2011 Predictions & Game Story
Week 8 - Idaho State at BYU
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Oct. 22 at BYU 56 … Idaho State 3
CFN Analysis: The Cougars might not be beating a murderer’s row of teams, but it’s on a five-game winning streak, it’s going to a bowl, and the embarrassment to Utah was eons ago. The defense continues to be fine and the offense exploded against a badly overmatched team, while Riley Nelson is improving by the week throwing for three scores and spreading the ball around well and running for 62 yards and a touchdown. The team is as tuned up as it can possibly be with a showdown against TCU up next, and now it’s time to come up with a real win. Oregon State was close, UCF was nice, and Ole Miss was a name, but beating TCU on national TV would be the key moment to make a good season possibly great. Beat TCU, and the Cougars will be 9-2 going into the regular-season finale against Hawaii.
(AP) PROVO, Utah -- Riley Nelson passed for 215 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 62 yards and another TD to lead BYU to a 56-3 victory over Idaho State on Saturday.
Nelson completed 11 of 17 passes, including scoring throws of 15, 7 and 19 yards. The latter two went to Cody Hoffman, who had five catches for 71 yards.
Nelson's 16-yard scoring run in the second quarter put BYU (6-2) ahead 28-3 and was one of four rushing touchdowns for the Cougars. Michael Alisa added 66 yards on eight carries, including a 42-yard touchdown run, as BYU ran for 290 yards and had 572 yards of total offense.
Idaho State (2-6) has now lost 16 straight games to FBS opponents. Kevin Yost completed 26 of 46 passes for 174 yards for the Bengals. Roderick Rumble had 10 catches for 88 yards.
Idaho State (2-5) at BYU (5-2) Oct. 22, 3:00, BYUtv
Here’s The Deal … BYU enters this matchup riding a four game winning streak after getting demolished by Utah earlier this season. The Cougars have been winning games the hard way, with their largest margin of victory being only 13 points, and that came against San Jose State. The Cougars have a spotlight matchup against TCU next week and will be looking to make quick work of the Bengals in this one. Idaho State has only played one FBS opponent so far this year, and the Bengals were blasted 64-21 by Washington State. Idaho State is a program that resides near the bottom of the Big Sky Conference, and this will be a significant step up in competition compared to what the Bengals are used to seeing.
Why Idaho State Might Win: If BYU is looking ahead to the matchup against TCU, then the Bengals may be able to hang around this game longer than many expect. Idaho State has the #4 passing offense in all of FCS averaging 336.71 yards per game, and the Bengals will be facing a BYU defense that is middle-of-the-road in the FBS, giving up 215.29 yards per game.
If the Bengals, led by QB Kevin Yost and WR Rodrick Rumble, can hit some big plays through the air, then they may just have a chance at keeping up in a shootout with the Cougars. The Bengals also have a special teams weapon in punter David Harrington who leads the country with an average of 48.89 yards per punt. If he is able to keep that going against BYU then the Bengals may have the benefit of field position throughout the contest as BYU only averages 7.36 yards per punt return and a paltry 35.48 yards per punt.
Why BYU Might Win: BYU is a very well-coached ball club and will not be overlooking Idaho State in anticipation of the matchup against the Horned Frogs. The Cougars biggest strength is protecting the quarterback as they allow on 1 sack per game, so QB Riley Nelson should be able to scan the field and find his open receivers.
The BYU offense has been surprisingly bad so far this year, but it should be able to get going against a Bengal defense that is one of the very worst in the FCS. Nelson is coming in off his best performance of the season last week against Oregon State, in which he ran for 87 yards and threw for 217 yards and 3 touchdowns in the road victory. He will be looking to take full advantage of the step down in competition to develop a rhythm with his receivers.
What To Watch Out For: BYU LB Brandon Ogletree & Idaho State WR Rodrick Rumble. Ogletree had a fantastic game last week as well, racking up six tackles, including two tackles for loss, and he even added an interception and two forced fumbles to his stat line. Ogletree is having a fantastic year and will need to watch out for the passes over the middle in this game as Idaho State is completely one dimensional on offense.
Rumble is the key player for the Bengal offense. He ranks #1 in the FCS in receptions per game with 10.71 and is second in receiving yards with 142.29 per game. He has caught eight touchdown passes in just seven games, and Yost will be trying to get the ball to him anytime he can. Rumble will have to turn in a career performance if the Bengals are to have any chance of pulling off the upset.
What Will Happen: BYU will start slow as the team will not be totally focused on the contest at hand, and Idaho State will connect on a couple of long scoring plays in the first half to make the home crowd nervous . But, in the second half, the bigger and stronger Cougars will take over the game and prevent Idaho State from moving the ball and asserting dominance on the offensive side of the ball at the point of attack. JJ Di Luigi will have his best game of the season, and the Cougars will pull away for a comfortable victory.
CFN Prediction: BYU 38 … Idaho State 17
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