining 33 seconds, sealing Idaho's second victory in Missoula in their last three visits.
UP NEXT: The Vandals will return to the P1FCU Kibbie Dome for their fifth Big Sky matchup of the 2026 season to take on Southern Utah in a homecoming matchup on Saturday, Oct. 24. The game will air on ESPN+ and SWX, along with the Vandal Radio Network.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow the Vandals on Facebook, Instagram, and X for the latest updates.
TICKETS: Season tickets, mini plans, and single-game tickets are available here or by calling the Idaho Ticket Office at (208) 885-6466.
