Big Sky Football

The Idaho State Bengals are a proud football program who have fallen on rough times, and have had difficulty escaping them. From 2007 to 2010, head coach John Zamberlin had arguably the worst head coaching tenure in school history, going just 6-39, a win percentage of .133.

That level of terrible is difficult to recover from, as current head coach Mike Kramer has discovered. While the Bengals have made some small steps forward under Kramer, they have still continued to struggle mightily.

In Kramer's first two seasons, the Bengals had won only three games, two of which were against Division II opponents. The lone win against an FCS opponent came against fellow Big Sky team Northern Colorado, a 50-20 victory at home in Pocatello on September 17, 2011.

Through five games this season, Idaho State was 2-3. While the two wins were once again earned against Division II opponents, the Bengals looked competitive in two of their losses (with one loss being a blowout against nationally ranked FBS team Washington).

The Bengals started off their FCS slate with a 30-13 loss against conference foe UC Davis. The game was actually quite close, with the score standing at 16-13 with four minutes left on the clock. 

One week later, the Bengals nearly got a conference win against North Dakota, but suffered a heartbreaking 28-25 loss that denied them their first Big Sky win in over two years.

So despite the obvious improvement this year, Idaho State came into the sixth game of the season, against Northern Colorado, still looking for that elusive victory that would break the over-two-year streak of not having any wins against conference teams (or FCS teams at all).

Well, the Bengals finally broke through, getting a 40-26 win at home against the Bears.

The offense ran like a well-oiled machine against Northern Colorado, racking up 532 yards.

QB Justin Arias continued to be prolific through the air in the Bengals' pass-heavy offensive system, going 28-of-41 for 375 yards and four touchdowns. He also cut down on the interceptions that have plagued him this season. After throwing seven interceptions through the first five games, he didn't toss a single one against the Bears.

Arias had a good connection going with his top two receivers, as Luke Austin had 173 yards and three touchdowns while Cameron Richmond added 102 yards receiving.

Perhaps most importantly, running back Xavier Finney had the kind of standout rushing performance that has been missing in Pocatello for a long time. Finney carried 37 times for 146 yards and a touchdown, the best individual rushing performance by a Bengal since 2009.

At 3-3, Idaho State is off to their best start since 2005. The last time the Bengals won three games in a season was 2007, when they went 3-8. With six games remaining, they have a pretty good chance at surpassing that this season.

While the Idaho State Bengals may only be a .500 team right now, they are making huge strides forward for a team who has been one of the worst in the FCS for the last few seasons.

So while a 14-point win over a 1-6 team may not seem like that big of an accomplishment, for the Idaho State Bengals it is a big stepping stone on their journey back to success.

Kramer's squad has finally broken through.

There is a big-time non-conference matchup set for this weekend at the FCS level of college football.  Eastern Washington, who is number three in the latest coaches' poll, heads to Texas to take on Sam Houston State, who is number four.

The teams met last season in the semifinals of the FCS playoffs, with the game becoming an instant classic.  EWU trailed 35-0 at halftime but came back to create a memorable game that saw them narrowly defeated by the Bearkats, 45-42.

The two teams haven't forgotten that game, and both come into this matchup looking to prove that they have what it takes to end North Dakota State's two-year run at the top of the FCS.  Let's preview this huge matchup between two of the top teams in the FCS.

When: Saturday, September 28 at 3:00 p.m. ET

Where: Elliott T. Bowers Stadium in Huntsville, Texas

Eastern Washington's Season So Far

The Eagles are 2-1, with a 1-1 record on the road so far.  They started off the season with a major 49-46 upset of Pac-12 team Oregon State that made national headlines. They then hosted Division II Western Oregon, winning easily, 43-14. They hit their first snag of the season last week at Toledo, where they lost 33-21.

Sam Houston State's Season So Far

The Bearkats are 3-1, with a 3-0 record at home so far. Their season started with a 74-0 shellacking of transitioning FCS independent Houston Baptist. Then came a 65-28 loss, which may sound bad, but considering that it was to Texas A&M, is actually not a big deal. SHSU followed up the loss with two home games, a 55-17 victory over SWAC team Texas Southern and a 52-21 win over another transitioning FCS independent, Incarnate Word.

Major Storylines For The Game

1. Will defense have any role in this game whatsoever? Both EWU and SHSU have prolific offenses, and defenses that don't do a whole lot usually. They both seem to live by the motto "the best defense is a good offense." The team whose defense can take a step forward in this game will likely be the team that comes away with the W.

