Seiji Wood
Sports Editor
Idaho State’s football team is off to one of its best starts in years with a 4-2 record midway through the season. The Bengals are 3-1 in conference play and are tied for second in the conference standings.
The only losses so far this season have come to Cal and first-place UC Davis, whom the Bengals fell to in overtime last week after holding a 30-14 lead.
The Bengals have exceeded their preseason expectations, which had ISU finishing 12th out of 13 Big Sky teams in the preseason coaches poll.
“We’re in uncharted waters with this bunch and every experience we have from here on out is a new experience,” said head coach Rob Phenicie. “Every week now, we’re not the little Idaho State. We’re a known commodity within the conference and we’re gonna get everybody’s best shot now.”
I believe Idaho State’s success began after its win against North Dakota. The Bengals were 1-1 up till that point with a win over Western State of Colorado, which was expected, and a loss to Cal.
It was hard to tell what the identity of the team was at the time and the North Dakota game was going to be the game where ISU fans could gage what they could expect for the season. UND was ranked 22nd in the FCS at the time and the Bengals were able to squeeze out a win, 25-21.
It was easy to see right off the bat that Idaho State’s offense was the strength of the team. And up to this point in the season, the offense has played very effectively.
Idaho State is currently first in the conference in total offense with an average of 529 yards per game and first in scoring offense with an average of 41 points per game. A balanced run and pass game has been key to the offense’s success.
Quarterback Tanner Gueller is second in the conference in passing yards and third in efficiency with an average of 279 yards per game to go with a 14-5 touchdown to interception ratio.
James Madison and Ty Flanagan both crack the top 10 in rushing (Madison 5th and Flanagan 8th) while Madison leads all rushers with 10 touchdowns. But both did leave last Saturday’s game at times with injuries.
The Bengals also have two receivers, Mitch Gueller and Michael Dean, who crack the top 10 in receiving yards. Mitch Gueller is 2nd with an average of 126 yards per game and Dean is 9th with an average of 65 yards per game.
Idaho State’s defense has also been playing well, but the Bengals performance on defense against UC Davis put ISU back in the conference statistics. Going into the UC Davis game, the Bengals were 2nd in total defense but after the game, the defense dropped to 7th.
I’m still pretty confident in the defense. It’s improved a tremendous amount since last year. UC Davis just has a really good quarterback in Jake Maier, who leads all quarterbacks in the conference in passing yards and total offense. What I’m more worried about is the Bengals ability to close out games.
This is the one area where Idaho State has been inconsistent. This issue dates back to last season and it definitely showed this past weekend against UC Davis. The Bengals had a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter with just over 13 minutes left in the game before the Aggies rallied and eventually beat the Bengals in overtime.
The Bengals still had a chance to win the game in regulation, but the game should’ve been put to bed much earlier so they didn’t find themselves in that pressure situation.
I also saw a glimpse of this issue against NAU. Even though Idaho State won, the game was a lot closer than what it should’ve been.
“We had them down but we didn’t knock them out,” Phenicie said after the NAU game. “Anytime you get up the way you do, we need to close them out and we didn’t, and that’s where we need to be better.”
Phenicie also mentioned that against better teams, the inability to close out games would come back to bite them and that’s what happened against UC Davis.
If the Bengals can fix that one issue, I feel like ISU’s chances to end the season on a run are very high.
I’m pleased with where Idaho State is at right now, but not quite satisfied. The Bengals should’ve beat UC Davis and I’m sure they know that. But what’s done is done and they need to shake off this loss and get back on track.
Despite the tough loss, the Bengals are still in a great position in the Big Sky. They have a break from conference games this upcoming weekend as they travel to Virginia to take on Liberty University. Conference play resumes the following week as the Bengals host Montana State Oct. 26.
The Bengals are in position to have their first winning record since 2014. I believe they’ll do it. Phenicie was right when he said, “we’re not the little Idaho State.” I think this year is special. It’s been special already and the Bengals have a chance to continue it.
“Guys are doing the things that we ask,” Phenicie said. “They’re listening to us, they’re taking our coaching, they’re not wavering, they’re not questioning, they’re playing hard. It’s a team out there. It’s not an offense, a defense, a special teams. It’s fun on the sidelines listening to everyone cheer each other on.”
