After blowout in first meeting, Idaho hopes returning players can turn tide against Montana State in FCS quarterfinals

MOSCOW, Idaho – When last seen, Montana State was trampling over the corpse of an injury-depleted Idaho in October, 38-7.

Now the Bobcats and Vandals meet for a second time Friday, again in Bozeman, this time in the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. And the Vandals feel they have some unfinished business.

Idaho coach Jason Eck, in his regularly scheduled news conference Monday acknowledged being on the receiving end of a “butt whupping” by Montana State in the previous meeting.

“We are going to have to play a perfect game to pull this off,” he said.

Idaho abandons its climate-controlled home in the Kibbie Dome for the outdoors of Bobcat Stadium in December, where temperatures are forecast to be in the 20s. The Vandals, winners of six straight since their loss to the ’Cats, bring the momentum of a runaway freight train and a roster at full strength after dispatching Lehigh, 34-13, in the second round of the FCS playoffs.

Vandals quarterback Jack Layne, who passed for 318 yards and three touchdowns against Lehigh, didn’t get to play the Bobcats in October, as he was recovering from a broken collarbone. But, he says assertively, “it can’t be cold enough in my opinion. I love the adversity of the elements.”

In addition to Layne being sidelined in the first matchup in Bozeman, Idaho’s third-string quarterback, Nick Josifek, who started against MSU, was knocked out with an injury and second-team quarterback Jack Wagner, who was also hurt, had to finish the game. Starting running back Nate Thomas was injured and did not play, and fellow starter Elisha Cummings was hurt after just six carries. Safety Mathias Bertram was ejected for targeting.

“Things did kind of snowball on us,” Eck said.

In 2023, when Idaho beat MSU in Moscow, 24-21, the Vandals jumped out to a 10-0 lead, and against Lehigh they pretty much put away the game in the early third quarter, 34-6. In the first meeting with the Bobcats this season “we had one explosive play,” Eck said. Against Lehigh “we had seven.”

The undefeated Bobcats pose a mighty challenge. But Eck said while MSU is adept at disguising coverages, it is not afraid to play one-on-one in the secondary, and against Lehigh, Idaho’s Jordan Dwyer made seven catches for 166 yards and two touchdowns, and Mark Hamper added 97 yards on five receptions with a score.

How badly would the Vandals love to see man coverage against its top receivers as it tries to get out to an early lead?

“We are going to have some opportunities one-on-one. I don’t think they are afraid to play us man. We have got to do a good job of finding it,” Eck said.

While MSU’s first goal on defense is to stifle the running game, according to Eck and Layne, the Bobcats are willing to play man-to-man to accomplish that.

“They do a really good job of mixing and disguising coverages,” Layne said. “They are confident in playing man and blitzing.

“They have a great defense. They are great at stopping the run. We can attack them. It starts with me making great decisions.”

The Bobcats like to batter opponents themselves with an overpowering running attack keyed by senior quarterback Tommy Mellott, a top-three finalist for the Walter Payton Award honoring the FCS offensive player of the year. He is already the Big Sky Conference offensive player of the year, having thrown for 1,956 yards and 22 touchdowns, with one interception, while rushing for 640 yards and 11 TDs.

“We got some hits on Tommy last game,” sa id Eck. “But we have got to start with stopping the run. They like to run it down your throat.”

Idaho stood toe-to-toe with the Football Bowl Subdivision’s top-ranked team Oregon in a season-opening 10-point loss for the Vandals, but against Montana State in October, the Vandals were routinely knocked off the ball on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

“The Montana State team was a little more excited to play Idaho than Oregon was to play Idaho,” Eck noted. “Mindset is a powerful thing. The way Montana State played us last time, I don’t know that there were many teams that could have beat them, less than 20 teams in FBS.”

At least, as of the opening of the transfer portal Monday, the Vandals have not lost any players as they head to the quarterfinals.

“I am sure we are going to have some guys go into the portal,” said Eck, but he hopes no one does before the season concludes. The portal remains open until Dec. 28, and if everyone is committed to playing out the season, the portal only becomes an issue if Idaho reaches the national championship game, Jan 6.

Until then, “you are not going to miss an opportunity to go into the portal if you want to,” he said.

“You are getting great development in the program. You are winning college football games.

It’s more fun when you’re winning.”