Rewind back to 2003, the third week in October. Idaho State, the No. 21 team in the country, hosted No. 5 Montana in a Big Sky showdown.

The Bengals knocked off the vaunted Grizzlies in a thrilling 43-40 double overtime victory. ISU fans packed Holt Arena nearly full with an attendance of 11,434, the largest home crowd since Merril Hoge’s final game in 1986.

The Bengals haven’t beat the Grizzlies since or come close to that game’s near-capacity crowd. Could one of Idaho State’s games on the 2015 schedule emerge to rival the excitement and buildup 12 years later?

The latest FCS attendance numbers were recently released by the NCAA. Idaho State averaged 6,721 fans per game in 2014, the eighth-highest mark in the Big Sky Conference.

Montana led the Big Sky and the FCS with an average of 23,777 fans per home game. Montana State (17,056) was second in the league and No. 4 in the country and Eastern Washington (9,432) was third in the Big Sky and 30th overall.

As a conference, the Big Sky was third in average attendance (9,508), trailing the Southwestern Athletic (12,781) and the Missouri Valley (10,807).

Idaho State drew 40,323 over six home games last year. The lowest attendance was 4,422 when the Bengals beat Simon Fraser 66-14, and the high (9,323) was ISU’s 30-28 victory over No. 21 Cal Poly.

Idaho State’s average of 6,721 snapped a two-year trend when the Bengals drew fewer fans per game than the year before. It’s the fifth highest average attendance ISU football has had since 2004.

And it might just be the beginning.

Idaho State’s classic against Montana in 2003 was a matchup of two ranked teams and had conference title implications at the time.

The Bengals have three games on the upcoming schedule this season with a similar combination of factors. ISU hosts defending Big Sky champion Eastern Washington on Oct. 17 and Montana and Montana State in back-to-back weekends in November.

If the Bengals can survive a four-week road trip with games at Boise State, UNLV, Cal Poly and North Dakota in September and early October, they’ll likely take on the Eagles, Grizzlies and Bobcats as a top-25 team themselves.

That’s the sort of magical concoction that could mix together to generate three tasty home matchups eastern Idaho (one would think) couldn’t ignore.

2014 Big Sky Conference football attendance

Total attendance   Average

Montana 166,440 23,777

Montana St 136,446 17,056

E Washington 75,455 9,432

Cal Poly 44,725 8,945

Weber State 42,522 8,504

Northern Arizona 41,128 8,226

North Dakota 44,915 7,846

Idaho State 40,323 6,721

Sacramento St 39,816 6,636

UC Davis 30,606 6,121

Portland State 22,914 4,583

N Colorado 21,037 4,207

Southern Utah 16,305 3,261

2014 ISU attendance

            Total attendance    Average

Idaho State            40,323    6,721

2013 ISU attendance

            Total attendance    Average

Idaho State            32,199    5,367

2012 ISU attendance

            Total attendance    Average

Idaho State            29,591    5,918

2011 ISU attendance

            Total attendance    Average

Idaho State            37,558    7,512

2010 ISU attendance

            Total attendance    Average

Idaho State            26,940    5,388

2009 ISU attendance

            Total attendance    Average

Idaho State            26,846    5,369

2008 ISU attendance

            Total attendance    Average

Idaho State            29,116    5,823

2007 ISU attendance

            Total attendance    Average

Idaho State            40,922    6,820

2006 ISU attendance

            Total attendance    Average

Idaho State            37,176    7,435

2005 ISU attendance

            Total attendance    Average

Idaho State            42,399    8,480

2004 ISU attendance

            Total attendance    Average

Idaho State            33,244    6,649