A little jug, but a big game to open Big Sky play

Tonight, Idaho at Montana • 7:15 p.m., ESPN2 

By MARK NELKE 

Sports editor 

Idaho head football coach Thomas Ford Jr. has seen the highs and the lows of the Little Brown Stein, which the Vandals and Montana will play for the 90th time, tonight in Missoula on ESPN2. 

“I know as an assistant it was pretty awesome getting that thing and bringing it back to Moscow (in 2022),” Ford said. “I know also as an assistant, it hurt pretty bad seeing them leaving here with it in 2023.”

In 2022, Jason Eck’s first season at Idaho, the Vandals served an early message they were back as Big Sky Conference contenders with a 30-23 victory at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula. 

The following season, Montana returned the favor at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, holding off Idaho 23-21. After the game, Montana coach Bobby Hauck celebrated with his player in the middle of the field. 

The Vandals noticed. 

“I remember thinking, as an assistant in ‘23, being so mad, because we weren’t going to play them in ‘24, so we didn’t have a chance to take that thing back,” Ford said.  

Finally, the Vandals have that chance tonight, in the Big Sky opener for both schools. Idaho (2-2), with two last-second losses to FBS schools, is ranked No. 8 in the STATS Perform FCS poll. Montana (3-0), is ranked No. 4. 

Montana quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat, a redshirt sophomore and son of former Griz QB Brian Ah Yat, was co-Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week last week after throwing for 313 yards against Indiana State. 

Junior running back Eli Gillman won the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top freshman in FCS, in 2023.  

Star receiver/kick returner Junior Bergen is gone, now on the practice squad of the San Francisco 49ers. But Montana found a pretty good replacement in the transfer portal in senior Michael Wortham, who did a little of everything at Eastern Washington the last three years. 

Wortham has a team-high 14 catches this season, one for a touchdown. He’s also carried the ball 10 times. He’s returned six kickoffs and two punts. 

“I remember him from my time as special teams coordinator (at Idaho in 2022 and ‘23),” Ford said. “He kinda got after us in the kick game; I know last year he returned a kickoff to the house. They’re going to use him in a lot of different ways — wildcat, receiver ... get it to him in space. I think he’s a very dangerous player.” 

Defensively ... 

"They’ve got a tricky defense," Ford said. “They’re a little bit non-conventional ... they’re going to blitz you from every angle. Sometimes I don’t know if they’re gap sound, but it doesn’t matter because they cause a lot of havoc as a result.” 

After Cameron Pope missed his third field goal in two weeks last week at San Jose State, Ford said Owen Forsman, a redshirt freshman from Lakeland High, would be the Vandals’ placekicker. 

Of course, Ford said that last week, but sent Pope out for the first field-goal try, noting that the kick was from the right hash, and that Forsman, a left-footed kicker, has struggled from the right hash in practice last week. 

Idaho leads the overall series 56-31-2, including a 23-16 record against Montana in Missoula. 

And Washington-Grizzly Stadium, which seats 25,217, figures to be especially loud tonight. 

“It's probably one of the loudest places in FCS football,” Ford said. “I’ve coached in Power 4 stadiums that were much quieter.” 

Still ... 

“I’d rather be the visitor with a big crowd than no crowd,” Ford said. “Whatever juice they’re creating for their team, they’re creating for us too.”