Preview
The Hornets will be heading to Pocatello to face an Idaho State team that has had a rough season. Idaho State will be entering the game at 1-8 (0-6) and coming off of a beating at the hands of SEC’s Georgia. Idaho State has played many good teams tough and they will lay down for no one. This ISU team has taken both WSU and MSU to the brink in back to back weeks earlier in the season. Their defense is ferocious and they have a downright amazing player in Tavoy Moore, who has is comparable to EWU’s TJ with his explosiveness and playmaking ability. The Hornets will need a complete game to win this game on the road.
Offense:
The ISU offense is ranked 9th in the BSC with 221.9 ypg of total offense. ISU averages 61.0 ypg on the ground (9th BSC) and 160.9 ypg through the air (9th BSC). This offense has had its struggles this season as they have had issues at virtually every position. White is their leading rusher with 269 yards on 55 carries and 2 TD’s. Moore is their second rusher with 190 yards on 44 carries. ISU’s leading passer is Hill who is 63 of 140 for 788 yards with 5 TD’s and 5 INT’s. Morris has also had a lot of playing time this season and is 56 of 121 for 660 yards with 4 TD’s and 9 INT’s. Hill will probably be the starter if he is not injured. ISU’s leading receivers are Rumble (26 catches for 350 yards and 2 TD’s) and Moore (28 catches for 348 yards and 2 TD’s). The ISU OL has been terrible this season and has allowed 36 sacks for a combined loss of 249 yards.
The ISU coaches know Moore is their playmaker and they try pretty much anything to get the ball in his hands. The Hornet defense will need to key in on Moore and make sure they try to keep him contained to avoid a big play. The defense should be able to get lot of pressure on the QB and control the line of scrimmage. The defense should be able to make a statement and completely shut down the ISU offense. If they make their tackles and continue to swarm to the ball, they should have no problem of keeping ISU off of the scoreboard.
Defense:
The ISU defense is ranked 8th in the BSC and allows an average of 415.3 ypg with 248.6 ypg allowed through the air (7th BSC) and 166.8 ypg allowed on the ground (6th BSC). ISU’s leading tackler and defensive leader is LB AJ Storms who leads the team and the FCS with 115 tackles. This guy is a player and has a knack for getting to the ball. The next two top tacklers are DB Holmesly (89 tackles) and LB Hudeen (83 tackles). Their sacks leader is DL Rutten who has 5 sacks. DB’s Tew and Holmesly leads ISU with 2 INT’s each. I haven’t seen any of ISU’s games this season so I have no idea of what their base defensive set is.
The ISU defense cannot be overlooked as they were able to keep ISU in close games against MSU and WSU. This defense plays its heart out and the Hornets are going to have to execute on offense if they want to move the ball efficiently and effectively. With Hilliard out, the Hornets will need McCowan and Croxdale to step up and contribute. Their production will depend on the OL’s ability to make their blocks and open up some running lanes. Fleming will also need to stay hot and continue to keep getting the ball to the receivers. He has seemed to get things going and if he can continue to execute as he has been the past two weeks, the offense should do just fine.
Special Teams:
Tavoy Moore is their money man. He returns both punts and kickoffs. Moore is averaging 18.9 yards per punt return and has taken 2 punt returns for TD’s. He is also averaging 26.2 yards per return on kick returns and has also taken 2 returns for TD’s. That’s 4 special teams TD’s Moore has accounted for. ISU’s kicker Garcia is average at best. He is 7 of 13 for FG’s and has missed from various distances. His long is 50 yards and ISU has not allowed any blocked FG’s. Their punter Harrington is having a great season and is averaging 44.6 yards per punt. He has had 13 punts downed inside the 20 and has 15 punts of 50+ yards. No punts have been blocked.
The Hornets will have to keep the ball away from Moore. He can take a return to the house so the coverage teams will have to be solid. Diniz is better than Garcia, so the Hornets have the advantage there, however Harrington has a leg and can pin the Hornets inside the 20. ISU has a punter that can change the field position battle so that will be interesting to watch. If the Hornets let the Bengals hang around, the special teams can defiantly affect the outcome of this game.
Intangibles:
ISU has exactly the same amount of penalties called against them as the Hornets do, however they have been penalized 121 more yards than the Hornets have. The Bengals have also turned the ball over quite a few times. They have thrown 14 INT’s and have fumbled 11 times, 6 of which they have lost. If the Hornets can force some turnovers, they can make this game a lot easier than it has to be.
Sperbeck will need to have the Hornets focused on this game. Two years ago, the Hornets waltzed into Holt Arena looking to secure a winning season against a winless ISU team and the Hornets dropped the ball. This year, the Hornets will head to Holt Arena looking to secure a winning season against an ISU team who has yet to win a D-1 game this season. The coaches need to think back and remember how embarrassing that loss was and how much they will need to prepare this team for the upcoming battle. The Hornets can’t sleepwalk through this game and expect to win. I think the coaches will have this team ready and the Hornets pull out a win to secure the first winning season in quite some time.
GO HORNETS!!!
