Idaho State vs Southern Utah postgame (videos, scoring summary, notes)

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE DOME

Graves shuffling around
Freshman wide receiver Hagen Graves started in an entirely new position for the second straight game.

Graves, who is just over a year removed from playing for Skyview High School, began the season as KW Williams backup as a slot wide receiver. But after both Madison Mangum and Broc Malcom went down with injuries at Eastern Washington, Graves has shifted to outside wide receiver.

Against Simon Fraser on Oct. 11, Graves started in place of Mangum and caught five passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns.

Saturday, Graves moved to the other side of the field in place of Malcom, who is still out with an undisclosed injury. Graves caught four passes for 82 yards.

“Hagen’s maturity allows him to be able to play wherever we put him,” said ISU offensive coordinator Don Bailey. “... It can be complicated but we make it simple for him to be able to play fast.”

No breakdown in the kicking gameThe Bengals didn’t have a field goal blocked and Southern Utah didn’t burn ISU for six points on a kickoff or punt return. In essence, Idaho State had one of its best games of the season on special teams.

“Outstanding job by our kicking crew the whole day,” said Idaho State head coach Mike Kramer. “The kickoff coverage was outstanding. Our punt coverage was outstanding. … We’re a good football team and we play well at home.”

C.J. Reyes punted seven times for an average of 44.4 yards per boot. Five of the senior’s punts landed inside Southern Utah’s 20-yard line.

Even the offense can wear downIdaho State and Southern Utah combined to run 186 plays. Both teams have offenses that want to play fast and overwhelm opposing defenses.

ISU offensive lineman Wesley Wingrove admits that he can wear down, too, but he’s adjusted to the pace of play.

“My freshman year, it wasn’t easy going 96 plays,” he said. “I wanted to tap out at about 40. But now that this is my third year, I’ve gotten used to it.”

Idaho State injuriesStarting Idaho State defensive nose tackle Tyler Kuder and offensive right tackle Terrence Carey were forced out of the Southern Utah game with apparent injuries.

Idaho State does not comment on any injuries and their status for next week’s road game is unknown. Kuder is fifth on the Bengals with 39 tackles and Carey is part of an offensive line that has helped jump-start the Bengals’ running game.

Up next: Northern Colorado
Idaho State (4-3, 2-1 BSC) plays at Northern Colorado (2-5, 1-3) Oct. 25 at 1:35 p.m.

The Bears have lost their last two games, including a 26-18 final at Eastern Washington on Saturday.

Northern Colorado entered this weekend’s slate of games in the Big Sky 12th in scoring offense (20.3 points per game), but the Bears have been solid on defense, holding opponents to 29.5 points on average. UNC leads the league in interceptions with 14.

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER
ISU — Xavier Finney 1 run (Zak Johnson Kick), 8:14. Key plays: Justin Arias hit Madison Mangum for 38 yards, taking Idaho State to the Southern Utah 38-yard line. Xavier Finney had 17 yards rushing on five carries, including his touchdown run, but it was the legs of Arias that kept the drive alive when all options failed to pan out. He ran nine yards from the SUU 17 on third down. Drive: 10 plays, 77 yards, 3:29. Idaho State 7, Southern Utah 0.

SUU — Chris Robinson 79 pass from Ammon Olsen (Trevor McGirr kick), 7:55. Key plays: Blown ISU coverage left SUU receiver Chris Robinson wide open. After grabbing the pass about 15 yards from the line of scrimmage, he bolted the remaining 64 yards for the score. Drive: 1 play, 79 yards, 0:12. Idaho State 7, Southern Utah 7.

SECOND QUARTER
ISU — Xavier Finney 1 run (Zak Johnson kick), 14:54. Key plays: Arias passes of 19 and 23 yards, both on third down to Mangum, kept the drive alive. A 23-yard shot to Josh Cook put the Bengals on the SUU 1-yard line, setting up a second Finney touchdown. Arias was 6-of-8 with 96 yards on the drive. Drive: 14 plays, 95 yards, 4:41. Idaho State 14, Southern Utah 7.

ISU — Madison Mangum 7 pass from Justin Arias (Zak Johnson kick), 12:45. Key plays: Arias racked up another 65 yards passing on the drive, finding Tyler Wright for 21 yards and then 37 yards before hitting Mangum for seven yards and the touchdown. Drive: 3 plays, 65 yards, 0:37. Idaho State 21, Southern Utah 7.

SUU — Malik Brown 9 pass from Ammon Olsen (Trevor McGirr kick), 8:33. Key plays: Ammon Olsen was methodical in hitting several short passes before an interference penalty on ISU pushed the Thunderbirds into Bengal territory. That’s when Olsen connected with Robinson for 33 yards, putting SUU inside the 10-yard line. Drive: 9 plays, 78 yards, 4:06. Idaho State 21, Southern Utah 14.

ISU — KW Williams 17 pass from Justin Arias (Zak Johnson kick), 7:09. Key plays: Arias hit Finney for 21 yards and Hagen Graves for 12 yards. It was Finney who then rumbled 22 yards to take the ball into the red zone where Arias hit KW Williams for the touchdown. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 1:31. Idaho State 28, Southern Utah 14.

SUU — Malik Brown 3 run (Trevor McGirr kick), 4:54. Key plays: Olsen hit Justin Brown for 41 yards, taking the Thunderbirds down to the ISU 18-yard line. He added an 11-yard shot to Justin Brown and Malik Brown ran the remaining three yards for the touchdown. Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, 2:08. Idaho State 28, Southern Utah 21.

ISU — Daniel McSurdy 16 run (Zak Johnson kick), 3:22. Key plays: Finney carried the ball for 16 yards and 14 yards on successive plays. And Arias hit Graves for 9 yards. But it was McSurdy, breaking tackles and darting for the end zone who carried it home. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 1:39. Idaho State 35, Southern Utah 21.

THIRD QUARTER
SUU — Mitch Jessop 2 pass from Ammon Olsen (Trevor McGirr kick), 7:17. Key plays: Olsen was 4-of-4 for 57 yards, including a 41-yard shot to Mitch Jessop that put SUU on the Idaho State 2-yard line, setting up a touchdown pass to Jessop. Drive: 6 plays, 57 yards, 1:26. Idaho State 35, Southern Utah 21.

FOURTH QUARTER
ISU — KW Williams 29 pass from Justin Arias (Zak Johnson kick), 14:55. Key plays: Arias hit Graves for 45 yards on third down to keep the drive alive. He later hit Williams for 29 yards and the touchdown. Drive: 7 plays, 90 yards, 1:58. Idaho State 41, Southern Utah 28.

ISU — Josh Cook 43 pass from Justin Arias (Zak Johnson kick), 8:06. Key plays: The Bengals began the drive at the Southern Utah 49-yard line. Arias connected with Josh Cook on the third play of the drive for a 43-yard touchdown. Drive: 3 plays, 49 yards, 0:46. Idaho State 49, Southern Utah 28.

ISU — Xavier Finney 42 run (Zak Johnson kick), 3:37. Key plays: Late in the game, as ISU sought to run out the clock, it was Finney, ducking defenders, who rumbled 42 yards for the touchdown. Drive: 2 plays, 47 yards, 0:41. Idaho State 56, Southern Utah 28.