Football Notes - Nov. 10

11/10/2014 6:32:45 PM

 
Two weeks remain in the regular season. Four Big Sky teams are tied in the loss column for first place with one loss. Two of them meet Saturday in Bozeman, Mont. Idaho State (5-1) puts its five-game winning streak on the line against No. 12 Montana State (5-1). MSU has won eight straight over the Bengals. The game will air live on ROOT SPORTS and DIRECTV’s Audience Network...No. 22 Northern Arizona (5-1) guns for its fifth straight victory as it takes on North Dakota in Grand Forks...No. 16 Montana (4-2) looks to keep its playoff hopes alive as it travels to Southern Utah...Cal Poly (5-2) closes out its conference schedule at home against rival UC Davis in the “Battle of the Golden Horseshoe”...Sacramento State takes on Portland State, while Weber State returns home to face Northern Colorado...Eastern No. 5 Washington (6-1) has a bye.
   

Game	Time	TV/Internet
*#22 Northern Arizona (5-1, 7-3) at North Dakota (1-5, 3-7) 12:05	12:05 p.m. Central	Midco Sports Net Watch Big Sky
*#16 Montana (4-2, 6-4) at Southern Utah (2-4, 2-8	1:05 p.m. Mountain	Cowles (Montana)
*Northern Colorado (2-4, 3-6) at Weber State (1-5, 1-9)	1:05 p.m. Mountain	Watch Big Sky
*Idaho State (5-1, 7-3) at #12 Montana State (5-1, 7-3)	1:30 p.m. Mountain	ROOT SPORTS DIRECTV Audience Network
*Portland State (2-4, 3-7) at Sacramento State (2-4, 5-5).	2:05 p.m. Pacific	Watch Big Sky
“Battle for the Golden Horseshoe” *UC Davis (0-6, 1-8) at Cal Poly (5-2, 6-4)................................. 6:05	6:05 p.m. Pacific	Watch Big Sky

 
*Big Sky Conference Games
Times Local to Site/Subject to Change
   
GROWL BENGALS, GROWL: Idaho State won its fifth straight game on Saturday, upsetting No. 21 Cal Poly 30-28 at Holt Arena. This marks Idaho State’s first five-game winning streak since 1995. Idaho State has not enjoyed a six-game winning streak since 1981, when the program won the FCS (then I-AA) national championship. Idaho State is now 5-1 in conference and 7-3 overall with a road game against Montana State and a home game against Weber State remaining. Idaho State’s win over Cal Poly marked the Bengals first win over a ranked team since a 34-30 upset of No. 5 Eastern Washington on Sept. 24, 2005 at Holt Arena. Idaho State’s five conference wins are the most for the Bengals since the 2002 team finished 5-2 and shared the Big Sky title with Montana and Montana State. The seven victories are the most since the 2003 team led by Jared Allen finished 8-4. ISU hasn’t won six conference games in a season since 1981, when the national champions went 6-1. Idaho State’s seven wins this season match the combined total for the previous four seasons. In Mike Kramer’s first three seasons with the Bengals, Idaho State won six games. Idaho State leads the nation in passing offense and is second in total offense. Senior quarterback Justin Arias, a Walter Payton Award candidate, leads the nation with 3,384 passing yards and 32 passing touchdowns.
 
BIG PLAY VA RETURNS: Eastern Washington junior All-American quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. returned last Saturday to lead the Eagles to a 36-26 win over Montana. Adams completed 25-of-37 passes for 410 yards and four touchdowns. The Walter Payton Award candidate missed the previous four games with two broken bones in his foot. Adams’ first TD pass Saturday was the 100th of his career. He added three more to improve his career total to 103. Adams became the 14th player in FCS history to throw 100 TD passes. Because Adams has not played in 75 percent of his team’s games, he does not appear in the Big Sky or NCAA leaders. In the seven games he has played, he has completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 2,567 yards with 28 touchdowns and four interceptions. Adams is averaging 366.7 passing yards per game and 397.7 yards of total offense per game. He has an efficiency rating of 179.49.
 
FOUR ONE-LOSS TEAMS: Cal Poly and Montana dropped from the ranks off one-loss Big Sky teams last week. Eastern Washington (6-1), Idaho State (5-1), Northern Arizona (5-1) and Montana State (5-1) enter the final two weeks of the regular season tied for first place in the loss column. At the end of Saturday, there will be no more than three as Idaho State plays at Montana State. Eastern Washington has a bye before closing out the regular season on Friday, Nov. 21, at Portland State. Montana State has a road game at Montana on Nov. 22. Idaho State plays at home against Weber State on Nov. 21. Northern Arizona is at North Dakota on Saturday and closes out the regular season at home against Southern Utah. Thanks to wins over Eastern Washington and Cal Poly, Northern Arizona is in position to earn the league’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. Eleven conference champions earn automatic bids to the playoffs. The other 13 spots go to at-large teams and are determined by the FCS playoff committee. Idaho State has not advanced to the playoffs since 1983. Northern Arizona is seeking its first conference title since 2003. Eastern Washington is seeking its third straight playoff appearance, and the fifth in six seasons. Montana State last made the playoffs in 2012, as did Cal Poly. Montana made the playoffs in 2013. A record four Big Sky teams made the postseason in 2013.
 
