Southern Utah (3-4, 2-3) at Idaho State (2-5, 1-3)
Holt Arena, Pocatello, Idaho
Saturday, Oct. 29, 2:35 p.m. MST
My prediction …
Southern Utah 26, Idaho State 25
Last week …
Final score: North Dakota 28, Idaho State 21
Winning prediction: Reborn2010, who was pretty dang close to the final score when he tabbed UND to win 31-17.
Worst prediction(s): Anyone (including myself) who had North Dakota running away with an easy win.
………………………
This week’s game is the most difficult of the season to predict for me. Southern Utah is a solid program, and these guys beat Portland State by two touchdowns the week before PSU whipped Idaho State 45-20. … Shoot, maybe that alone should convince someone the T-birds are going to stroll into Holt and blow away the Bengals.
But ever since ISU’s poor performance in Portland, the Bengals have been much stiffer defending the run, and Southern Utah has shown a few cracks of vulnerability. The T-birds are last in the Big Sky stopping the pass and the offense is the worst in the conference on third down. Throw in a bad field goal kicker — he’s 3 of 8 this season — and SUU has also struggled in the red zone, too.
So it seems to me that the Idaho State offense (whether Jakori Ford is hurt or not) should have some success, and the defense can do enough to keep the T-birds in check.
But there are a couple worries (from ISU’s perspective). SUU is a good punting team and its plus-four turnover margin is fourth in the Big Sky and a heck of a lot better than ISU’s minus-six turnover deficit. Those things matter in 50-50 games.
There’s also this: Idaho State, a season ago, had back-to-back home games against Montana and Montana State. In the first game, the Bengals played well and in an OT loss to the Griz — and, obviously, that was a game ISU should have won.* The very next week, though, the Bengals seemed deflated in a 44-20 loss to Montana State. It’s not that they didn’t play hard, but the Montana defeat might have hung around.
Is it possible the stinging loss to North Dakota will do the same thing this Saturday? Because if it doesn’t, if ISU shows up and plays with an edge, this is a winnable game. And there may not be another one of those on the schedule.
* http://www.idahostatejournal.com/sp...cle_f4f79754-85a6-11e5-8dea-6bdc06aa41d4.html
Holt Arena, Pocatello, Idaho
Saturday, Oct. 29, 2:35 p.m. MST
My prediction …
Southern Utah 26, Idaho State 25
Last week …
Final score: North Dakota 28, Idaho State 21
Winning prediction: Reborn2010, who was pretty dang close to the final score when he tabbed UND to win 31-17.
Worst prediction(s): Anyone (including myself) who had North Dakota running away with an easy win.
………………………
This week’s game is the most difficult of the season to predict for me. Southern Utah is a solid program, and these guys beat Portland State by two touchdowns the week before PSU whipped Idaho State 45-20. … Shoot, maybe that alone should convince someone the T-birds are going to stroll into Holt and blow away the Bengals.
But ever since ISU’s poor performance in Portland, the Bengals have been much stiffer defending the run, and Southern Utah has shown a few cracks of vulnerability. The T-birds are last in the Big Sky stopping the pass and the offense is the worst in the conference on third down. Throw in a bad field goal kicker — he’s 3 of 8 this season — and SUU has also struggled in the red zone, too.
So it seems to me that the Idaho State offense (whether Jakori Ford is hurt or not) should have some success, and the defense can do enough to keep the T-birds in check.
But there are a couple worries (from ISU’s perspective). SUU is a good punting team and its plus-four turnover margin is fourth in the Big Sky and a heck of a lot better than ISU’s minus-six turnover deficit. Those things matter in 50-50 games.
There’s also this: Idaho State, a season ago, had back-to-back home games against Montana and Montana State. In the first game, the Bengals played well and in an OT loss to the Griz — and, obviously, that was a game ISU should have won.* The very next week, though, the Bengals seemed deflated in a 44-20 loss to Montana State. It’s not that they didn’t play hard, but the Montana defeat might have hung around.
Is it possible the stinging loss to North Dakota will do the same thing this Saturday? Because if it doesn’t, if ISU shows up and plays with an edge, this is a winnable game. And there may not be another one of those on the schedule.
* http://www.idahostatejournal.com/sp...cle_f4f79754-85a6-11e5-8dea-6bdc06aa41d4.html
