Good to see that rivalry back

After watching the replay of Saturday’s Montana-Idaho football game over the weekend, it was pretty clear.

It’s good to have the Vandals back in the Big Sky mix in football.

WHETHER IT be the return of a few of the regional rivalries — facing schools like Idaho State, Eastern Washington, Montana and Montana State — it gives fans a reason to hit the road to watch their schools again.

And you could tell, whether on social media or just seeing the fans in the Kibbie Dome, it mattered to them as well.

Idaho had a lot of expectations in its return to the Big Sky this year, returning to the FCS level after bouncing around at the Division I level for 22 years.

Unfortunately, losses against all four of those regional rivals, as well as a few others, will leave the Vandals well out of the FCS playoffs this year.

Those other three ­— Eastern, Montana State and Idaho State — could be advancing to the playoffs depending on how things play out this weekend.

Sure, when Idaho was in the Big Sky previously, the Vandals were a playoff contender almost each year. Whether that included winning the Big Sky title, or making it as an at-large team, they were the team to beat in a lot of those seasons. Since they’ve been gone, those other teams just got a little better than they were.

Besides, you can scout a team on video all you want, but nothing beats actual live game footage with your team playing against an opponent.

With another season under its Big Sky belt, I’d imagine that Idaho won’t be down much longer.

AT LEAST some fans are excited about these games again.

Take nothing away from Idaho’s schedule in recent years, but did fans really get excited with Louisiana-Lafayette coming into town?

Same with Troy. That game might have meant something in the standings for somebody, but fans might not have been traveling from Alabama to see it.

To be honest, I didn’t see my first Idaho game in person until they played Utah State, then again a few years later when they hosted Fresno State.

Those teams had guys like Bobby Wagner (Utah State, now with the Seahawks) and Derek Carr (Fresno State, now with the Raiders), while Idaho had Mike Iupati (now with Arizona), Benson Mayowa (also with Arizona) and Korey Toomer (now with Green Bay).

Sure, a few other pro prospects might have came and gone since then, but they’ve been few and far between.

IN THE long run, having Idaho back in the Big Sky should be a good thing.

At the Division I level, the Vandals were at least unbeaten in the postseason, winning three Humanitarian Bowl championships (1998, 2009 and 2016).

Idaho will return to the postseason sooner than later.

Having a few more fans paying attention will help that for sure.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.