Idaho State football notes from Sac State press conference (videos)

Idaho State football notes
— It’s Idaho State’s homecoming this week. The Bengals are looking for their first win on homecoming since 2007 when they knocked off Northern Colorado 26-14.

As part of homecoming, ISU will wear all-new, gun-metal gray alternate uniforms.

— Sacramento State leads the series with Idaho State 11-6. Most recently, the Hornets upended ISU 24-9 in 2011, Mike Kramer’s first season in Pocatello. And Sac State outscored ISU 54-31 at Holt Arena in 2012.

— Sacramento State senior quarterback Garrett Safron has thrown for 302 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in two games against the Bengals. He’s run for another 121 yards and a touchdown. Kramer compared Safron to ISU starting quarterback Justin Arias.

“(Safron) might use his feet to do a few more things and Justin might use his arm to do a few more things,” Kramer said. “But both guys are weirdly, significantly similar.”

— Idaho State (1-2) is coming off a bye after beating Chadron State 39-34 Sept. 13 in Holt Arena. The defense was missing several key players along the defensive line and the time off allowed the Bengals to heal up.

 Offensively, however, Idaho State had found a groove after piling up a season-high 550 yards of offense against the Eagles. ISU associate head coach and offensive coordinator Don Bailey said he tried to use the bye to get better.

“I thought we had an excellent bye week. Probably as good as the last 10 years,” he said. “I thought those guys were pretty intense and got a lot of good work out of it. We just wanted to stay relaxed and keep executing and stay in a rhythm.”

— Receivers Madison Mangum and Broc Malcom both had career days against Chadron State. The duo combined for 249 yards and four touchdowns on 19 catches.

For Malcom, it was a game of redemption. The sophomore had several drops the week before against Utah State.


“I do have to say I was pretty upset with myself,” Malcom said. “So I just kind of took it in. I didn’t really react too much or stay focused on it. But I did use it as motivation the next week and into the game against Chadron.”

 — Sacramento State interim head coach Jody Sears worked with Kramer and ISU outside wide receiver coach Sheldon Cross at Washington State.


Sears coached the cornerbacks and was the co-defensive coordinator.

“We know Jody pretty well. So it’s more of just a general idea of who Jody is and what he does,” Cross said. “... We have a pretty interesting feel for him.”

— Idaho State versus Sacramento State is a 2 p.m. game at Holt Arena. The game will be broadcast on 102.5 FM and 930 AM and on Watch Big Sky (http://www.americaonesports.com/bigsky.asp).