POCATELLO, Idaho – Idaho State (1-0, 0-0 Big Sky) hits the road for the first time this season as it visits Utah State (0-0, 0-0 Pac-12) on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 5 p.m. MT.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE GAME
Watch Live — CBS Sports Network
Listen Live — KISU 91.1 FM
Live Stats — StatBroadcast
Scott Gross and Mitch Beckstead will have the call on KISU.org and KISU 91.1FM
Idaho State Gamenotes | Utah State Gamenotes
Bengal Bites
- Idaho State enters Saturday off a 38-10 win over VMI in the season opener, extending the program's winning streak to five games dating back to last season.
- Idaho State head coach Cody Hawkins is in his fourth season at the helm, entering Saturday with an overall record of 15-21 (11-13 Big Sky).
- Idaho State cracked the national rankings this week, debuting at No. 23 in the STATS Perform FCS Top 25 — the program's first appearance in a national poll since 2018.
- Idaho State was picked fourth in the Big Sky Conference's preseason media poll and fifth in the coaches' poll, with Montana State, Montana and UC Davis ahead of the Bengals in both.
- Bengal Freshman DE Trehsyn Fesili was named the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week. Fesili finished the game against VMI with 6 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 Forced Fumble and 1 Fumble Recovery
- Idaho State returns the nation's best pass-protecting unit from 2025, having allowed just three sacks on 489 attempts (0.6 percent), the lowest sack rate in the country over that span. The Bengals did not allow a sack against VMI.
CHASING A WIN 26 YEARS IN THE MAKING: Idaho State hasn't beaten Utah State since a 27-24 win in Logan on Nov. 18, 2000 — one of just two wins in the series for the Bengals, the other a 50-24 win in Pocatello on Nov. 14, 1981. Utah State has won thelast four meetings since the series resumed in 2010 and holds a 19-2 all-time edge in a series dating to 1904.
RANKED FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2018: Idaho State cracked the national rankings this week, debuting at No. 23 in the STATS Perform FCS Poll after the 38-10 win over VMI — the program's first appearance in a national poll since 2018. The Bengals remain outside the top 25 in the AFCA Coaches Poll.
A NATIONAL TOP-10 START: Idaho State's offense ranked No. 6 nationally in passing offense (366.0 yards) after Week 1, while the defense checked in at No. 1 nationally in both sacks allowed and passing yards allowed (11.0). Seven of the Bengals' top 12 national statistical rankings after Week 1 came on defense.
THE FRESHMAN MAKING PLAYS: Freshman defensive lineman
Trehsyn Fesili turned in one of the most complete stat lines of Week 1 nationally, finishing with a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery — ranking No. 1 nationally in forced fumbles and No. 3 in fumbles recovered among all FCS players.
BLOCKED, RECOVERED, SIX POINTS: Idaho State's special teams provided one of the game's biggest swings in Week 1, when
Jacob Perez blocked a VMI punt that
Noa Calaycay returned 6 yards for a touchdown — part of a 28-point third quarter that put the game away. Calaycay's return ranked No. 3 nationally among FCS punt-return touchdowns in Week 1.
A NEW LEAGUE, A NEW LOOK AGGIE TEAM: Utah State enters Saturday's game as a member of the Pac-12 Conference for the first time in program history, under second-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall. The Aggies went 6-7 (4-4 Mountain West) in 2025, capped by a berth in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, but turn over their starting quarterback, leading receiver and leading kicker from that team.
FREEMAN'S RETURN GAME SETS THE TABLE: Senior
Robert Freeman IV set up much of Idaho State's field position in the opener, returning eight punts for 101 yards, including a long of 30. His all-purpose production ranked 84th nationally after Week 1, and his combined kick-return yardage (101) ranked 13th in the country.
A PERFECT AFTERNOON FOR LINDBERG: Kicker
Mason Lindberg didn't miss a beat in his 2026 debut, going 5-for-5 on extra points and knocking through his lone field-goal attempt from 40 yards. Idaho State's offense finished a perfect 1-for-1 in the red zone as a team.
BEND-DON'T-BREAK IN THE RED ZONE: Idaho State's defense made its stand where it mattered most, limiting VMI to just one touchdown on two trips inside the 20-yard line — a 50 percent red-zone stop rate that ranked 15th nationally after Week 1.
HOLDING SERVE THROUGH THE AIR: Idaho State's defense limited VMI to just 11 yards passing on 5-of-9 throwing in Week 1 — the first time since 2021 the Bengals have held an opponent to fewer than 100 passing yards in a game when they held Idaho to 88 yards on 5-of-9 attempts The program record for stinginess remains 0 passing yards allowed, set against Montana Eastern in 1977.
SERIES vs. UTAH STATE
- Utah State holds a 19-2 all-time series lead, a series dating back to 1904.
- Idaho State's last win in the series came Nov. 18, 2000, a 27-24 decision in Logan. The Bengals' only other win in the series came Nov. 14, 1981, a 50-24 victory in Pocatello.
- The last meeting between the two teams came Sept. 9, 2023, a 78-28 Utah State win in Logan, Cody Hawkins' first year at the helm of the Bengal Program.
