Dan Thompson: Vandals may have been over-excited for Montana, composure is needed with more big games ahead
MOSCOW, Idaho – It was nearly midnight inside the Kibbie Dome, and the deafening sound of banging thundersticks had been replaced by the monotonous sound of employees popping the many thundersticks that fans had left behind.
Idaho let go of the Little Brown Stein on Saturday, after a 23-21 loss to 16th-ranked Montana in front of the venue’s first sell-out crowd in 13 years.
ESPN2 broadcast the game, and on social media the hashtag #BigSkyAfterDark made its rounds as the third-ranked Vandals mounted a second-half comeback.
Presumably, had Hayden Hatten stood straight up rather than leaning forward on an onside kick play – one that succeeded except for the fact that the Vandals receiver was ruled offside before he recovered the bouncing football – Idaho’s comeback might have come true, and the thundersticks would have clanged all the more.
But in the end, the deficit proved too much, and Montana – which had just two first downs in the second half – was able to hold on for its sixth victory of the season, as Idaho stood pat at five.
“We started slow. And that happens. And there’s a lot of factors that go into it,” Hatten said. “There are a couple plays I’d love to talk about that really changed that game. But you know, it’s sickening.”
Idaho (5-2, 3-1 Big Sky) gets a bye now. So does Montana (6-1, 3-1).
The Vandals have turned in an impressive start under Jason Eck, whose team is doing a fine enough impression of the top-ranked South Dakota State program from which Idaho plucked its second-year head coach.
But in the Grizzlies’ victory, they played the full game with composure, while the Vandals did not. And perhaps it should not have been surprising, given that playing in front of a loud home crowd is something Montana does on a semiweekly basis at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula.
“This is what we train for. This is what we work hard in the summer for, the offseason. It felt good,” Montana quarterback Clifton McDowell said to the media after the game. “It was a nice atmosphere. It was loud. It’s louder in Washington-Griz for sure, but it was nice and loud. Nice crowd.”
The Kibbie Dome atmosphere may have over-amped the home team, an ironic effect built up over a full day of pre-celebrating a team that has so far written an impressive FCS playoff resume. Idaho, which has rarely trailed this season, has wins over an FBS team (Nevada), last year’s Big Sky champion (Sacramento State) and its closest Big Sky rival (Eastern Washington). Not a bad trio, even if that last one looked less impressive after the Eagles’ 28-point collapse at Idaho State.
Yet Idaho didn’t put together the savvy, four-quarter performance on Saturday that it did last year in Missoula, where it won for the first time in 23 years.
The Vandals were called for seven penalties. The Grizzlies were called for two.
The Vandals committed three turnovers. The Grizzlies didn’t commit any.
The Vandals were sacked six times. The Grizzlies were sacked just twice.
“I’ve got to do a better job of getting us ready to go at the beginning,” Eck said. “And credit to them. They certainly had their guys ready.”
Even still, Idaho played keep away and got back into the game. In the second half, Idaho held the ball for more than 20 minutes and gained 240 yards (Montana had just 48).
But in the third quarter, at the end of a nearly eight-minute drive, Eck made the risky-but-costly calculation to eschew a 29-yard field goal attempt. Had Ricardo Chavez made that kick, Montana’s lead would have been trimmed to 20-10. Instead, Gevani McCoy threw his first interception while trying to gain the requisite yards on a fourth-and-6.
“Knowing what I know now, that you didn’t have to score 30 points to win, that might have changed my thought,” Eck said. “But at that time I was anticipating maybe we were going to have to score 35 or something to go. … I thought we had to be aggressive and try to find points.”
How the dominoes may have fallen from there, and how that calculation may have changed Montana’s approach, cannot be made certain. But Idaho’s desperation in the fourth quarter – needing two touchdowns and two successful 2-point conversions – obviously would have been less desperate with a smaller deficit. And in that scenario, Hatten isn’t asked to complete a pass, or make three defenders miss, on a game-tying conversion attempt late in the fourth.
Hatten was still dominant, finding room in Montana’s secondary during McCoy’s magical scrambles. He finished with 11 receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns, plus a two-point catch. He is now the Vandals’ career receiving touchdown leader with 28.
Give the Grizzlies credit, too. When they took the field, they proactively antagonized Idaho and its fans.
As they made their first approach of their bench, which last year was moved from one side to the other so visiting teams would be next to the Vandals student section, Montana players absorbed the jeers as if they were cheers. Then they went out and took a 10-0 lead.
Then they made it 17-0. Then 20-0.
“The crowd was awesome. I hope they keep showing up,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said. “It was such a cool atmosphere to play in. I thought our guys really embraced that and enjoyed the night.”
So eager was the home crowd to be a factor, Idaho players were reminding them to shush, please, during the Vandals’ offensive possessions.
Eck said he needs to do a better job preparing his players to perform in a game of this magnitude, and it won’t be long before they get another chance: No. 2 Montana State comes to Moscow in two weeks.
It’s ironic, really. The Vandals are playing to earn more postseason opportunities in the very setting that seemed to overinflate them during the first half Saturday.
They just need to figure out how to ensure their fate is better than that of the discarded thundersticks.