Biggest takeaway from Idaho’s win over Montana? The Vandals are for real

Idaho football coach Jason Eck ran off the field after the Vandals’ surprising 30-23 victory against second-ranked Montana at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula on Saturday, but he didn’t get away before his players soaked him with Powerade.

It was a seminal moment for the first-year coach, who also realized his team still has a long way to go before celebrating anything.

“I thought it was a little premature. We haven’t won the conference or anything (yet),” Eck said. “But I’m glad the win made the players happy.”

Clearly, the times are changing not just in Moscow, but possibly the Big Sky Conference.

It’s the first time in 8,373 days, or to be more precise, since Nov. 13, 1999, that the Vandals have beaten their Little Brown Stein rival. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak to their longest-tenured opponent.

It also might be the biggest win in the program since the 61-50 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl victory on Dec. 22, 2016, against Colorado State.

How’d the Vandals do it? By sticking to their run-first philosophy. Idaho (4-2, 3-0) stayed on the ground, despite not having much success, and maintained possession for a little more than 42 minutes.

“The coaches did a great job exuding confidence in the players,” Eck said. “I think our coaches and players did a great job truly believing that we could win this game.”

Before, making the postseason was a pipe dream. Now, for the Vandals, who moved into the FCS Stats Perform Top 25 poll at No. 17 on Monday, it’s more of a reality.

Here are some takeaways:

Bounce-back McCoy

Redshirt quarterback Gevani McCoy was sharp in front of 26,314 screaming Montana fans. He finished 21 of 27 passing for 286 yards and two touchdowns and an interception.

The pick was McCoy’s first since Sept. 3 at Washington State. Patrick O’Connell read McCoy’s eyes as he was trying to find sophomore receiver Hayden Hatten on the sideline with 4:06 left in the second quarter.

The Grizzlies (5-1, 2-1) turned the miscue into points after quarterback Lucas Johnson cashed in from a yard out to give Montana a 13-5 lead.

After not turning over the ball for more than four games, how McCoy responded was key. He found Hatten for a 26-yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds left in the half, pulling the Vandals within 13-12.

McCoy’s poise in the pocket was on display. Montana pass rusher Todd Deari beat tackle Ayden Knapik on the play. With Deari breathing down McCoy’s neck, he delivered the ball on time and on target.

“It’s a great feeling to be a part of Idaho history,” Hatten said. “I’d say winning this game is surreal but I believed that we could win this game coming in. We all did.”

The McCoy-to-Hatten connection shone, connecting nine times for 149 yards.

Hatten then finished another drive with a 43-yard back shoulder catch, beating man coverage, to put the Vandals up 22-13.

“That play was actually called before we got into the huddle,” Hatten said. “Coach (Schleusner) asked me how I felt about the play, and I knew I could get open. We dialed it up and it worked perfectly.”

While Hatten and McCoy made some big plays, the short connections on second and third downs were the difference. The two hooked up on several “and long” situations on simple stick routes to move the chains.

McCoy was awarded Big Sky co-offensive player of the week for his performance.

One dimensional

Idaho’s goal coming in was to force Johnson to throw the ball.

They did a solid job, limiting Montana to just 34 yards rushing on 18 carries.

The Vandals also were aware of Johnson’s mobility, so they designated a spy to watch Johnson at all times. He ran four times for minus-11 yards and finished 20-of-37 passing for 186 yards and two scores.

“Our defense was outstanding,” Eck said. “They executed the game plan the way we wanted.”

While Idaho was trying to make Montana one-dimensional, it also started to fall into the same trap. But it was for good reason.

The Vandals ran the ball 44 times for 52 yards, averaging a little more than one yard per carry, to stick with their game plan.

On their final drive, they ran the ball three consecutive times, bleeding almost two minutes off the clock before senior Roshaun Johnson cashed in from two yards out to put the Vandals ahead 30-16 with 2:14 remaining after the 2-point conversion.

Defense, special teams rule

All three phases were big factors in this one.

Tommy McCormick picked off Lucas Johnson with 4:14 remaining, and it led to the Roshaun Johnson score.

“The turnovers were huge,” Eck said. “We showed that we were a mentally tough team that could win.”

Montana’s Junior Bergen had three punt returns of more than 40 yards, setting the school mark in career punt return yardage.

However, the Grizzlies couldn’t take advantage of a Bergen 40-yard return midway through the fourth as junior transfer linebacker Paul Moala picked off Lucas Johnson for Idaho’s first turnover of the game.

The Vandals now have forced a turnover in every game this year and improved their turnover margin to plus-9.

McCormick also blocked a first-quarter extra point, and Hogan Hatten had a safety later in the second.

But the biggest momentum shift might have been after Idaho came out of the locker room to start the second half. The coaching staff called for, and the special teams recovered, an onside kick. It led to a 40-yard field goal from Ricardo Chavez to put the Vandals up for good at 15-13.

“We wanted to win the coin toss and defer to the second half,” Eck said. “We saw something on tape where they left the front line a little early, and it was a perfect kick by (Logan) Prescott.”