FOR MORE Idaho State game day coverage ...
Idaho State linebacker Mitch Beckstead makes an impassioned speech, promises all-out effort and asks for fan support.
(want to listen to Beckstead's entire speech? click here)
Striking a balance—Using the run and pass, the Bengals are averaging more yards than ever before
AND HERE'S the Journal's coverage of the Bengals throughout the week ...
Missed opportunities and a return to old bad habits on defense doomed the Bengals at EWU
ISU notebook: Jenkins nominated for Jerry Rice award
The good and the bad: Idaho State vs Eastern Washington
CRUCIAL MATCHUP
Idaho State’s defense vs Simon Fraser’s offensive shifts
First-year Simon Fraser head coach Jacques Chapdelaine played football for the Clan and had a lengthy career in the Canadian Football League after being selected in the first round by the BC Lions in 1983.
Chapdelaine has spent most of his professional career in the CFL and was the Lions offensive coordinator from 2008-13. The Sherbrooke, Québec, native uses a lot of principles he picked up in the CFL with the Clan.
“They do a lot of CFL type things with their offense with only 11 guys,” said Idaho State head coach Mike Kramer. “They change formations. They use a myriad of attacks.”
ISU co-defensive coordinator Spencer Toone added: “It’s a little bit different than you typically see. There’s a lot of motion, a lot of shifts. Different types of motion that you don’t usually see. And they try to create some confusion in that way.”
The Bengals have to take in the movement and shifts, stay patient and react when the ball is snapped.
“All we have to do is sit back, let them do their thing and when they’re done shifting and motioning, just be in the right place at the right time,” said senior linebacker Mitch Beckstead.
The defense is certainly motivated to have a bounce-back game. Idaho State nearly pulled off the upset of the season in a three-point loss to Eastern Washington last week. But the defense struggled to contain the Eagles, giving up 617 yards, including 263 yards on the ground, the most since Utah State pounded ISU for 311 yards Sept. 6 in Logan.
By comparison, Simon Fraser’s offensive arsenal does not pack the same type of punch as ISU’s other opponents. The Clan’s leading passing, junior Ryan Stanford, has thrown eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. Simon Fraser has run for 356 yards the entire season.
Last week, Simon Fraser went to junior Tyler Nickel under center instead of Stanford. The Clan won their first game of the season against Dixie State 29-19 and Nickel completed 15-of-21 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown.
“Both quarterbacks who have played this season are American junior college products,” Kramer said. “They have great height. ... Their tailback is very strong, very equivalent to a lot of guys we see.”
IDAHO STATE KEYS TO SUCCESS
1
Tackling. ISU’s biggest disappointment from the Eastern Washington loss was the defense’s poor tackling. EWU’s wide receivers piled up extra yards after the catch and the Eagles backup running back Mario Brown ran for a career-high 126 yards on 18 carries.
“Early on, we just had to settle down a little bit,” said ISU senior corner Brandon Golden. “We just had to realize the situation and be a little more confident in our abilities. ... That’s our main focus this week, focus on cutting down on those missed tackles.”
Bengals coach Mike Kramer went a step further during Idaho State’s weekly press conference.
Kramer said if ISU’s defense doesn’t find a way to tackle better it doesn’t matter what kind of game plan ISU’s coaches design because they won’t have a chance at stopping anyone.
“We have our standards, we have our goals and if we would have stuck to those we would have made those plays and (Eastern Washington) wouldn’t have beat us,” said senior linebacker Mitch Beckstead.
Simon Fraser provides the Bengal defense a chance to find itself. And they’ll need to because ISU finishes the season with six straight Big Sky Conference games after today’s matchup with the Clan.
The only way Idaho State can end its 47-game losing streak on the road is if the defense can replicate the kind of performance it had in the second half against Sacramento State when the Bengals held the Hornets to seven points.
2
Maintain laser focus and desire to get better. Mike Kramer has felt the appreciation from fans and boosters for how Idaho State has performed in its last two games. The Bengals are 1-1 in the Big Sky Conference and a mere three points separate them from a three-game winning streak and a 2-0 start in league play.
ISU played so well against Sacramento State and Eastern Washington that possibilities of a winning season and playoffs — playoffs?! — don’t seem like far-flung dreams that only belong to other programs.
Enter Simon Fraser — the classic trap game. Idaho State returns to Holt Arena and faces a Division II opponent smack dab in the middle of its Big Sky Conference schedule. It’s the sort of game a team can take for granted.
“You have to revere every opportunity to play well,” Kramer said. “... You have to respect the game of football by preparing for an opponent who is going to try and knock your teeth out on every play.”
It’s not just about playing well against Simon Fraser. The Bengals have reached a point of respectability on the football field by feeding a desire to get better and improve. Now that they’ve had a semblance of success, the hunger to grow and improve has to continue.
“We can’t let past success, even this season, extinguish the flame of us trying to be better,” Kramer said. “... We’ve got to make sure that we’re wary of the fact that, hey, we haven’t done anything.”
3
Avoid any catastrophes in special teams. Idaho State’s issues on special teams is reaching the point of a dark comedy by now.
The Bengals have shown improvement in all facets on the football field. The offense is averaging 48.5 points a game against Big Sky competition and the defense is showing signs of life with seven forced turnovers in five games.
But one aspect of the Bengals has been a disaster.
ISU special teams in 2014: Two field goals blocked (one for a touchdown), a punt blocked for a touchdown, one kickoff return for a touchdown and two punt returns for touchdowns. The Bengals have missed two extra point attempts, have the worst punt return average in the Big Sky Conference and is 12th in the league in punting, averaging 31 net yards per boot.
Eastern Washington was the team that blocked a CJ Reyes’ punt in the second quarter. It put the Eagles up 35-17.
“When it all gets said and done we gave them a cheap score on a blocked punt, which was totally on me,” said ISU’s Mike Kramer, who coaches the special teams. “That’s totally my responsibility. It was just a miscommunication between myself, Dan McSurdy and CJ Reyes that led to a score that we really never could come back from.”
If the Bengals don’t find a way to sharpen that aspect of their game, it’s bound to bite them again. Mistakes on special teams may not hinder ISU’s efforts against Simon Fraser. But they could derail Idaho State in tight Big Sky contests.
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