Idaho
No. 1 Montana State pounds eighth-seeded Idaho 52-19, runs into FCS semifinals
BOZEMAN — For the first time all season, Montana State allowed a visiting opponent to score in the first quarter of a game played inside Bobcat Stadium.
It made little difference, as the Bobcats used a flurry of touchdowns to close out the first half en route to a 52-19 win over Idaho on Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the FCS playoffs. Montana State will play a semifinal game next Saturday for the fourth time in six years.
The top-ranked and undefeated Bobcats started the game against the Vandals in typical fashion of this historic season — marching down the field on the opening series to score a touchdown on a 3-yard pass from quarterback Tommy Mellott to tight end Rylan Schlepp.
The game seemed to turn late in the first quarter, though. Idaho quarterback Jack Layne, who missed the Vandals’ regular-season loss at Montana State, aired out a pass to a wide-open Jordan Dwyer.
Dwyer, who was running free behind the MSU secondary, caught the perfectly placed pass and ran in for a 55-yard touchdown. Idaho and Montana State were tied 7-7 going to the second quarter.
The teams traded field goals in the second — Myles Sansted converted from 46 yards for Montana State and Cameron Pope made a 32-yarder for Idaho — but the wheels came off for the Vandals in the waning minutes of the half.
Following Pope’s field goal, Idaho coach Jason Eck opted to go for a surprise onside kick. The ball didn’t travel the required 10 yards, giving the Bobcats the ball at the Idaho 38-yard line. Montana State capitalized, with Mellott scoring this time on the ground from 8 yards out to give the Bobcats a 17-10 led with 3:47 to play in the first half.
On Idaho’s ensuing possession, Mark Hamper fumbled on a wide receiver screen after running into the back of one of his own blockers. MSU defensive end Brody Grebe recovered the fumble, and the Bobcats’ offense came back on the field.
Moments later, running back Adam Jones, who started in the absence of Scottre Humphrey, was in the end zone, and the Bobcats were suddenly up 24-10.
But the first-half disaster wasn’t over for the Vandals. Idaho was forced to punt, and — after a 15-yard return by Taco Dowler — Mellott showed why he’s a finalist for the Walter Payton Award.
The senior from Butte dropped back to pass but didn’t find an open receiver. With pressure closing in, Mellott scrambled through an opening in the line, juked an Idaho defender and sprinted down the left sideline. He was forced out 63 yards later, and the Bobcats were in business inside the Idaho 5-yard line with less than 30 seconds left in the half.
Jones eventually punched in another touchdown on third-and-goal, and Montana State took a 31-10 lead into halftime, having scored 21 unanswered points in less than four minutes of game action.
The second half didn’t start much better for Idaho. Layne threw an interception to Jon Johnson on the Vandals’ first offensive play, and five minutes later Jones scored this third touchdown, this one from 9 yards out. Mellott added a 5-yard TD pass to Dowler later in the third, and Montana State took a 45-10 lead to the fourth quarter.
Less than a minute into the fourth, Jones added another touchdown. After taking a Mellott pass 56 yards to the 2-yard line, Jones scored his fourth TD of the night on the next play.
Layne and Dwyer connected for another Idaho touchdown in the fourth quarter, and Pope added a 43-yard field goal.
Montana State improved to 14-0 for the first time in program history, and the 14-game win streak is also the best in program history. Fourth-year head coach Brent Vigen is now 30-1 during his career at Bobcat Stadium and has guided Montana State to the semifinal round of the postseason in three of his four years.
Idaho, which was the eighth seed for this year’s playoffs and entered Saturday’s game with a six-game winning streak, finishes the season at 10-4.
Turning point: Hamper’s fumble completely changed the complexion of the game. It was just a one-score game when Idaho started the series with an opportunity to close out the half. Instead of driving the field and getting points, the turnover gave the Bobcats a short field and started the avalanche that finished out the first half.
Stat of the game: Montana State dominated in all facets, and perhaps nothing illustrates that more than the teams’ performances on third down. The Bobcats converted on 11 of 15 third-down plays, while Idaho was only 2 of 10, with its first successful third-down conversion coming in the fourth quarter against Montana State’s second-string defense.
Bobcat game balls: RB Adam Jones (Offense). With Humphrey sidelined, Jones, the Big Sky Conference freshman of the year, showed he was more than capable. He handled the bulk of the carries, finishing with 23 totes for 95 yards and four touchdowns. He also had three catches for 66 yards. Jones, a graduate of Missoula Sentinel High School, now has 1,068 rushing yards on the season.
DE Brody Grebe (Defense). Grebe started the game blowing up a fourth-down run on Idaho’s first possession to keep the Vandals off the scoreboard in the early going. And his fumble recovery in the second quarter was one of the pivotal plays of the game. The official stats gave Grebe only one tackle, but his imprint was all over the game.
What’s next: Montana State will have its final home game of the season at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21, against either UC Davis or South Dakota in the semifinal round. The Coyotes host the Aggies at 1 p.m. on Saturday in a quarterfinal game.
Idaho
Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances
For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.
“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.
The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.
Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.
Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.
Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.
“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.
Doing so is a risk, he said.
“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.
Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.
But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.
Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.
Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.
“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.
The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.
House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.
Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio
Idaho
University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders
A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.
A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.
Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”
“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.
“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”
Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.
Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.
The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.
Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.
Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”
The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.
Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.
In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.
During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.
However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.
She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.
It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.
The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.
With Post wires
Idaho
Gas prices expected to exceed $3 as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages
BOISE, Idaho — AAA is warning Idaho gas consumers that pump prices will likely rise as the conflict in Iran disrupts oil and gas supply chains worldwide.
The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East will likely push the price for a gallon of regular gasoline past the $3 mark over the coming days.
“On one hand, the crude oil market had time to account for some financial risk in the Middle East as forces mobilized, but a supply shortage somewhere affects the global picture,” says AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde. “If tankers can’t move products through the region, there could be ripple effects.”
On Monday, March 2, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.97, reports AAA, which is 12 cents more expensive than it was a month ago but 20 cents less than this time last year.
State / Price: 1 gallon of regular gasoline
- Washington / $4.37
- Oregon / $3.92
- Nevada / $3.70
- Idaho / $2.97
- Colorado / $2.89
- Montana / $2.82
- Utah / $2.74
- Wyoming / $2.73
In terms of the most expensive fuel in the nation, Idaho currently ranks #14. However, buying a gallon of regular gas in neighboring states such as Oregon and Washington could cost a whole dollar more. In contrast, gas prices in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming are anywhere between 15 to 24 cents cheaper than fuel in the Gem State.
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