Game Daily: Scouting the Bengals

Sep 21, 2013, 12:00 AM

They play the game on the field for a reason. If the game were played on paper, Michigan would have beaten Appalachian State in 2007 and Oregon State would have handled Eastern Washington in the Beavers’ season opener this year. Anything can happen on a college football field, and Washington needs to focus up if it wants to avoid the fate of many FBS schools that have lost to their lower division counterparts. There is, however, a major talent difference between the Appalachian States and Eastern Washingtons of the world and the Idaho States. Appalachian State was the defending Division 1-AA national champion, and Eastern Washington went 11-3 last season. Idaho State, on the other hand, is one of the worst teams in the entire FCS. The Bengals are 5-19 with just one conference win under head coach Mike Kramer, who is in his third year. Last season’s lone win came against Division II Black Hills State and both of their wins this year have come against Division II opposition, which is one rung lower than FCS in the college football hierarchy. The Bengals have lost 15 straight games against FCS opponents. Last season, they had a stretch of eight consecutive losses in which they gave up over 50 points (in three of those games they allowed 70 or more). So this weekend’s game will feature the UW’s weakest opponent of the season. However, Idaho State is playing for pride and will put up a fight. What exactly does “playing their game” consist of for Idaho State? Glad you asked. The Bengals will come out throwing, and they will do so early and often. In their two games this season, the Bengals have thrown for 868 yards and run for just 237. Last year, they threw for almost 4,000 yards and rushed for just more than 500. Redshirt junior quarterback Justin Arias will be making his first road start of the season this weekend. He redshirted last season, but played eight games in 2011, his first season with Idaho State after transferring from College of the Canyons. Arias has thrown for more than 400 yards in each of the first two games this year, and he will air it out for more Saturday, especially if the Bengals are trailing. Defensively, the Bengals are aggressive and put a lot of pressure on the quarterback, as evidenced by the 10 sacks in two games to start the season. However, their run defense is not very good. Last season, Idaho State allowed almost 4,000 yards on the ground, which should bode well for running back Bishop Sankey. All signs point to a dominant win for the Huskies, but then again, Oregon State never saw the upset coming either. Reach reporter Daniel Rubens at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @drubens12

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Game Daily: Scouting the Bengals

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