Idaho State put forth its best outing against an FBS foe in recent years at Oregon State before parlaying the performance into a 1-0 start in Big Sky Conference play. But it has been back to the same old struggles for Mike Kramer’s Bengals ever since.
This week ISU visits Washington-Grizzly Stadium for the first time since 2012 to play a Montana Grizzlies team suddenly fighting for their playoff lives.
Since Kramer took over in 2011, Idaho State has been on the wrong end of several of the worst FBS over FCS blowouts in the country. ISU has played two money games in each of Kramer’s six seasons at the helm. Losses like the 2012 49-21 defeat at Air Force seem tame compared to the 73-3 loss at Nebraska later that year. The 2014 Bengals competed to open their season against Utah and Utah State before winning eight of their next 10 in Kramer’s most successful season at the helm in Pocatello.
Last fall, ISU lost back-to-back FBS games to Boise State (52-0) and UNLV (80-8), giving up 517 rushing yards to the Rebels in a loss that Kramer said demoralized his team for the rest of the campaign during last year’s 2-9 finish a year after posting an 8-4 record.
Idaho State head coach Mike Kramer/ by Brooks Nuanez
When ISU notched as many first downs as OSU (17) and stayed competitive for the duration of the game, trailing 23-7 midway through the fourth quarter of a 37-7 loss a week after notching just seven first downs against Colorado, it gave Kramer optimism. Idaho State open Big Sky Conference play with a 42-34 victory over Sacramento State the following week. Kramer expressed more optimism during his weekly appearance on the Big Sky coaches’ call.
Idaho State has struggled to find its footing ever since. A week after the Sac win, Portland State just missed an all-time Big Sky single-game mark by rushing for 531 yards in a 45-20 win in Portland. ISU’s losing streak has reached four consecutive defeats despite better performances against the ground game.
ISU held Northern Arizona to 120 yards on the ground and 3.4 yards per carry but Blake Kemp threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns as NAU sprinted to a 52-7 win. Idaho State held North Dakota’s vaunted rushing attack to 206 yards on 51 rushes (4.0 yards per carry) in a 28-21 loss to the Big Sky front-runners. In last week’s 52-27 loss to Southern Utah, the Thunderbirds did whatever they wanted offensively. SUU rushed for 252 yards and averaged 5.3 yards per rush. Patrick Tyler threw for 334 yards and two touchdowns as Southern Utah totaled 610 yards on 99 plays and notched 32 first downs.
Idaho State is averaging 22.2 points per game, more than every Big Sky team aside from Sac State (21.7) The Bengals are surrendering 38.4 points per game, better than only Sac State (39.7) and Portland State (40.4). The Bengals are last in the league in total offense (346.5 yards per game) and are giving up nearly 480 themselves. ISU is toward the bottom of every statistical category in the league and the result is a 1-4 record in league play, 2-6 overall.
Montana surged to a No. 6 ranking in the FCS thanks to a 2-0 start that included a 20-14 upset of then-No. 3 Northern Iowa. But the Griz dropped their conference opener 42-41 at Cal Poly and have won just two of its five Big Sky games overall. UM ripped off three straight home wins against Southern Utah (43-20), Mississippi Valley State (67-7) and Sacramento State (68-7) before hitting the road and enduring a losing streak that has pushed the Griz to the brink.
UM fell behind 14-3, 21-11, 28-14 and 38-20 as the Griz seemed to always be playing chase at Northern Arizona. Two crucial turnovers and an 0-of-4 performance on fourth downs left the Griz on the wrong side of a 45-34 loss in Flagstaff.
Last week, Montana’s man coverage in the defensive secondary again looked vulnerable as Eastern Washington seniors Cooper Kupp, Kendrick and Shaq Hill torched the Griz defense for most of the first 35 minutes. Kupp finished with eight catches for 140 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw a 54-yard pass to set up a two-yard score. Bourne finished with five catches for 124 yards and Hill added his 10th touchdown catch of the season in EWU’s 35-16 win.
Montana hosts Idaho State at 5 p.m. on Saturday night in Missoula.
QUICK HITS
Location: Pocatello, Idaho
Nickname: Bengals
Founded: 1901. ISU is a Carnegie-classified doctoral research high and teaching institution that attracts students from around the world.
Enrollment: The university has 13,569 and an endowment of $49 million.
