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Bengals Trade Montana-Western for C. Wash

S

skippy57.0

Active member
Bengals lose appeal to play Montana-Western in August, according to Kellis' blog, and will now have to play a very good Central Washington team in the middle of the season. The one gimme is gone.

http://www.pocatelloshops.com/new_blogs/kellis/?p=4620
 
BS move by ISU--that is all I have to say. Scheduling needs to be smarter than this--and why run the risk of having this kind of thing happen at all by waiting on an appeal? This is a game Idaho State CAN LOSE to a LOWER division team. The risk of alienating fans early in the season is HUGE. I am not saying they will lose, but this is a risk not worth taking. Three road games to start the year then follow it up with a top tier D2 team as a home opener. Way to stick the gun to these kids head! Pile of shit by ISU--pile of shit.

FYI, This team lost to Montana at WA Griz last season on a last second FG.
 
I don't like it either, but it is what it is.

CWU will be tough out. I see them along the lines of No. Dakota from 2008. Even though CWU loses their two All-Americans QB (Reilly) and TE (Bronson), their roster includes several drop downs from FCS and FBS programs, and are expected to return their #1 WR, their top RBs, and the top four leading tacklers on D.

I also don't like the idea of ISU having no bye week mid-season. I know they're a bunch of 18-22 year olds who can tough it out, but the schedule reduces the margin of error, especially if the injury bug bites the Bengals.

It will be a difficult start to the '09 season...three roadies followed by a strong D-II team for the home opener. I think the issue is going to be more about the Bengals' (team and fans) psyche than anything else.

From South Field, this is John Clayton, BengalDen.com :D

History question: What was the result the last time ISU played CWU in the early 90s? If my memory serves me right (that doesn't happen very often lately), ISU hosted CWU in '91 or '92 and won. Can anyone confirm this?
 
skippy57.0 said:
Bengals lose appeal to play Montana-Western in August, according to Kellis' blog, and will now have to play a very good Central Washington team in the middle of the season. The one gimme is gone.

http://www.pocatelloshops.com/new_blogs/kellis/?p=4620
Click to expand...

Yikes. As if things didn't look hard enough. Oh well, I will be there to cheer them on no matter what!
 
Having this game as the fourth game of the season makes no sense to me. ISU will most likely start 0-3 with losses at Arizona State, at Oklahoma and at Weber State to start the season. At that point support will be dwindling to dangerous levels. Throwing in a game against a D2 squad that has the horses to take down Idaho State seems dangerous and not very responsible to me.

If you look Central Washington's roster, you can see that they recruit from many of the same schools that ISU does. It does not make sense to the BengalCub, not at all.

I compare it to Idaho playing Montana or Appalachian State--it would be very dangerous.

Look, I will support the team and the program as well--but I also think the kids deserve more than this. ISU left an open week at the end of the season, I think they should have looked for an opponent for that date and kept the bye week early in the season. If this team has another real bad year, the fans move farther away from the program, the coaches come closer to losing their jobs and the kids stop believing. Losing early and often can really hurt a team. Just asked the ISU Men's basketball team.
 
As I stated in the blog, we couldn't get folks to move games back to the 21st in order to free up a bye somewhere along the line, and the same for the other folks....mostly the only game you can get on Nov. 21 is FBS, because all the other Divisions are in the postseason. We would have loved NOTHING MORE than a bye during the season...trust me. Jeff tried to get two, but it wasn't allowable.

I agree that playing the school for the blind would be better than Central Washington, but this is the price for Arizona State and Oklahoma to start the year, plus the Big Sky having us open with Weber State on September 19...normal we never start conference play that early.

ISUSID
 
Okay--I understand. If Central Washington was the ONLY lower Division (that is the case, right?) option in the whole wide world--it was the only option.

All I can say is ISU had BETTER win this game. R. Hill or K. Blum and the whole coaching staff will get absolutely torched on this board and in the media if they do not. No matter what anyone wants to say--you all know that I am 100% correct on that fact. I hope the risk is worth it and that I am bitching and moaning about nothing--really I do.
 
