Getty Montana football players hope to get back to winning ways against Idaho.
Montana (4-2), ranked 11th in the FCS, and Idaho (2-4) renew their rivalry in Big Sky Conference action on Saturday.
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The game (3:30 p.m. ET start time) will be televised locally on ABC Fox Montana and SWX, but if you don’t have cable or you live somewhere else, anyone in the US can watch Montana vs. Idaho live on ESPN+:
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Montana vs. Idaho Preview
Montana and Idaho have a rivalry that’s no small potatoes.
Their border rivalry started in 1903, and they play for the Little Brown Stein trophy.
“It’s our second-oldest one,” Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said about the Idaho rivalry according to 406 MT Sports’ Frank Gogola. “There’s a lot of Grizzly fans that care a lot about this game, especially, you know, guys that are my age or a little bit older, they think this is a really important game. For us, it is. We are familiar with them. We see them in recruiting and everything else. It’s been a hard-fought game in the history of it, and that’s kind of what we expect this weekend.”
It’s a critical game in the Big Sky standings as both Montana and Idaho sit at 1-2 in conference play.
Montana started the season 3-0, and Eastern Washington spoiled the Griz’s strong start by stopping a last-second drive on the red turf in Cheney, Washington. The Griz bounced back to rout Dixie State 31-14 but slipped in a 28-21 loss to Sacramento State last week.
Idaho lost its first two games to FBS teams Indiana and Oregon State. The Vandals then came short of UC-Davis in a 27-20 loss but beat Portland State 42-35. Things didn’t look pretty against EWU though in a 71-21 whipping last time out.
“It’s never fun to get killed like that,” Vandals Nick Romano said according to Peter Harriman of The Spokesman-Review. “It makes you work harder in practice.”
The Vandals will need a stronger defensive performance against a potent Griz offense despite injury. Montana quarterback Kris Brown has kept the offense afloat since taking over for the injured Camron Humphrey at EWU.
Brown has 515 yards passing and a 69% completion rate, but he also has three interceptions versus one touchdown. He’s done damage with his legs, too, scoring four rushing touchdowns.
Idaho’s defense could get to Brown. Vandals linebacker Charles Akanno leads the team in sacks with four, and Coleman Johnson and Hogan Hatten each have two.
Montana can also turn to the running game. Xavier Harris leads the Griz in rushing with 396 yards and a touchdown. Junior Bergen and Isiah Childs also get their share of carries, averaging four or more yards per attempt.
Vandals quarterback Zach Borish likes to run the ball as he has a team-high 317 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. He has 104 yards passing and a touchdown.
Running back Aundre Carter poses a threat. He has six touchdowns and 4.7 yards per carry. Roshaun Johnson has four touchdowns and averages six yards per attempt.
Montana has a solid defense overall, allowing 16.2 points per game. The Griz run defense allows 76.2 yards per game and gave up five touchdowns this season. The pass defense gives up 267 yards per game and has allowed six touchdowns.