PHOTO GALLERY
POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State football team knocked off Northern Arizona 56-42 on Saturday afternoon in front of a Homecoming crowd of 9,129 at Holt Arena.
Idaho State improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in Big Sky play while NAU dropped to 2-3 and 1-1 in league.
The Bengals racked up 494 yards of total offense with 315 coming on the ground.
James Madison led the attack with 19 carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
Ty Flanagan rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries and
Tanner Gueller rushed for a career-high 84 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns.
Gueller also threw for 179 yards and one touchdown. He was 15-32 with one interception.
Mitch Gueller caught four passes for 56 yards.
Christian Holland led the defense with a career-high 11 tackles.
The Bengals led the entire game and jumped out to a 7-0 lead with eight minutes left in the first quarter thanks to a
Tanner Gueller 19-yard run.
NAU tied it up with 3:58 left in the first on a blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone but ISU then scored 28 second quarter points to take a 35-14 lead at the break.
Austin Campbell capped off an 11-play 64-yard drive with an eight yard touchdown reception with 14:23 left in the second quarter.
NAU followed with a touchdown nearly five minutes later before ISU reeled of 21 points in three minutes and nine seconds to take the commanding lead.
With 8:43 to play in the half, Madison ripped off a 51-yard touchdown run and then Holland recovered a fumble to set up Flanagan three-yard run two plays later.
Kainoa Fuiava later would recover a fumble for a nine-yard touchdown with 5:32 left until halftime.
NAU got no closer than 14 points the rest of the second half.
Idaho State led 56-28 following a
Tanner Gueller 43-yard touchdown run with 14:25 left in the game. In the third quarter Flanagan had a 36-yard touchdown run and Madison had a four-yard run.
NAU managed to touchdowns late in the game to cut the Bengal lead to 56-42.
Idaho State returns to the field Saturday, Oct. 6 for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff vs. Idaho in Holt Arena.
Notes
- 3-1 start is the best since 2005.
- This is the first time ISU has started conference play 2-0 since 1995.
- The win snapped a 10-game losing streak against NAU. The last ISU win was 24-17 in Pocatello in 2004.
- Idaho State has won three straight Homecoming games and four out of the last five.
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Tanner Gueller moved into fourth place in the ISU record books for career-passing yards. He now has 6,824 yards, passing
Kevin Yost (2011-12) with 6,663.
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James Madison moved into ninth place in the ISU record book for career-rushing yards. He has 1,559 yards and sits in ninth place. Craig Joseph (1994-98) is in eighth with 1,570 and Kennedy Nkeyasen (1994-98) is in seventh with 1,665 yards.
- ISU's 315 rushing yards tied for the sixth most rushing yards in a game since the 2007 season.
- The 56 points scored tied for the third most points in a game since 2002.
- The 9,129 fans was the fifth largest crowd to watch a Bengal football game in Holt Arena since 2005.
- Tanner Gueller had a career-high 84 rushing yards and a career-high two rushing touchdowns.
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Christian Holland had a career-best 11 tackles.
- The Bengal defense forced four turnovers and have now forced 11 turnovers in four games.
- 146 rushing yards by
James Madison is a season-high.
