Football | 10/01/22 | 8:08 AM

HELENA, Mont. - The No. 24 Carroll College Football team will take on the No. 11 Ranked College of Idaho this afternoon at 1 p.m. in Nelson Stadium in Helena.

Coming off of a 26-14 homecoming win last Saturday over Southern Oregon, the Saints once again find themselves back in the NAIA Top-25. The new No. 24 team in the nation will have to prove themselves today if they want to stay there, as No. 11 College of Idaho comes to town with a perfect record and sitting atop the Frontier Conference standings.

Today's game is shaping up to be a sloppy one. With the change of month, the weather has taken a turn as well. Rainy conditions have settled in over the Capital City and will make things a little more interesting this afternoon. Nelson Stadium's natural grass turf, somewhat of a rarity these days, has been soaking water through the night and may prove to slow down both offenses.

Slowing down College of Idaho's offense is exactly the task at hand for the Saints defense, and they will gladly welcome the adverse conditions. The Yotes enter this weekend at 4-0, coming off of a 41-0 shutout over Eastern Oregon last weekend. The Yotes are averaging 460.8 yards per game offensively, with a near 50-50 split in terms of rushing yardage and passing yardage. Two separate C of I Running Backs have three-touchdown games on the year, Hunter Gilbert and Allamar Alexander. Garrett Kocab (Phelan, Calif. / R-SR) and the rest of Carroll's defensive front seven will have their hands full trying to stop a potent Yotes rushing attack.

The Saints offense has seen steady improvement in the past several weeks in large-part due to their stable of Running Backs. The run game has opened things up for Carroll as of late, as the threat of the run has given Quarterback Jack Prka (Coeur d'ALene, Idaho / SO) a little more time to spread the ball around on passing plays. Running back depth has been key for the Saints this year. Matthew Burgess (Junction City, Ore / R-JR) and Duncan Kraft (Billings, Mont. / R-JR) have both gone over 100 yards rushing in a game in the last two weeks, with Kraft accomplishing the feat both weeks. As if that wasn't enough, Baxter Tuggle (Laramie, Wyo. / R-JR) is the third back in, and has made the most of his opportunities as well, rattling off a 41 yard game-sealing touchdown in the fourth quarter of last week's game.

Carroll has won the last three match ups between these two schools. The Saints' victory in spring of 2021 gave them a share of the Frontier Conference title, and saw them take the auto bid into the NAIA Playoffs. Last season, Carroll's two victories were the ultimate determining factor in keeping C of I out of the playoffs again, with their final week home win knocking the Yotes into a three-way tie for the Conference title and allowing Montana Western to grab the Frontier auto bid.

Today's game will be streamed live on the Fighting Saints Network HERE, and live stats for the game can be found HERE. Catch Stewart Davis and Gary Turcott on the call on Rewind 94.9 FM, or online HERE. Tickets for the game can be found at www.carrollathletics.com/tickets or at the gate.

Be sure to visit www.carrollathletics.com this evening for a full recap of today's action.