The Bengals are on fire right now.
The offense is humming, they’re 4-0 at home and in prime position to — believe it or not — contend for a Big Sky Conference title after defeating Southern Utah 56-28 Saturday in Holt Arena.
With a 21-point fourth quarter, ISU turned a tight contest into a comfortable four-touchdown win, helping validate ISU’s choice last week to resign head coach Mike Kramer for another three years.
There is, however, one big albatross hovering over the football program. The Bengals have lost 48 straight games, a streak that goes back to a time long, long ago (Oct. 7, 2006 at Northern Colorado, more specifically).
Idaho State’s next two Big Sky games are on the road, starting with Northern Colorado this weekend and Portland State on Nov. 1. Without question, ISU’s Big Sky championship and postseason dreams ride on its ability to win at least one of its next two games.
Before that, though, let’s look back and decipher the pluses and minuses from Idaho State’s 28-point win against Southern Utah.
PLUS/MINUS
Idaho State’s defense. The negative is that Southern Utah scored 21 points in the first half and the Thunderbirds’ one-dimensional offense accrued 528 total yards of passing.
That’s not a championship-level performance.
But when ISU’s offense went cold in the third quarter and had to punt on three straight possessions, the Bengals found a way to stop Southern Utah on three of its four drives.
And Idaho State was much better defending the passing game. Thunderbirds quarterback Ammon Olsen completed 63 percent of his passes for 278 yards and two TDs in the first half. In the final two quarters, his completion percentage dropped to 56 percent and freshman linebacker Mario Jenkins picked Olsen off twice.
Idaho State’s defense bent but never broke.
MINUS
ISU’s injuries. Starting offensive left tackle Terrence Carey and starting defensive tackle Tyler Kuder were both hurt against Southern Utah. Don’t expect the Bengals to announce their status for Northern Colorado. It’s a guessing game whether either or both will be available.
ISU has the roster depth to fill in for Carey. Sophomore right guard Skyler Phillips can slide over to right tackle (as he did against SUU when Carey was out) and sophomore Thomas Vazorka has proven to be a reliable fill in at right guard.
It’s more of a problem for the Bengals if Kuder has to miss any significant time. The 6-foot-3, 305-pound defensive lineman sits at the heart of ISU’s defense and is fifth on the team with 39 tackles.
PLUS
Idaho State’s athletics program. After compiling a 4-44 record in the Big Sky Conference from 2008-13, Idaho State’s football is 2-1 in the conference and has one the nation’s best offenses (more on that below).
The Bengals volleyball team is the reigning Big Sky champions and sit in first place of the South standings with a league-best 7-1 record.
In soccer, Idaho State’s Amanda Ellworth’s 35 career goals is two shy of breaking the Big Sky record with three matches left in the regular season.
PLUS
Idaho State’s playoff hopes now that it’s receiving votes in the FCS Coaches poll and The Sports Network top-25 FCS poll.
If the Bengals want to reach the postseason, they’ll need to either win the Big Sky Conference’s automatic bid by winning the league or receive an at-large bid. A league championship will be tough. Eastern Washington is undefeated in the conference with four games left and the Eagles’ toughest game (Montana, Nov. 8) is at home.
The other route is to receive one of 13 at-large playoff bids and that comes down to how good a team is perceived to be. Idaho State isn’t close to breaking into the top 25 in either poll but there is an easy way to fix that — keep winning.
BENGALS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS— Idaho State is second in the nation averaging 569.7 yards per game, and only three teams (Eastern Washington, Montana State and Alcorn) have scored more touchdowns than ISU, which has 40 through its first seven games.
— Led by senior quarterback Justin Arias, the Bengals have the No. 1 passing offense in the country. Arias and the Bengals are averaging 367 yards per game. ISU has the sixth-highest scoring offense at 41.7 points per game.
— Junior Madison Mangum is averaging 105 yards a game (ninth in the FCS) and sophomore KW Williams’ eight touchdown catches is tied for fifth.
— With 911 rushing yards, junior Xavier Finney is 11th in the FCS in rushing and tied for sixth with 11 rushing TDs.
— Defensively, Idaho State is allowing 36 points (103rd in the FCS) and 484 yards (112th) a game.
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