2. Can the running games be stopped? For both teams, the ground game is a key part of the offense.  The Bearkats' whole offense is predicated on it, as they run a unique form of the option.  SHSU QB Brian Bell is decent with his arm, but it's his legs and his decision-making within the option that really drive this offense.  SHSU is not a team that wants to have to rely on its passing game.

For EWU, QB Vernon Adams is one of the most explosive players in the country, as the nation witnessed when he put on a clinic against Oregon State. Last week, however, the Toledo Rockets figured out a way to slow Adams down.  By limiting his ability to break out of the pocket and frequently make long runs, Toledo turned Adams into much more of a pro-style QB.  Although he is still a terrific passer, Adams is at his best when able to act as a true dual-threat. In a game likely to turn into a shootout, limiting Adams at all could be a major game-changer.

3. Will home field advantage play a major role for SHSU? In a game between two evenly-matched teams, the crowd could be a factor. The game is likely to sell out, with over 14,000 Bearkat fans packing the stadium.  If they can get loud enough to force a few penalties on EWU, it could be just enough to tip the balance in SHSU's favor.

Prediction

EWU 49-SHSU 42. With all due respect to Tim Flanders, the Eagles have the most dynamic player on the field in Adams. He already proved against Oregon State that when he's on, EWU's offense is pretty much unstoppable. He should have no problem getting up for a game of this magnitude, which should give EWU the win in a shootout. The Bearkats had absolutely no answers for Adams in the second half of last season's semifinal matchup, and that will probably continue over into this game.

On Saturday, the Montana State Bobcats nearly upset the Southern Methodist Mustangs in Dallas. Thanks to a four-yard touchdown pass with less than 15 seconds remaining, SMU sent MSU back to Bozeman with a loss. 

Now it turns out that wasn't the only loss the Bobcats will take from that game.

According to Jon Maletz of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, star quarterback DeNarius McGhee will be out for three to seven weeks with a separated shoulder sustained on the last play of the game.

The play in question was a bizarre sequence of events that will leave Bobcat fans second-guessing whether it was wise—especially in hindsight.

As time ran out, McGhee completed a pass to wide receiver Tanner Roderick, who then lateraled the ball back to offensive lineman Quinn Catalano. Catalano then lateraled it himself, putting the ball back in the hands of McGhee. He was tackled awkwardly to the ground by two SMU defenders and landed badly on his throwing shoulder.

No word was initially given on McGhee's status, but Bobcat Nation's worst fears came true with Monday's injury announcement.

Losing McGhee is a huge blow for an MSU team with national title hopes. He is the winningest QB in school history and a two-time Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year (2010 and 2012).

During McGhee's absence, MSU will turn to in-state QB Jake Bleskin, a redshirt sophomore from Great Falls who has seen little action during his time in Bozeman so far. However, he was set up to be the heir to the QB position after McGhee's graduation.

It will be interesting to see how the offense adjusts to Bleskin, a more traditional passer as opposed to McGhee's dual-threat style.

While it is too early to say how McGhee's injury will affect the Bobcats' championship aspirations, it certainly casts some uncertainty over a season full of promise.

College football in the state of Utah has a fair bit of prestige, thanks to big-time programs BYU and Utah.  However, at the FCS level, the state of Utah doesn't have nearly as much national recognition. 

Weber State was a moderately successful program for six years under head coach Ron McBride, but struggled last season, and the near future doesn't appear to be too bright for the Wildcats with head coach John L. Smith leaving in the offseason to become Bobby Petrino's interim replacement at Arkansas.

Southern Utah University (SUU) is hoping to garner some respect at the FCS level, as they enter their first season in the Big Sky conference.  After spending a fair bit of time in the FCS purgatory known as the Great West Conference, the Thunderbirds opted for an increase in level of competition and national recognition by moving to the respected Big Sky Conference.

The move to a big-time conference (by FCS standards) makes the outlook for SUU football seem pretty optimistic.  However, the big question is whether or not the Thunderbirds will be able to capitalize on the major opportunity that lies in front of them.

There are a few factors working in the Thunderbirds' favor this upcoming season, but there are also a few major obstacles for them to overcome.  Let's look at each of those.

The first major obstacle is the increased difficulty of schedule.  There's a big difference between playing South Dakota and playing Montana.  Top Great West teams like Cal Poly and North Dakota have also moved to the Big Sky, so they aren't losing any any of the more difficult games from past seasons; they are just adding even more difficult games on top of those ones.

