Sept. 24, 2005
Final Stats |
Quotes
Pocatello, ID - Idaho State let a 17-point halftime lead slip away in the second half, but just when things look dire, the Bengals came alive, intercepting Payton Award Candidate Erik Meyer twice in the final 2:24, and the Bengals held on for a 34-30 win in front of 9,405 on Homecoming.
The win over the nation's #5 team equals the highest-ranked opponent that ISU has ever defeated. The Bengals defeated Montana 28-23 in 1994 and 43-40 in double-overtime in 2003 when the Griz were ranked fifth. The win was also Idaho State's fifth straight on Homecoming.
The Bengals survived a furious comeback by Eastern Washington, as ISU was up 24-7 at the half. Idaho State could only muster 88 yards of offense in the second half. Eastern cut the lead to 24-10 on a field goal at the 6:12 mark of the third quarter, and then Erik Kimble hauled in a 3-yard pass at the third quarter gun to make it 24-17. After a punt, Eastern tied the game when Meyer scampered in from 11-yards out.
The Bengals then got a huge play from Kenyon Blue, who took a kickoff four yards deep in the end zone, and returned it a career-long 62 yards to the Eastern 38. The Bengals then pounded out a 6-play 38-yard touchdown drive, with Ken Cornist scoring his second touchdown of the day to make it 31-24.
The Eagles came right back down the field and scored to make it 31-30 with 6:09 left on a 1-yard run by Ryan Cole, but Casey Willis missed his first extra point of the year, to leave Eastern down one.
The Bengals were able to run the clock down to 3:12 remaining before punting, and that's where ISU's defense took over. Renell Robinson picked up ISU's sixth sack of the day three plays before Meyer overthrew a crossing route, and Dustin Murray picked it off and returned it 35 yards to the Eastern 16, setting up Jaret Johnson's second field goal of the night, making it 34-30.
After the kickoff, Atelea Raass tallied ISU's seventh sack,and after a first down and a spike, Meyer's long pass was hauled in by Togafau, sealing the win.
While the Bengals allowed Payton Candidate Meyer to throw for 364 yards, Idaho State harassed him most of the night, sacking him seven times, including three by Jeff Charleston. Idaho State also forced four turnovers, as the Bengals picked up two first half fumbles to go along with the two late interceptions.
The Bengals played a solid first half, amassing 213 yards and consistently pouncing on Eastern mistakes. After Meyer opened the scoring, the Bengals scored the next 24 points. First, Matt Hagler zipped a pass to Dane Simmons for a 34-yard touchdown, and then ISU's Ken Cornist followed that with a 6-yard touchdown.
Josh Barnett opened the second half with a touchdown, and ISU went for two and got that to make up for a missed extra point, making it 21-7. Then, on a high Dan Zeidman punt, Dane Simmons blocked Ira Jarmon into the ball, and Simmons fell on it to give ISU the ball with just 2:04 left, and ISU turned that into a 22-yard Jaret Johnson field goal, and 24-7 halftime lead.
The win could conceivably put Idaho State into the top 25 for the first time since the end of the 2003 season. The Bengals will face a ranked opponent for the second straight week when they travel to Bozeman to take on Montana State at 1:35 on Saturday. The Bobcats, ranked #18, defeated #8 North Dakota State 20-17 in Bozeman earlier in the day. That game will be broadcast live on Altitude Sports.
NOTES: The game marked the first time in Larry Lewis' career that ISU is 1-0 in conference play ... it also was the first time ISU has opened conference play at home ... Idaho State plays five of their final seven on the road ... Dan Ziedman broke out with a 46.4-yard average on five punts ... Kenyon Blue had 165 all-purpose yards on six touches ... Josh Barnett scored his first touchdown of the season, and Ken Cornist added two, his seventh and eighth ... the Bengals have led at the half in all four games this season.