I agree 100% with Cub....It is just setting the Program up for failure...Very stupid move! The sad fact is it will be the coaches and the players that get the backlash from this when in fact they have nothing to do with the scheduling! The team sacrificed alot last year already with scheduling and traveling...This is a bunch of crap! Someone other than the team needs to take the heat on this one!
 
gobigorange.... do you ever have anything good to say about the program?

(and realize - this is coming from me)
 
I would imagine that Jeff was scouring for an opponent for that date. We had other lined up which would have been not up to the caliber of Central Washington, but we couldn't get folks to move some other dates along the way. Again, playing Weber on September 19 is not very helpful..it's the earliest opener since 2000 when we had to move the Eastern game to 9/16 to help out Eastern, and 9/18 in 1999 when we played Weber State, had no money games, and played Eastern Oregon and Ft. Lewis to open the year (ah when money wasn't a huge problem....)

We should get vilified for losing to Montana Western ... not Central Washington ... remember, the fact that Central beat Montana State and Eastern Washington with John as the coach was something folks loved about Z...

Again, it was a very complicated process this year, in part because of the budget issues and the need for the Oklahoma game.

ISUSID
 
Spartan...Yes, I do have alot of good to say about ISU...how many times have I said I AM A ZAMBERLIN FAN AND I WANT HIS PROGRAM TO BE SUCCESSFUL...but he has many obstacles in his way that are no fault of his! I said they do a GREAT job recruiting out of Idaho just not in Idaho....and these are just MY OPINIONS. If my campaingn to recruit locally has any effect on more kids from Idaho getting a chance it is worth posting my opinion. SLC just posted ISU got Jerome's Jake Lammer's which is great...I just hope they start earlier in the players career than April of their senior year to get them!
 
Orange--getting a kid this late may have something to do with current players leaving during the spring. It might and I say might also mean that one of the commitments that ISU signed decided to back out. Thirdly, the kid might be a walk-on.
 
My final response on this--I think it is a bad move.

This team just finished 1-11. Starting the year with three on the road and putting them up against a very good D-II program as a home opener is pretty sad.

We can talk about the difficulty of creating a schedule and the need for revenue and I am understanding of the reality of those types of things.

This team will be needing some confidence come game four of the 2009 season. I pray that in game three or four they get some. If they DO NOT--the negativity surrounding the program will be deafening.

I want to see these young men and this staff taste winning--not just be prostitutes to a budget. Losing creates more losing and negative momentum can really hurt a program. Most fans see wins and losses--not who a team plays or why they have to play it. This reminds me of the Tom Walsh days--when I struggled to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Now people can chastise me and ridicule me, but I am very, very concerned about the direction that the football program is going. I have been a fan for 32 years and I have never-ever-ever had such a bad feeling coming into a season. Take it for what it is worth and dismiss it if you would like. I am worried beyond belief.

I hope that I am making a whole lot about nothing. That is all I have to say on this matter--I think.
 
Cub,

That's a fair assessment on your part (I don't agree with the Tom Walsh part, but still)...there are some realities, but your take is pretty well thought out.

ISUSID
 
Well.......ishkey bishkey, quit getting so irritated about the scheduling.
This program is building for 2-3 years and beyond not necessarily for next year.
The schedule is what it is, football doing their part to keep not just its team together, but the others as well and perhaps saving the entire athletic existence.
Me says we should kick the crap out of Central Washington.
They are D2 and we are D1AA
Period.
Dot.
If we lose, it will be a tremendous embarassment to not only the university but to Z and Co.
Coming off the first games then taking them on will be a testament to the team's will.
Z will have them ready for this game.
Just make sure all you 'nay sayers' show up for the game.

No way does 99% state of Washington athletes take it to our roster, however young it will be next year.
Screw Central Washington.

GO BENGALS!!
 
Cut the BS about folks being NAYSAYERS. People can disagree with the schedule setup and still be die-hard Bengals. I will be there in person all the way from Boise as much as possible and when I can't make it, you can bet I will be glued to the tube or BigSkyTV.

I have total faith in this team and the coaching staff. But, I know that losing hurts and I know that losing makes the casual fan lose interest in the team.
 
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