Sven Alskog
Sports Editor
With a game already in the rearview mirror for the Idaho State football team, the Bengals head into Big Sky Conference play on Saturday hosting the Portland State Vikings.
After a record-setting performance in a 55-0 drubbing of Black Hills State, Head Coach Mike Kramer will get an even better idea of what he has at his disposal this season against a Viking squad that knocked off Washington State out of the Pac-12 by a score of 24-17 last weekend.
The Vikings are a familiar foe for ISU, with the two sides squaring off last season in Portland, a game which the Bengals took by a final of 31-13 behind a four interception performance by the defense and a two touchdown day on the ground from Xavier Finney.
In week one against Black Hills State, the Bengals used an offensive onslaught of 710 yards, the second most in school history. A total of 378 yards came through the air and 332 on the ground to help ISU coast to victory.
The win was an all-around team effort, with the defense recording its first shutout in 10 years, Zak Johnson answering the call on the punting duties with a 44.8 yard per punt average in his first game handling double-duty and a relatively clean game featuring just two penalties for ISU.
With 13:14 left in the first quarter, quarterback Michael Sanders connected with Madison Mangum for the second time in less than a minute on a one-handed grab that received national recognition once the video went viral.
Sanders finished 15-18 for 278 yards and five touchdowns. Mangum had five receptions for 78 yards and three touchdowns, while Jakori Ford paced the rushing attack with 201 yards on 24 carries. Hagen Graves also caught two touchdown passes.
Holt Arena lived up to the billing of creating a home-field advantage in 2014, leading to an undefeated 6-0 mark for ISU, with the new campaign off to a good start as well.
“Playing at home can be revitalizing for our university and community and we have seen that,” said Kramer.
Plenty has returned to Pocatello for the new year, although the coaching staff lost Offensive Coordinator Don Bailey, who helped propel an offensive unit led by the also-departed quarterback Justin Arias that set numerous school records last season.
Bailey has moved onto the same position at Hawaii after being named Football Scoop’s FCS Coordinator of the Year in 2014 at ISU.
“Don Bailey is our greatest loss,” said Kramer. “We’ve been together since 2001 and he made sure our offense clicked and was fun to watch.”
While Kramer acknowledged the challenge of replacing the productivity of Arias and the comfort level of having someone like Bailey around, he is excited about the group he has in place.
“Love going into the season with a lot of weapons. We have one of the best receiving cores the school has ever had led by perhaps the top tight end in the country in Josh Cook.”
To compliment what is expected to again be a high-powered passing attack, the offense has two big weapons on the ground in Finney and Ford. Last season Finney became the first player in school history to rush for the most yards in the Big Sky Conference, setting the ISU single-season yardage mark with 1,495 yards on the ground, adding 14 touchdowns.
With the skill positions filled with experience, the story is much the same up front on the offensive line. During preseason practices multiple linemen have battled various injuries including Thomas Vazorka, Wes Wingrove and Chase Collins.
Versatility is one of the standout traits of the unit, with multiple players switching around spots on the line as a result of the changes.
“I’m very confident in us as a unit. We have great coaching and we’re all coached that if you need to switch to another position it doesn’t really matter,” said third-year starter Skyler Phillips.
Throughout the offseason Kramer has provided plenty of accolades for the group, creating expectations that the unit hopes to continue living up to.
“It is a tremendous compliment to us as a unit. It ups the ante a little bit when coach is looking at you like that,” added Phillips.
Expectations are high on the defensive side of the ball as well, although the losses of Taison Manu in the secondary and Mario Jenkins in the linebacker unit will make things tougher for ISU.
“Even with the losses we have to charge forward,” said senior defensive lineman Tyler Kuder. “We have come out and proven ourselves throughout scrimmages and practices. We expect to dominate out there.”
Kuder, previously a nose guard on the defensive line, will now have a different role switching over to end as a result of the added size and strength brought in by BYU transfer JonRhyeem Peoples.
The front seven will be attempting to make life easier on the defensive backfield.
“I think our defensive line is going to do a good job plugging the holes and our linebackers are quick. I’m fired up to see all the hard work we have put in pay off,” said senior safety Cody Sorensen.
After the first shutout since 2005 in the opener against Black Hills State, it appears that the defense is heading in the right direction.
Kramer pointed out that the unit allowed the most first downs in the Big Sky Conference last season during his Wednesday press conference before the game with the Yellow Jackets. After a dominant defensive effort that did not allow the opponent past the 50-yard line, Kramer will hope to see more of the same entering conference play.
The matchup with Portland State on Saturday begins at 4 p.m. inside Holt Arena.