The Hornets will be heading to Pocatello to face an Idaho State team that has had a rough season. Idaho State will be entering the game at 1-8 (0-6) and coming off of a beating at the hands of SEC’s Georgia. Idaho State has played many good teams tough and they will lay down for no one. This ISU team has taken both WSU and MSU to the brink in back to back weeks earlier in the season. Their defense is ferocious and they have a downright amazing player in Tavoy Moore, who has is comparable to EWU’s TJ with his explosiveness and playmaking ability. The Hornets will need a complete game to win this game on the road.
Offense:
The ISU offense is ranked 9th in the BSC with 221.9 ypg of total offense. ISU averages 61.0 ypg on the ground (9th BSC) and 160.9 ypg through the air (9th BSC). This offense has had its struggles this season as they have had issues at virtually every position. White is their leading rusher with 269 yards on 55 carries and 2 TD’s. Moore is their second rusher with 190 yards on 44 carries. ISU’s leading passer is Hill who is 63 of 140 for 788 yards with 5 TD’s and 5 INT’s. Morris has also had a lot of playing time this season and is 56 of 121 for 660 yards with 4 TD’s and 9 INT’s. Hill will probably be the starter if he is not injured. ISU’s leading receivers are Rumble (26 catches for 350 yards and 2 TD’s) and Moore (28 catches for 348 yards and 2 TD’s). The ISU OL has been terrible this season and has allowed 36 sacks for a combined loss of 249 yards.
The ISU coaches know Moore is their playmaker and they try pretty much anything to get the ball in his hands. The Hornet defense will need to key in on Moore and make sure they try to keep him contained to avoid a big play. The defense should be able to get lot of pressure on the QB and control the line of scrimmage. The defense should be able to make a statement and completely shut down the ISU offense. If they make their tackles and continue to swarm to the ball, they should have no problem of keeping ISU off of the scoreboard.
Defense:
The ISU defense is ranked 8th in the BSC and allows an average of 415.3 ypg with 248.6 ypg allowed through the air (7th BSC) and 166.8 ypg allowed on the ground (6th BSC). ISU’s leading tackler and defensive leader is LB AJ Storms who leads the team and the FCS with 115 tackles. This guy is a player and has a knack for getting to the ball. The next two top tacklers are DB Holmesly (89 tackles) and LB Hudeen (83 tackles). Their sacks leader is DL Rutten who has 5 sacks. DB’s Tew and Holmesly leads ISU with 2 INT’s each. I haven’t seen any of ISU’s games this season so I have no idea of what their base defensive set is.
The ISU defense cannot be overlooked as they were able to keep ISU in close games against MSU and WSU. This defense plays its heart out and the Hornets are going to have to execute on offense if they want to move the ball efficiently and effectively. With Hilliard out, the Hornets will need McCowan and Croxdale to step up and contribute. Their production will depend on the OL’s ability to make their blocks and open up some running lanes. Fleming will also need to stay hot and continue to keep getting the ball to the receivers. He has seemed to get things going and if he can continue to execute as he has been the past two weeks, the offense should do just fine.
Special Teams:
Tavoy Moore is their money man. He returns both punts and kickoffs. Moore is averaging 18.9 yards per punt return and has taken 2 punt returns for TD’s. He is also averaging 26.2 yards per return on kick returns and has also taken 2 returns for TD’s. That’s 4 special teams TD’s Moore has accounted for. ISU’s kicker Garcia is average at best. He is 7 of 13 for FG’s and has missed from various distances. His long is 50 yards and ISU has not allowed any blocked FG’s. Their punter Harrington is having a great season and is averaging 44.6 yards per punt. He has had 13 punts downed inside the 20 and has 15 punts of 50+ yards. No punts have been blocked.
The Hornets will have to keep the ball away from Moore. He can take a return to the house so the coverage teams will have to be solid. Diniz is better than Garcia, so the Hornets have the advantage there, however Harrington has a leg and can pin the Hornets inside the 20. ISU has a punter that can change the field position battle so that will be interesting to watch. If the Hornets let the Bengals hang around, the special teams can defiantly affect the outcome of this game.
Intangibles:
ISU has exactly the same amount of penalties called against them as the Hornets do, however they have been penalized 121 more yards than the Hornets have. The Bengals have also turned the ball over quite a few times. They have thrown 14 INT’s and have fumbled 11 times, 6 of which they have lost. If the Hornets can force some turnovers, they can make this game a lot easier than it has to be.
Sperbeck will need to have the Hornets focused on this game. Two years ago, the Hornets waltzed into Holt Arena looking to secure a winning season against a winless ISU team and the Hornets dropped the ball. This year, the Hornets will head to Holt Arena looking to secure a winning season against an ISU team who has yet to win a D-1 game this season. The coaches need to think back and remember how embarrassing that loss was and how much they will need to prepare this team for the upcoming battle. The Hornets can’t sleepwalk through this game and expect to win. I think the coaches will have this team ready and the Hornets pull out a win to secure the first winning season in quite some time.
GO HORNETS!!!