SOUERS HITS MILESTONE: Northern Arizona head coach Jerome Souers became the second coach in league history to win 100 games while coaching in the league. Souers and the Lumberjacks beat UC Davis 23-21 at the Walkup Skydome on Saturday. Souers hiked his overall record to 100-91 in 17 seasons. Souers trails only Nevada’s Chris Ault, who won 111 games at Nevada from 1979-91. Souers is the 15th active coach in the FCS who has won 100 games at his current program. In the past three years, Northern Arizona has gone 18-4 in Big Sky games and 24-9 overall.
 
CARDIAC JACKS: Northern Arizona has played eight games against FCS teams this season and all have been decided by seven points or less. Northern Arizona is 6-2 in those games. No one in the league has played more one-score games than the Lumberjacks. NAU’s average margin of victory in its six FCS wins is 3.83 points. NAU beat Cal Poly with a TD with 21 seconds left, and EWU with a TD with 12 seconds left.
 
HAMLIN SECOND ALL-TIME IN TACKLES: Eastern Washington senior linebacker Ronnie Hamlin tallied nine tackles - six solo - in the Eagles’ win over Montana. Hamlin now has 440 career tackles in 50 games. Hamlin moved past former teammate J.C. Sherritt and Idaho State’s A.J. Storms into second place on the Big Sky’s all-time tackles list. Tackles have been an official NCAA statistic since 2000. Hamlin’s 440 tackles rank 15th in FCS history. Hamlin needs 31 tackles to tie the Big Sky career record of 471 set by Montana State’s Kane Ioane, who played from 2000-03.
 
WEBER EARNS FIRST WIN: Weber State snapped a nine-game losing streak and won for the first time under Jay Hill, beating North Dakota 24-12. The Wildcats halted a 12-game road losing streak that dated back to 2012. Sophomore QB Jadrian Clark threw for 235 and three touchdowns. They were the first three throwing TDs of his career. All 13 Big Sky teams have won at least one game this season. Cam Livingston caught five passes for 116 yards. Cornerback Deon’tae Florence tallied seven tackles and an interception.
 
BROWN SETS QB MARK: Cal Poly’s Chris Brown rushed for 195 yards and three touchdowns in the Mustangs’ 30-28 loss to Idaho State. Brown set a single-season rushing record for a quarterback in the Big Sky with 1,148 yards. The previous record of 1,060 yards set by Portland State’s Connor Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh rushed for 1,964 yards in his career, the most by a Big Sky QB. Brown, a junior, has 1,833 career rushing yards. Sacramento State’s Garrett Safron enters the final two games of his career with 1,796 career rushing yards. Montana State’s Dakota Prukop has 932 rushing yards this season and is on pace to become the third QB in league history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
 
IN THE RANKINGS: North Dakota State’s loss to Northern Iowa last Saturday shook up the top of both major Top 25 Polls. New Hampshire of the CAA has taken over the top spot in The Sports Network Top 25. Undefeated Coastal Carolina is the new No. 1 in the Coaches’ Poll. Eastern Washington remained fifth in the Sports Network Poll. Montana State moved up to No. 12, and Montana fell to No. 16. Northern Arizona improved to No. 22. Idaho State, despite six straight wins and a 7-3 overall record, was not ranked. The Bengals earned 281 points for 27th place. Cal Poly also received votes. In the Coaches’ Poll, Eastern Washington is fifth, Montana State is 13th, and Montana is 15th. Northern Arizona and Idaho State were the top two teams receiving votes not ranked. Cal Poly also received votes.
 
BOBCATS, BENGALS ON ROOT: Saturday’s ROOT SPORTS game features Montana State playing host to Idaho State in a key conference showdown. Both teams are 5-1 in conference, 7-3 overall and fighting for postseason bids. It’s the first meeting between the traditional rivals since 2011. Coverage begins on ROOT SPORTS and DIRECTV’s Audience Network at 1:30 p.m. Mountain. Tom Glasgow, Jason Stiles and Brad Adam will call the game.
 
DZUBNAR CLIMBS THE LADDER: Cal Poly senior linebacker Nick Dzubnar tallied 15 tackles in a loss to Idaho State, bringing his season total to 142. Dzubnar’s 142 tackles ties for the sixth-most in league single-season history. He is just three behind fifth, four behind fourth, and nine behind third place. Former Eastern Washington great J.C. Sherritt holds the record with 176 tackles in 2010. Sherritt is also second on the list with 170 tackles in 2009.
 
Extra Points: Home teams won five of the six conference games last week. Home teams are now 25-15 in league games with 12 to play...UM’s Jordan Johnson threw for a career-high 447 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to EWU...Weber State’s Bo Bolen had one kick return against UND to hike his career total to 102. He needs one more to tie the Big Sky record of 103 by Idaho State’s JD Ponciano...Cal Poly has 3,582 rushing yards this season and needs 308 to tie the single-season league record of 3,890 set by the Mustangs in 2012. Cal Poly needs two rushing TDs to tie the single-season league record of 39 set by Montana State in 1966...EWU WR Cooper Kupp is over 1,000 receiving yards for the second straight year. Kupp has 73 catches for 1,013 yards and 13 receiving touchdowns...Sac State QB Garrett Safron tied his own single-season school record for passing TDs. Safron has 27 this season and 79 in his career...UC Davis WR Ramon Vargas has 29 catches for 389 yards and seven touchdowns in his last four games...UND’s Jer Garman had 340 rushing yards in his last three games...PSU started redshirt freshman Josh Kraght against Montana State. He accounted for 314 yards of total offense with one rushing and one passing TD.