Stadium: Holt Arena. The 43-year-old arena holds 12,000. The school replaced its notorious AstroTurf with field turf before the 2011 season. The Bengals averaged 7,268 fans last season. ISU is averaging 5,957 fans in four home games this season
THE TEAM (1-4 in the Big Sky, 2-6 overall)
The Coach: Mike Kramer, sixth season at Idaho State. In 2014, Kramer became one of a handful of coaches in college football history to win league Coach of the Year honors at a third school. The four-time Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year is 18-46 at ISU and 95-121 in his career. He’s 10-34 in the Big Sky at Idaho State and 64-78 in Big Sky play overall.
THE OFFENSE
Tanner Gueller, quarterback, 6-2, 235, sophomore — Gueller took over for Michael Sanders and played against Sacramento State, Montana and Weber State last season during his redshirt freshman year. He threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns in Idaho State’s 33-27 overtime loss to Montana in Pocatello a year ago. That game ended on a blocked field goal that Montana returned for a game-winning touchdown.
In his first year as a starter, Gueller has struggled in ISU’s pass happy offense. The sophomore is completing 58.2 percent of his passes for 1,761 yards (220.1 per game) and has 14 touchdowns but has also thrown 10 interceptions.
KW Williams, wide receiver, 6-1, 212, senior — Williams earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors as a sophomore in 2014 during ISU’s breakthrough season. That fall, he caught 65 passes for 922 yards and 10 touchdowns as the No. 2 option behind All-American Madison Mangum.
Last season, Williams was Sanders and Gueller’s go-to receiver, catching 52 passes for 684 yards and seven touchdowns to again earn honorable mention All-Big Sky honors.
This season, Williams is on pace for a career year with three games remaining. He has team highs of 48 catches for 553 yards and eight touchdowns this season.
Jakori Ford, running back, 5-8, 195, senior — Ford was the home run threat behind Xavier Finny, Idaho State’s all-time leading rusher, fort he last two years. He averaged more than 10 yards a carry and scored a touchdown once every seven touches in 2014. He averaged 5.4 yards per carry, rushing for 450 yards and three touchdowns on just 84 carries.
This season, Ford is averaging 4.7 yards per carry and has rushed for 417 yards. He has scored five touchdowns, including a season-long of 75 yards. Ford also has 23 catches for 98 yards.
Michael Dean, running back, 5-6, 155, freshman — Kramer has said on record multiple times that Dean is too small to handle an elevated load but when he does play, he’s electric.
Dean had his breakout performance in Idaho State’s lone conference win over Sacramento State. He ripped off touchdown runs of 62 and 91 yards to finish with 154 yards on just four carries. He has carried the ball just 12 other times but is averaging 13.0 yards per rush and has scored four touchdowns. He also has caught nine passes for 76 yards.
THE DEFENSE
Mario Jenkins, linebacker, 6-1, 229, junior — Jenkins turned in a freshman season to remember, earning the league’s Freshman of the Year honors for the Big Sky and finishing fourth in the Jerry Rice award voting as the top freshman in the FCS in 2014. That year, he piled up 120 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss to earn second-team All-Big Sky honors.
He suffered a torn ACL during fall camp and missed all of last season. Through discipline nutrition and dedication to his rehab, Jenkins has returned better than ever.
This season, Jenkins has a league-best 82 tackles (10.2 per game) along with 9.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, an interception and a forced fumble.
Hayden Stout, linebacker, 6-2, 230, senior — The four-year starter anchored ISU’s linebacker group with Jenkins on the shelf last season, leading the team with 113 tackles. He forced a two fumbles and had one interception, including one forced fumble and interception each against Montana.
Stout had 90 tackles and 12 tackles for loss in his first two seasons as a starter. This season, he has 56 stops, including two sacks. He also has an interception and two pass breakups.
Taison Manu, safety, 5-10, 201, senior — Manu, like Jenkins, tore his ACL during fall camp last season and missed the entire campaign. The 2014 third-team All-Big Sky selection is back to full force now.
The Pocatello native had 110 tackles, eight tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and an interception during his All-Big Sky campaign. This fall, he has 52 stops, including 4.5 tackles for loss and four pass breakups.
Anthony Ricks, cornerback, 5-8, 164, sophomore — Ricks started four games as a freshman last season, including against Montana. He is Idaho State’s best cover corner and will be tested often against UM’s pass-happy offense on Saturday.
This season, he has 37 tackles, including 25 solos. He has one of Idaho State’s eight interceptions and his 10 pass breakups leads the Big Sky.
