Game 10 Preview: Idaho State vs. No. 21/23 Cal Poly

Game Notes | Audio | Video | Live Stats | Tickets

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State football team hosts No. 21/23 Cal Poly on Saturday, November 8, in Holt Arena. Kickoff is at 2:35 p.m.  Fans can follow the game via live stats in the arena by logging onto bengalstats.com on their mobile device. For audio, video streaming and live stats log onto isubengals.com. Idaho State is 6-3 and 4-1 in the Big Sky Conference. There are currently six teams with one loss in the conference. Cal Poly and Eastern Washington are each 5-1 while ISU, Montana, Montana State and Northern Arizona are 4-1.

Cal Poly comes into Saturday's game with a 6-3 overall mark and a 5-1 record in Big Sky Conference play. After dropping the conference opener at Northern Arizona, the Mustangs have won five straight games.

Cal Poly leads the series against the Bengals 12-6. The last ISU win over the Mustangs was a 38-31 win at Cal Poly in 2003. Cal Poly has won the last five meetings. Cal Poly's last two wins are over No. 6 Montana 41-21 and No. 8 Montana State 35-27. Cal Poly averages 480.8 yards a game with 350.8 coming on the ground and 130 through the air. The Mustangs are averaging 34.3 points a game. Quarterback Chris Brown is the top rusher at 105.9 yards  a game. He has thrown for 1,141 yards. Nick Dzubnar leads the defense with 127 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three sacks and one interception.

Bengals In The NCAA Team Stats
Here is where the Bengals ranks in the NCAA team stats
1st- Passing Offense- 354.8
2nd- Total Offense - 579.9
2nd- First Downs- 255
8th- Scoring Offense- 41.0
14th- Passing Efficiency- 148.24
26th- Rushing Yards per game- 208.4
18th- 3rd Down Conversions- .446

Bengals Ranked In The NCAA Individual stats
Here are where the Bengals rank in the indvidual NCAA stats.
Xavier Finney: 7th- rushing yards per game, 137.3; 6th- rushing touchdowns, 14; 14th- Scoring per game, 9.3; 18th- All-Purpose yards, 150.33; 29th- yards per carry, 5.85; 5th- rushing yards, 1,235
Justin Arias: 1st in completions per game (27.56); 1st- passing touchdowns, 29; 1st- passing yards, 3,092; 1st- passing yards per game, 343.6; 2nd- points responsible for, 180; 3rd- total offense, 345.8; 14th- passing efficiency, 148.0
Madison Mangum: 4th receiving yards per game, 108.1;  4th- receptions per game, 7.4; 9th receiving yards, 865.

Winning Streak
Idaho State has won four straight games for the first time since the 2002 season. The Bengals have not won five straight since starting the 1995 season 5-0.

Forcing the Turnovers
The Bengal defense has forced 22 turnovers this season (15 interceptions, 7 fumble recoveries). Since the 2001 season the 2004 team forced 30 turnovers (17 interceptions, 13 fumble recoveries). The 2003 team forced 26 turnovers (11 interceptions and 15 fumble recoveries). The 2002 team only forced 21 turnovers but did come up with 16 interceptions. The 2007 and 2009 teams forced 23 turnovers on the season.

Bengals vs. Ranked Opponents
The last time Idaho State defeated a ranked FCS opponent  was a 34-30 victory over No. 5 Eastern Washington on Sept. 24, 2005. Since then, the Bengals have lost their last 24 games to a ranked team.

Defensive Improvement
The 12 points Idaho State gave up at Northern Colorado was the fewest points an Idaho State team has allowed against a Division I team since beating Weber State 34-0 in 2002. In the first half, the Bengals allowed only 55 total yards.  A week later the Bengal defense held Portland State to only 13 points.