Seiji Wood/ Lucas Gebhart
Sports Editor/ Editor-in-Chief
There are four goals painted on the windows of the football offices in Holt Arena. Those four goals are to have a winning record, beat Weber State, make the playoffs and to win the conference.
Last season, ISU wouldn’t have accomplished any of those four, but took steps in the right direction. The Bengals will take the first step to embarking on those goals this Friday night when ISU hosts Division II Western State of Colorado at Holt Arena.
Last season The Bengals finished 4-7 in 2017, which was an improvement from two consecutive 2-9 seasons which closed the Mike Kramer era.
Last season, ISU won three of its first five games, including a 30-28 win over FBS Nevada, marking the first time the Bengals beat an FBS school since 2000 when the team beat Utah State. The Bengals nearly won four of their first five but lost to Northern Colorado on a game-winning field goal in the conference opener.
But the Bengals sputtered towards the end of the season, losing their last three and five of their last six. ISU closed out the season with a blowout loss, 56-17, to regional rival Weber State.
Three out of ISU’s seven losses last season were by 14 or less points. There was the game-winning field goal against Northern Colorado, the 14-point loss in Bozeman to Montana State and the seesaw-style loss to Montana. If the Bengals managed to win those three games, they would’ve had a winning record of 7-4 instead of 4-7. The last time the Bengals had a winning record was back in 2014 when they went 8-4.
Phenicie on for three more years Current head coach, Rob Phenicie received a three-year contract extension during last year’s season and returns for his second year as head coach. Phenicie took over after Kramer abruptly retired juts before spring practices were set to begin in March of 2017. Phenicie verbally agreed to the contract extension after ISU blew out Portland State, 59-30, the most points it put up against a Division I school since 1980.
The former Montana offensive coordinator helped lead the Bengals to an average of 28 points per game and returns most key pieces from last season’s offense. Offensive returns its firepower With a similar strength of schedule this year, the Bengals are in position to break pass a sub .500 season. Key players returning include quarterback Tanner Gueller, running backs Madison and Flannigan, wide receivers Mitch Gueller and Michael Dean, and most of the offensive line.
Both Madison and Mitch Gueller were awarded first-team all-conference last season. ISU in total had 10 players receive all-conference awards at the end of 2017, the most since 2003.
Tanner Gueller is heading into his senior year and coming off an efficient 2017 season. Tanner Gueller completed close to 60 percent of his passes and threw for 2,754 yards with 22 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. This season, he will still have most of his favorite targets.
“I’m just enjoying what we have right now,” Gueller said in a June press conference regarding his senior season. “As far as the guys go, I’ve never been around a closer group of guys…this whole team from top to bottom.”
Helping Tanner Gueller in the backfield are Madison and Flannigan. Both Madison and Flannigan cracked the top 10 leading rushers in the Big Sky Conference last year.
Madison recorded 933 yards on the ground and 1,146 all-purpose yards last season.
Flannigan had 634 yards of his own along with 11 touchdowns, which led the Big Sky.
The Bengals will have a big one-two punch with them carrying the ball.
“You probably want us both on the field at the same time,” Flannigan said back in June. “Regardless of the fact of who’s in, we both give the same thing to the offense…we motivate each other and we both know we can contribute to the team in the same way.”
Having a thunder and lightning combo in the backfield will more than likely open things up in the air when defenses try to stack the box. When the ball is thrown, Mitch Gueller and Michael Dean will be the main targets. Mitch Gueller had 871 receiving yards in 2017 and also landed a spot in the conference’s first team offense, while Dean had 754 receiving yards and got a place in the conference’s third team offense. Both of them also had their fair share of touchdowns in 2017 with each of them finding the end zone eight times.
With most of the offense returning for 2018, the Bengals are bound to put up points against their opponents. However, preventing opponents to put up points against them has been one of the Bengals biggest issues.
Will the defensive struggles continue?
ISU finished next to last in the conference in 2017 in total defense but looks to bounce back for this upcoming season.
It may be tough for them as ISU loses one of its biggest defensive presences in Mario Jenkins, who led the Big Sky in tackles last season.
ISU also lost JonRyheem Peoples on the defensive line. The BYU transfer was signed by the New Orleans Saints after the 2018 NFL Draft.
Last season, the Bengals struggles came mostly from the secondary.
The secondary gave up 27 touchdowns and allowed 279.5 yards per game. That ranked them 119th out of 123 FCS teams in pass defense.
The defensive struggles last season led to the dismissal of former Bengal defensive coordinator Spencer Toone during the team’s bye week. Roger Cooper takes over the duties this season.
“I think we’ve made strides to make sure they’re on top of the play, so they can make a lot more of those plays effectively, so we don’t give up as many explosive plays,” Cooper said back in June.
On the bright side, ISU returns safety, Adkin Aguirre, who finished second in interceptions last year with four. The defense overall doesn’t have much depth but that doesn’t worry defensive lineman, Rasheed Williams and linebacker Paea Moala.
“We’re counting on anybody coming to join this team,” Williams said.
“We’re counting on you. You’ve got to be someone that’s going to come in and be ready to contribute,” Moala said. “Everybody is accountable on this team…if I go down, my backup needs to be ready. We have to all trust each other.”
