The fourth-seeded Idaho football team continues to make history under second-year coach Jason Eck.

The Vandals play Albany at 8 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs on Saturday at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome (ESPN+).

The last time Idaho hosted a quarterfinal-round game was in 1993, when it beat Boston 21-14 on Dec. 4.

However, the Vandals haven’t had the luxury of playing back-to-back playoff games in their friendly confines since 1988.

That team is considered one of the best in program history.

The ’88 Vandals finished the regular season 10-1 overall and held the No. 1 ranking in the Division I-AA poll.

Idaho opened the Division I-AA playoffs with a 38-19 decision over Montana.

The Vandals’ win over the Grizzlies allowed them to redeem their only regular season loss (26-17), and it was the first playoff game ever played at the Kibbie Dome.

After their two-possession victory over Montana, the Vandals breezed past Northwestern State 38-30 in the quarterfinals but lost junior quarterback John Friesz in the third quarter to a sprained ankle.

Not only were the Vandals without the Big Sky’s offensive player of the year, but a week earlier, backup quarterback Steve Nolan tore his ACL during practice.

This forced Idaho to turn to freshman Andy Beitia in the semifinal game, and it went as expected, with it falling 38-7 to the Paladins.

The ’88 Vandals and the modern-day team have few things in common.

Here are a few of them:

Stein sorrows

The significance behind the way the famous traveling trophy “the Little Brown Stein” made its way to Missoula was different, but the result was the same.

In ’88, the Grizzlies dethroned the Vandals after dominating the annual contest for nearly a decade.

Montana’s 26-17 win over Idaho ended a six-game skid and was its third victory in the last 10 meetings.

Idaho’s offense, which averaged 442 yards per outing, outgained Montana 604-271 throughout the contest. But it was the turnovers that proved costly.

Friesz was intercepted four times, two of which were returned for touchdowns.

The current Vandals ended a 7-game skid against the Grizzlies following a 30-23 decision in 2022.

This season’s matchup came down to an onside kick and a questionable offsides penalty following an Idaho recovery. The Grizzlies recovered the second attempt, and the Vandals fell 23-21.

Known for your pass defense

Idaho has been efficient against the pass all season, leading the Big Sky Conference in that category all year by allowing just 169 aerial yards per game.

The group is extremely consistent at limiting big plays, and down the stretch, it has gotten better at creating turnovers.

That was the specialty of the ’88 Vandals.

Idaho’s secondary allowed just four touchdown passes while bringing in 17 interceptions.

Idaho’s ’88 defense also had a knack for getting after the quarterback, averaging four sacks a game.

The unit was led by twin brothers (still a common trend today) Jim and Jerry Medved at linebacker and Richard Carey at cornerback.

A tight unit

Both groups have given credit to the short-tenured coaching staff and the culture they built.

The ’88 Vandals were led by third-year skipper Keith Gilbertson, who led the team to the postseason every year he was in Moscow up to that point and won two conference titles.

“That was a close team that didn’t let anything faze it,” former Idaho running back Todd Hoiness said during an interview with former Tribune sports editor Bert Sahlberg in 1999. “That team was a lot like the team we had last year. They were really tight, and they had a championship attitude. There was some great character and attitude on that team, and those things have some carryover to your record.”

That championship attitude, or rather, championship behavior, is something Idaho’s second-year coach, Eck, often mentions.

The Vandals returned to the postseason for the first time since ’95 under Eck’s leadership last season but fell in the opening round 45-42 to Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 26, 2022.

Idaho made its return to the playoffs and won its first game since 1993, and it can replicate that team’s effort with a quarterfinal victory on Saturday.

If the Vandals reach the semifinals, it’ll tie the team’s best postseason mark with, you guessed it, the ’88 squad.

A victory for Idaho will bring a bunch of historical significance to a season that has already been one for the books. The ’23 Vandals have an opportunity to be one of the best teams in program history.