No. 12 Montana will host No. 21 Idaho State on Saturday night in a ranked Big Sky game that can reshape both teams’ postseason cases. The Grizzlies are 7-3 overall and 5-2 in conference play, while Idaho State arrives at 6-4 and 3-4, with kickoff set for 8:30 p.m. at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
That is why the search starts now. Montana is playing its final home game of the regular season, Senior Day is being held for 22 Grizzlies, and Bobby Kennedy said the setting will carry real emotion. He also noted that ESPN2 and a likely sellout will make it feel even bigger, while reminding his team that the night should not be treated as an ending.
Eli Gillman is part of the reason the Grizzlies enter with momentum. He rushed for 196 yards and four touchdowns in a 57-24 win over Portland State last week, set a Big Sky career record with his 78th total touchdown and tied Montana’s single-game record with four scores. A week earlier, Montana beat Eastern Washington 41-14 and set a program record with 11 sacks, a reminder that this team is winning in more than one way.
The numbers explain why Montana has been so hard to beat, but they do not erase what Idaho State brings into the game. The Grizzlies are averaging 40.1 points and 488.9 yards per game, Keali’i Ah Yat has thrown for 2,866 yards and 27 touchdowns, and Brooks Davis leads the team with 81 catches for 1,233 yards and 12 touchdowns. At the same time, Idaho State averages 283.4 passing yards per game, Jordan Cooke threw for 318 yards in last week’s 28-26 triple-overtime loss to Montana State, and the Bengals outgained that opponent 410-332. They also lead the Big Sky with 61 tackles for loss and have allowed only 191.6 passing yards per game, so Montana cannot assume a clean script simply because of the records.
There is also a hard edge to the matchup that goes beyond the rankings. Montana’s offensive line has allowed only nine sacks this season, which is a useful shield against a defense built to create negative plays. That matters because Idaho State has enough pressure and enough passing firepower to make a favored team uncomfortable if it gives up rhythm early. Montana won the last meeting 46-38 after rallying from a 13-point deficit in Pocatello, and it has taken 16 straight in the series, but Saturday is the kind of game that can punish a slow start and reward the team that handles the next snap better than the last one.
A win would move Montana to 8-3 and strengthen its postseason position heading into a trip to Montana State. A loss would leave Idaho State at 6-5 and 3-5 in conference play, which would change the feel of its closing stretch in a hurry. For Montana, the task is simple to say and difficult to finish: protect the home field, survive the pass rush, and make Senior Day look like a step forward rather than a final pause.
