Bozeman, Mont. – The road to Frisco continues through Bozeman. No. 8 Idaho faces No. 1 Montana State in a highly anticipated rematch. The game will take place at Bobcat Stadium in prime time on ESPN.

Idaho enters the game on a six-game winning streak and its starting quarterback, Jack Layne, is back under center. “Obviously, I think getting Layne back at quarterback was a big deal for them,” Bobcats head coach Brent Vigen said. He emphasized the impact of Layne’s return, noting, “There was a reason Layne was their starter coming out of fall camp.”

While Layne gets a lot of attention, the Bobcats have their own star in quarterback Tommy Mellott. Mellott has the highest passing efficiency rating in the country and has had a successful passing career. “Tommy is getting more and more comfortable,” Bobcats senior wide receiver Ty McCullouch said. McCullouch added: “We can actually see Tommy getting involved in the whole thing now.”

McCullouch has been a big advocate in the offseason about how we will see Tommy shine this year. He mentioned that he felt like Mellott couldn’t get into the rhythm of the game with a two-quarterback system. Sean Chambers has now graduated and Tommy is having the best year of his career statistically.

Coach Vigen praised Mellott’s recent performance, stating: “It was him who made and re-made the right decisions. And then when he got the opportunity to make the throws, he made the throws.” Tommy has developed significantly as a passer over the last few years, and 2024 proves it. Vigen also mentioned that Tommy continues to raise the bar on how he can play the quarterback position. Several players have talked about, “It doesn’t make sense,” meaning that Tommy is getting better every game.

Montana State’s defense is also a force to be reckoned with, allowing less than five yards per play and less than 300 yards of total offense. The defense will have the advantage of playing in the playoff atmosphere and noise of Bobcat Stadium. Bobcats senior linebacker McCade O’Reilly described what it’s like to be on defense in front of 20,000 screaming fans: “It just blocks everything out. You don’t think about anything other than what you have in mind and what you have to do” for that play call.

McCade also mentioned that beating an opponent twice in a season is not an easy task. Citing a memory from high school, O’Reilly says, “We beat Flathead pretty well in the regular season and then lost to them in the semifinals.” Montana State will have a tough task, a healthier, more explosive Vandals team to beat. A task this senior-led group will have to face if they want to achieve a 1-0 result on Friday night at Bobcat Stadium.

The stage is set. No. 8 vs. No. 1, with the winner advancing to the FCS semifinals. It doesn’t get much bigger than a standalone game on ESPN under the lights of Bobcat Stadium.