The other major obstacle is the loss of several key players for the Thunderbirds this past offseason.  Running back Austin Minefee, who served as a jack-of-all-trades while amassing nearly 2,000 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns last season, is gone.  So is his backup Deckar Alexander.  Also gone from the offense are SUU's top two receivers from last season, Brady Measom and Jared Ursua.  On the defensive side of the ball, the T-birds lost monster defensive lineman Tyler Osborne, as well as star DB's Erron Vonner and Dion Turner.  That's a whole lot of key players who won't be on the field for SUU this upcoming season.

However, the T-birds also have some major contributors returning, and with another year of experience under their belt, they could be quite formidable.  Chief amongst those is senior quarterback Brad Sorenson.  The transfer from in-state powerhouse BYU has had two terrific seasons for SUU so far and will be looked to as the main weapon and leader for the Thunderbird offense this upcoming season.  Expect him to improve on his performance from last season, when he accounted for almost 20 total touchdowns. 

Also returning is the team's leading tackler from last season, linebacker Chad Hansen.  A second consecutive 100-plus tackle season is likely for him, as he will be the focal point of the SUU defense.  Also returning for the T-birds is kicker Colton Cook, arguably one of the best kickers in the nation at the FCS level.  He was 14 of 19 on field goal attempts last season, with three of those misses coming from attempts of over 50 yards.  He is also a great asset in the kickoff game, totaling nine touchbacks last season.

Coach Ed Lamb has some obstacles in front of him to overcome, but with the positive outlook surrounding the program and some key players returning, SUU has a real shot to make their first season in the Big Sky a successful one.

The FCS Quarterfinals got started Friday night, with the UNI Panthers traveling to Missoula to take on the Montana Grizzlies. UNI was coming off a defeat of Wofford, the Panthers' only previous game of the postseason because they had received a first-round bye.

By the time the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs come around, the remaining teams are usually fairly evenly matched. With the Panthers ranked No. 5 and the Griz ranked No. 4, it appeared that Friday's game would be a close one.

Except Friday's game between Montana and UNI turned out not to be one of those matchups of evenly matched teams, as the Griz absolutely demolished the Panthers en route to a 48-10 victory.

The Panthers got on the scoreboard first with a touchdown pass from Tirrell Rennie to Jarred Herring with about 10 minutes remaining in the first quarter. That would be the only time in the game that UNI had the lead. From that point on, Montana outscored UNI 48-3.

On a frigid night in front of over 23,000 fans at Washington-Grizzly stadium, the Montana defense stood firm, limiting the Panthers to 257 yards of offense while forcing three turnovers, all interceptions.  UNI QB Rennie was largely contained, as he managed only 93 passing yards and was held to a 2.2 yards-per-carry average in the rushing game.

The Montana offense was also clicking on all cylinders, as Griz QB Jordan Johnson threw for three touchdowns and no interceptions, while averaging almost ten yards per attempt. He also added 86 yards and a touchdown on the ground on only 10 attempts, for a yards per carry average of 8.6. 

The rest of the Montana offense also played well, with an extremely balanced effort. Peter Nguyen, Jordan Canada, Dan Moore and Brett Kirschner all had over 20 yards rushing apiece, which allowed the Griz to rack up 267 yards on the ground.

Even the Montana special teams played at a high level, as punter/kicker Brody McKnight pinned the Panthers inside their own 5-yard line on multiple occasions. Perhaps the only mistake he made all night was missing an extra point when the Griz were already up by over 30 points.

The Griz players showed an intense amount of focus and determination. In the fourth quarter, with Montana already up big, Johnson scrambled out of the pocket on a 3rd-and-long near his own goal line. Running back Dan Moore followed him out of the pocket and proceeded to lay down a huge block that allowed Johnson to get the first down.

In the last five minutes of the game, the Griz faced 4th-and-4 at the Panther 28-yard line. Instead of attempting the field goal or using a pass in order to run up the score, the Grizzlies ran the ball up the middle in order to show good sportsmanship and give the Panthers a good shot at getting the ball back. 

Running back Brett Kirschner was met almost immediately, but still almost picked up the first down as he kept his legs pumping and lunged and twisted in order to make the mark. He came up barely short, but not for lack of effort on what was an otherwise meaningless play.

Montana didn't just beat UNI, they absolutely dominated them. When combined with the Griz's dominating 41-14 victory over Central Arkansas in Round 2 of the playoffs, the performance paints a picture of an extremely dangerous Montana team that has a lot of focus and determination, one that now must surely be the favorite to win the FCS championship.