I don't think it's a big secret that the Bengals are... struggling this season. They come into this match up with an 0-4 record (0-2 in conference). They have lost to North Dakota (14-35), Nevada (10-49), Sac State (21-23), and Northern Arizona (17-48). As with any opponent, can't take the foot off the gas pedal though. ISU is gonna be looking for that first win of the season and the longer it goes, the hungrier they will be for it.
The big question mark for both teams is health status of QBs. Dan alluded that Hunter would be available this week and while he dressed, he obviously didn't see the field. The Bengals starting QB Tyler Vander Waal went out of the game against Sac State and didn't play against NAU. Their coach was on record of saying that "he probably could've played but he couldn't have taken a hit." Vander Waal has played in 3 games and has completed 32/69 for 375 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He has added 34 rushing yards on 15 attempts His replacement Hunter Hays has completed 34/62 for 350 yards with 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He has rushed for 81 yards on 23 attempts.
The Bengals also have some injury question marks in their running back corps. Their 2 main backs of Malakai Rango and Raiden Hunter didn't see the field against NAU. On the season, Rango has rushed for 178 yards on 42 attempts with 1 touchdown. Rango has additionally added 44 receiving yards on 5 catches. Hunter Raiden has rushed for 82 yards on 25 attempts.
Idaho State has 3 main targets in the receiving game, WRs Shane Dailey Jr, Xavier Guillory, and Tanner Conner. Dailey Jr has 124 yards on 14 catches, Guillory has 157 yards on 13 catches, and Conner has 189 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 catches.
On defense, the Bengals are led by LB Connor Wills who has 42 tackles (24 solo), 3 TFLs, and a forced fumble. LB Darian Green has 29 tackles (9 solo) and 2.5 TFLs. The team has not forced an interception this season so far and are a -6 in the turnover margin.
What I heard was HR was cleared to play but they wanted to be overly cautious and give him another week. I respect that kind of judgment when you’re talking about a head injury.
Agreed. Head injuries are no joke and successive concussions in a short time period can actually be deadly. I believe Idaho was actually one of the tougher games we had remaining on the schedule and we got the job done with Hastings, TT, and a fabulous pass from Crawford. Just got to keep finding ways to win.
As usual they have some pretty informative analysis.
Some highlights are they view their Wildcat QB as their version of TT but they're frustrated that he never throws, and that they were concerned about defensive stamina because this was the first four-quarter game they played. Also, they give a lot of props for Hawkins winning the coaching battle with the late QB switch and on D forcing Idaho to keep passes quick and short at the end
I was talking with my brother during the game that it was an uncharacteristically bad game for Scott Marsh. He was getting names wrong all the time and on their long touchdown run he was still talking about the play being down at the 15 even with Idaho lined up for the PAT. I personally believe that he can do much better. I did not care for Dunning on the call and prefer Scott Berry.
Maybe they need a spotter if they don’t have one. No excuse for how many times they get players wrong. But the biggest drawback of the Dunning choice is that now you have two guys with Davis anecdotes but nothing for the other half of the audience.
The first Borisch touchdown play is a bad call for the ages. After all our plays with TT, and knowing that Idaho has a similar player, Marsh doesn’t take note of either Borisch’s presence in the backfield, or his movement before the snap to the quarterback position.or him carrying the ball despite his flowing locks. Then he doesn’t pick up that it’s a touchdown.
Idaho was literally lined up for the PAT and neither Marsh or Dunning even realized there was a TD. One of the most baffling sequences I've seen in broadcasting.
Agree with all of that. One of the worst called games in a long while for me. Marsh and Dunning do the same thing. Big on Aggie legend and lore and bad on what is going on down on the field. And they go on blabbing about a play long over and miss what’s going on in front of them. I love BD but its time to give him a rest. Even his voice is going. Bad!
Greg Wong, who calls the radio broadcast for women's basketball, is excellent doing the play-by-play call. His interviews with players and coaches is excellent also. I would like to see him get a chance to move up in the Aggie broadcasts.
Great. He's quick and sharp with his PbP call and does a good job of creating a vision of what is happening on the court. He doesn't get lost in some long winded commentary and miss what's happening on the court. He also asks knowledgeable post-game questions and isn't afraid to ask the coaches tough questions. I like that a lot.
The last few weeks KHTK isn’t available when I ask an Amazon device to stream it during what should be the pregame show. Need a special app or something? It worked before.