Box Score Box Score | Final Stats Photo Gallery
POCATELLO, Idaho - The Idaho State football put on an offensive explosion in the Big Sky opener on Saturday afternoon at Holt Arena as the offense racked up 544 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 50-20 victory.
The win ups Idaho State's record to 2-1 and 1-0 in Big Sky play. It is the first time since 2005 that Idaho State has won two straight games and been above .500 since starting 3-1 in 2005. Northern Colorado dropped to 0-3.
Kevin Yost threw for 508 yards and tied a Big Sky Conference record with 47 completions on 68 attempts and four touchdown passes. |
Derek Graves caught 15 passes for 114 yards while
Rodrick Rumble had 14 receptions for 158 yards and one touchdown.
Anthony Boyles had nine receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
Luke Austin also caught four passes for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Offensively, Idaho State coach
Mike Kramer also applauded the play of senior
Andrew Zamora who lined up at tailback and scored his first-ever touchdown on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter. He also caught three passes for 15 yards.
Defensively,
A.J. Storms led the Bengals with eight tackles while
J.T. Albers had seven tackles.
Jake Rouser had six tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss and one forced fumble.
Tanner Davis,
Ryan Coleman and Donavan Henley each picked off passes while Coleman returned his pick 94-yards for a touchdown.
The Bengals never trailed in the game and led 9-3 after the first quarter thanks to a 22-yard field goal by
Brendon Garcia and a 17-yard reception by
Anthony Boyles.
The lead was extended 22-10 at halftime after a two-yard run by
Daniel McSurdy and a 34-pass from Yost to Boyles.
Idaho State led 29-13 after the third quarter when Northern Colorado cut its deficit to 29-20 with 14:51 to play in the game. But the Bengals scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Idaho State returns to the field, Saturday, Sept. 24 for a 4 p.m. (MTN Time) contest at Northern Arizona. The game can be heard live on 930 KSEI.
Coach Mike Kramer Quotes
Opening Statement:
“Obviously we're elated to win our first Big Sky Conference game and be undefeated in the conference. At this juncture, the coaching staff run at Idaho State is attributed not just to the players that are here but to the coaching staff that brought a lot of these guys here, especially guys on our offensive and defensive lines. They came because of coach John Zamberlin and his staff and we are deeply appreciative. A lot of guys, a lot of good guys, and I don't just mean good players I mean good people. They understand what we're trying to get done. They're aware of, everybody's aware of, all the streaks that are pending against us. I think we did a great job today of (A) running our offense and defense and (B) working on all those numbers that are against us, but that's all I've really got to say. “
Thoughts on getting 50 points
“Well offensively, we started slow. We've got an issue going at running back because we don't have a lot of mental toughness in the core that's back there. And Andrew Zamora not only answered the bell, but he played hurt. On the very first play of the game he may have fractured his finger and might be looking at a season ending surgery this week. We don't know, but what a courageous effort by a Bengal in a time when his team needed him. Because he's not a tailback, he's a tight end and his catches usually come from the tight end spot. But what Andrew Zamora did for this team illustrates how tough we want every guy to be and every guy to answer the bell. This team is indebted to Andrew Zamora in a big way.”
Thought on the receivers stepping up:
“That's our offense. I thought Kevin played exceptionally well. He gets a little foot happy sometimes and tries to make something out of every single play. He has yet to hit the Jimmy Johns sign in the end zone. Sometimes Kevin take shots and he took shots today because Northern Colorado did a nice job of mixing up blitzes and getting pressure on him. He got knocked down over and over again. Sometimes as a quarterback you have to say 'hey I'm a little tired,' throw one incomplete, two incomplete, and then go for it on third down. And that's what Kevin's has to think about. He plays every play like it's his last play and that's a little unhealthy and he'll be glad to tell you about that because he took some shots today and we don't want our quarterback on the ground.”
On Running Back Situation
“We had no running back that in our camp today suited and so we'll make a personnel change on Tuesday and we'll get some depth in the tailback position by the guys on this team who deserve an opportunity to play.”
Thought on defense:
“ Well I couldn't be more proud of our defense. We gave up one long score. The quarterback made a great throw and a dig right over the middle and the receiver made a great run after the catch and we gave them a touchdown. But we fumbled, we had a snap go through the hands of the punter and it got spilled down there. We got a turnover down in close and they ran an interception back for a touchdown. Otherwise our defense played pretty well; not as well as we'd like. We got some pressure on their quarterback and they did a nice job against us. I like their offense. I like their quarterback and I like how good they're going to be. I think Coach Collins has got a chance to have an impact on the Big Sky Conference this year with some good play by their whole team.”
Thoughts on turnovers:
“Yeah, we got some turnovers because we got way ahead and we were able to lay back and play zone and we don't really like to do that. We like to play man and we like to bring pressure. We love to have a lead, I'm not saying that we don't like it when we're ahead but when we're way ahead and we can rush 3 and get some pressure on the quarterback, that's uphill for any quarterback and it was tough on their quarterback. Our guys were able to rally to the ball. We're getting better defensively. I mean people have to realize, we only returned about two and a half starters off last year's defense. I say that a lot but our defense is experienced and savvy. Great play by Coleman to run back but dang this game was probably a long way from being decided at the point. It was just a great play by our defense, to stay on task and to keep the tiller in the water.”
Notes
Winning Ways
Today's victory over Northern Colorado gave the Bengals a 2-1 record and a 1-0 mark in Big Sky Conference play. The last time Idaho State won two straight games and was above .500 was in 2005 when it started the season 3-1.
Passing Records Fall
Kevin Yost became the third quarterback in school history to throw for over 500 yards as he passed for 508 yards. Only Vern Harris, who had 589 at Montana in 1985 and Kevin McCarthy, who had 553 yards at SUU in 1999, have thrown for more. The 508 yards by Yost is a new Holt Arena record. Yost's 68 passing attempts tied the single-game record for the second most-attempts in a game. The school record is 74 by Paul Peterson in 1983.
Plenty of Passes to Go Around
Kevin Yost connected with seven different receivers, led by Derek Graves 15 catches for 114 yards, Rodrick Rumble's 14 catches for 158 yards and one touchdown and Anthony Boyles nine catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns. The 15 receptions by Graves tied the school record for the second-most receptions in school history. Ed Bell also had 15 vs. Montana on Oct. 16, 1969. The 14 receptions by Rumble tied the record for the third most receptions in a game, also with Bell who had 14 at Boise State on Nov. 2, 1968.
Efficient Yost
Yost completed a school record 47 passes in the win over Northern Colorado. The previous record was 38 by Jason Whitmer at Idaho in 1989. The 47 completions also tied a Big Sky Conference record.
Moving Up the Win Ladder
The win over Northern Colorado moved Mike Kramer into a tie for the second most conference wins by a Big Sky Conference coach. He is currently 54-44 and is tied with 54 wins by Don Read from Montana. Chris Ault of Nevada is the conference win leader with 68. Kramer has 79 career wins, one win away from tying Montana coach Bobby Hauck for the third winningest coach in Big Sky Conference history.
