Bengals Head to North Dakota to take on the #10 Fighting Hawks in First FCS Foe of Season

Bengal Football Press Conference | Gamenotes | Season Statistics

 

Pocatello, Idaho – After a win against NCAA DII Western Oregon, the Bengals are back to facing FCS opponents this week taking on the #10 North Dakota Fighting Hawks in Grand Forks, ND. The game is North Dakota's Potato Bowl USA Game and is the third time that the Bengals have faced the Fighting Hawks in it. 

 

The Orange and Black are set to hit the gridiron at  12:00 PM MT. The game will be broadcast on Midco Sports Plus, a paid streaming service. Scott Gross along with Brad Bugger will have the call on KISU 91.1 FM and KISU.org with the pregame show starting at 11:00 AM MT.

 

Media Links

 

Video, Radio and Live Stats will all be available for the Bengals' contest with the Fighting Hawks.

 

Watch:	Midco Sports Plus
Listen:	KISU.org / 91.1 FM Pocatello, 91.3 FM Idaho Falls, 88.1 FM Rexburg
Live Stats:	Live Stats

 

Idaho State vs North Dakota History

·      This will be the 10^th meeting of the two programs in history with UND leading the all-time series 6-3 against the Bengals.

·      Not many of the games have been easy though, with five of the contests decided by one point or less.

·      The Bengals have played UND better in North Dakota than at home, holding a 3-2 series lead in Grand Forks.

·      One the Bengals' highest total offense games of all time was against the Fighting Hawks, when the Bengals defeated them in Pocatello 55-20, behind 609 yards of total offense.

 

Notes

·      The game marks the start of Cody Hawkins' 2^nd season at the helm of the Idaho State Bengal program.

·      Scott Gross will have the call on KISU 91.1 FM and ESPN+. KISU will be the home for Bengal football all season long.

·      North Dakota will be the first ranked FCS team the Bengals face this season.

·      This game is UND's annual Potato Bowl USA game, this will be the third time the two teams have played in the Potato Bowl USA game. The Bengals are the last team to defeat UND in the game, a 25-21 win in 2018.

·      UND will be the furthest opponent for the Bengals this year at 1,053 miles away, 2^nd place goes to the Bengals road contest with Cal Poly (1,001 mi.)

 

 

Numbers to Watch

6 – Idaho State has 6 home games on the schedule for the first time in a decade

7 – In the Bengals win over WOU, ISU fumbled the ball seven times, recovering all seven.

21 – The Number of transfers the Bengals added in the 2024 offseason, including 11 DI and 10 non-DI

33 – Total freshmen added to the 2024 roster.

59.3 – Average number of rushing yards the Bengals had in 2023, The Bengals are looking to greatly improve that number in 2024, through two games, the Bengals are averaging 104.0

329.5 – The passing yards per average for the Bengals through two games, 5^th in the nation in the FCS. The Bengals have 59 more completions than their opponents two games into the 2024 season.

3 – The Bengals only have averaged three penalties per game, this is tied for 2^nd in the FCS

5 – The Bengals had 5 tackles for loss against the Oregon State Beavers, in 2023 ISU averaged 5.5 per game, can the Bengal defense up the numbers in 2024.

 

Oregon Starts

The Bengals started the season off with both extremes of football coming out of the state of Oregon. Week 1 was a contest against Oregon State, the Bengals led after one 9-7 and kept the score to one possession headed into the locker room.

 

The Beaver's depth proved strong in the second half and Oregon State walked away with the 38-15 win.

 

The next week, Idaho State faced off against NCAA DII Western Oregon to an exact opposite result. The Bengals scored 8:30 into the game and never looked back.

 

Not only was the offense firing but the Bengals also scored defensive and special teams touchdowns in the contest.

 

After seeing both FBS and non-DI opponents, the Bengals face off against their first FCS foe in North Dakota on September 14.

 

Preseason Recognition

 

The Bengals have received multiple preseason recognitions on Hero Sports

Countdown lists this summer.

 

#96 David Rowe was named the best #96 returning player in the FCS by

Hero Sports. Rowe ended the 2023 season with 36 total tackles, 10 tackles

for loss and four sacks. In the Bengals' win over Portland State, Rowe recorded

back to back sacks to take away the Vikings momentum and secure

the game for the Bengals.

 

#15 Christian Fredericksen was named one of the top-25 returning receivers

in the FCS by Hero Sports. Fredericksen finished the 2023 season with a

career-high 791 reception yards, ranking 30th in the nation. Fredericksen

was vital as the Bengals held the No. 1 passing offense in the FCS last year.

 

#96 David Rowe earned his 2nd honor of the preseason by Hero Sports as

they named him the Big Sky's best returning interior defensive lineman for

the 2024 season.

 

#6 Calvin Pitcher has made a name for himself in the Big Sky Conference

and the FCS at large. Hero Sports ranked the Bengal Safety the #20 returning

Safety in the nation. Pitcher started in all 11 games last season and

was named a team captain. Pitcher had a career-high 87 tackles during the

regular season, 59th in the nation for total tackles.

 

The Throwin' Idahoans

 

The Idaho State Bengals channeled their predecessors in the 2023 season as the 'Throwin' Idahoans' returned under Head Coach Cody Hawkins offensive game planning during the season.

 

Idaho State finished the 2023 regular season with the No.1 passing offense in the nation, averaging 330.1 yards per game.

 

The Bengals had 325 completions on the season, 77 more than their opponents.

 

The Bengal offense had seven games during the season with 300+ passing yards and a season-high 523 against EWU on 10/14.

 

The Bengals passing game against the Eagles was the highest single-game performance

in the FCS during the 2023 season.

 

 

Tickets

Idaho State football tickets are on sale now, Click Here to purchase tickets for the Bengals' upcoming six games in the renovated ICCU Dome.

 

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