If the Bengals can iron things out on defense and continue their offensive efficiency, a successful season may be the result.
Western State Colorado: The Bengals open the season this Friday against a Western State school that went 1-10 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference last season, a Division II conference with schools in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska and South Dakota. Fans are encouraged to wear white in what should be a cakewalk for ISU. Western State was picked to finish 10th in the RMAC’s preseason coaches’ polls, only sliding ahead of New Mexico Highlands. The two teams last met in 2013, with ISU pulling out a 29-3 victory.
Cal: Following the team’s Week 2 bye, the Bengals walk into a stadium that hold 63,000-strong, the largest venue ISU has played in since traveling to Huskie Stadium in 2013 to play Washington. This will undoubtedly be ISU’s toughest test of the season. Cal represents the third Pac-12 school ISU has played in the last three seasons. In 2016, the Bengals lost 56-7 to Colorado and 37-7 to Oregon State. The Bears were picked to finish fourth in the Pac-12’s North division and ISU is the only FCS school on Cal’s schedule. The game is scheduled to be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
North Dakota:
The North Dakota game will feature ISU’s weirdest pregame scenario. The Fighting Hawks left the Big Sky a season ago for the Missouri Valley, but will not officially join their new conference until 2020. Never the less, North Dakota kept its schedule, which was made a few years in advance. So, even though North Dakota has eight Big Sky teams on its schedule, it will not play any conference games this year as the Fighting Hawks will remain independent until they join the Missouri Valley. The game itself will be the fourth time the two teams have met since North Dakota joint the Big Sky in 2013. ISU is 1-2 in those matchups.
Northern Arizona:
After spending nearly a month away from the dome, ISU returns for Homecoming Week against the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona in the Bengal’s Big Sky opener. ISU’s defense will be tasked with slowing down the conference’s best quarterback in Case Cookus. Cookus, a first-team all-conference selection a year ago as a sophomore, threw for 3,413 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2017, while throwing six interceptions. With his 6-foot-4 pocket passer, Lumberjacks head coach Jerome Souers’ squad averaged over 30 points per game and led the conference in first downs in 2017. Northern Arizona also was the Big Sky’s best secondary a season ago, only surrendering 2,091 yards through the air, a mark that led the conference. The ‘Jacks went 6-2 in conference play last season and lost to San Diego, 41-10, in the opening round of the FCS playoffs.
Idaho:
ISU’s in-state rival rejoined the Big Sky in football this season after brief stints in the Western Athletic Conference, as an independent and in the Sun Belt. Fans are encouraged to “stripe the stadium” with select sections wearing orange and others wearing black in what could be the biggest game of the year. This will be Idaho’s first trip back to Holt Arena since 1997. The Vandals are two years removed from a 9-4 season which saw Idaho win the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Idaho is one of the Big Sky’s original members and finished in the top five during each of the last 14 years it was in the Big Sky.
Cal-Davis:
Former Boise State and Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins leads ISU’s Week 7 opponent. In his second season, Hawkins brings back 10 players who earned all-Big Sky awards last season. One of those players, Keelan Doss, was named the Big Sky’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2017 as he caught 115 passes for 1,499 receiving yards. Doss led the entire country, including the FBS, in receiving yards per game last season (136.3) and receptions per game (10.5). The Mustang quarterback, Jake Maier, was the conference’s newcomer of the year in 2017 and ranked second in the Big Sky in passing yards per game (333.5) and passing efficiency (152.5).
Liberty:
After traveling to the west coast, the Bengals will endure their longest road trip of the season when they travel to Virginia for a midseason, non-conference tilt against the Flames. ISU will be Liberty’s homecoming opponent in the Flames first season in the FBS. Liberty has yet to find a new conference for its football team at the next level but does have a handful of power schools on its schedule like Virginia and Auburn. Last season, the Flames went 6-5 and upset Baylor, 48-45, in Week 1.
Montana State:
The Bengals longest road trip will be followed up with the Hall of Fame game at home. Montana State is another conference game and finished 5-6 in 2017. The Bobcats are opposite to ISU in their styles of gameplay. The Bobcats are stronger defensively whereas the Bengals are stronger offensively. The two teams met last year, and Montana State got the better of ISU, 28-14.
Portland State:
ISU then goes up against Portland State, who was the worst team in the conference last year with a record of 0-11. The Vikings were last in total defense but still managed to have decent offense. In the most recent preseason polls for 2018, Portland State finished last in both the coaches’ and media poll.
Cal Poly:
After Portland State, the Bengals have another winnable conference game against Cal Poly. The Mustangs finished 1-10 in 2017. With its option-style offense, Cal Poly mainly kept the ball on the ground coming in second in the conference in rushing yards. However, they finished last in past offense and lost their leading rusher, Jared Mohamed. ISU faced Cal Poly last year where the Bengals won in a close one, 38-34.
Weber State:
The Bengals close the year at home with the same opponent they ended with last year in Weber State. The Wildcats won the Big Sky Conference last year with a 11-3 record. They advanced to the FCS playoffs and won two games before eventually losing to James Madison. Despite winning the conference last year, coaches and media polls have the Wildcats finishing second in 2018.
