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pocatello news: Bengals back on track

Proud Griz Man

Proud Griz Man

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. . . The Idaho State Bengals made a statement Saturday, stomping Portland State 51-24 in a win that made the rest of the Big Sky Conference sit up and take notice. Their reward? A game against one of the hottest teams in the FCS.

Idaho State (2-2, 1-0 Big Sky) travels to Montana this week. The Grizzlies (4-1, 1-0 Big Sky), who beat then-No. 4 UC Davis 45-20 on the road last week, have catapulted up the national polls, rising from No. 25 in the preseason FCS STATS media poll to No. 8 after last week. “It’s going to be a tough game,” Idaho State head coach Rob Phenicie said Monday. “A top-10 team, in a hostile environment, is never easy. We have to prepare and go up there and play.” It should be a matchup between two teams high on confidence after the results of recent weeks. Idaho State nearly beat then-No. 9 Northern Iowa the week before the PSU game, while Montana’s only loss this season was to Oregon.

In head coach Bobby Hauck’s second year back in Missoula, the Grizzlies look like a legitimate contender not only for a playoff spot, but potentially a national playoff seed and a first-round bye. “They’re playing with a ton of confidence,” Phenicie said. “They’re playing a physical brand of football that we’re used to seeing out of the Grizzlies. ... (Washington-Grizzly Stadium) is an exciting environment. The Grizzlies play extremely hard there, and they’re a really good team. They’re a bunch of good players that feed off that environment.” Of course, the matchup between two teams with a lot of momentum isn’t the only storyline going into the game.

Phenicie was Hauck’s offensive coordinator during Montana’s glory years in the mid-2000s, coaching under him in Missoula from 2003 to 2009.

. . . All that talent will get another boost from playing at home in Washington-Grizzly Stadium, always one of the FCS’ biggest home-field advantages. “The setting is beautiful,” Phenicie said. “The fans are very knowledgeable, extremely loud when you’re on offense. On one particular side of the stadium, it’s really bad. They do a great job.”
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https://www.idahostatejournal.com/sports/isu/back-on-track-bengals-carry-confidence-into-tough-matchup-at/article_3969af01-31e3-5b76-bc4d-460551342d40.html
 
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