College of Idaho football chases first five-game win streak since 1969

The College of Idaho football team had a rough start to the 2018 season, but the Yotes have made up for it in a big way.

After losing the first five games of the season — three of them by a touchdown or less — C of I has won its past four games and can push that streak to five on Saturday against Montana Western.

Kickoff is 1 p.m. at Vigilante Field in Dillon, Montana.

The Yotes’ current winning streak is the longest for the program since football was reinstated in 2014, and they have not won five in a row since 1969.

Even more impressive, C of I’s three most recent victories have come against ranked teams, with the Yotes (4-5, 4-4) knocking off then-No. 20 Montana Tech, No. 14 Southern Oregon and No. 18 Eastern Oregon. They can make it four consecutive upsets Saturday against the 20th-ranked Bulldogs (6-2, 6-2), who own a share of the Frontier Conference lead with Rocky Mountain (7-2, 6-2).

College of Idaho is looking for its first victory at Montana Western; the Yotes are 0-5 at Vigilante Field.

Bengals try to stay in title hunt

At 4-1, Idaho State is tied for second in the Big Sky Conference standings with Eastern Washington and Weber State, and all three teams remain a game back of UC Davis (7-1, 5-0).

The Bengals (5-3 overall) will try to stay in contention for their first conference championship since 2002 when they travel to Portland State (4-4, 3-2) on Saturday. The game starts at 8:05 p.m. Mountain time and will be streamed online at pluto.tv.

Idaho State continues to receive votes in both the FCS coaches and STATS polls but has yet to crack the top 25. With three regular-season games left, the Bengals likely would need to win out to be considered for the 24-team FCS playoffs. The Big Sky champion receives an automatic bid.

Vandals hope to stay perfect at home

Idaho has yet to win a road game this season but the Vandals are 3-0 in the Kibbie Dome.

The Vandals (3-5, 2-4 Big Sky) will try to keep that streak intact Saturday when they host North Dakota (5-3) at 3 p.m. Mountain time in Moscow. The game will be streamed live online at pluto.tv.

North Dakota is playing as an FCS independent in 2018 and 2019 as it makes the transition to the Missouri Valley Conference. The Fighting Hawks are playing a Big Sky schedule, but they will not factor into the conference standings. Their games do count as a conference game for opposing teams, however.

Idaho last went unbeaten at home in 1996, and the Vandals have six perfect home seasons since the Kibbie Dome opened in 1975 — ‘76, ’82, ’88, ’94, ’95 and ’96.

This story was originally published November 1, 2018 at 2:16 PM.