Teams: UC Davis vs. Idaho State
Records: Aggies, 2-4 (1-2); Bengals, 1-4 (0-2)
Where: Pocatello, Idaho
When: Saturday at 3 p.m.
Who to Watch: Going to Idaho, the Aggies will face the best passing attack in the Big Sky. The Bengals currently average 376.2 passing yards a game, good for fourth in the entire FCS.
The Aggies’ secondary will be forced to step up big time in order to stop the Bengals’ aerial attack. The Aggies might be without senior safety Kevyn Lewis due to injury, yet others are expected to pick up the slack. So far UC Davis has done a good job against the pass only allowing 214.2 yards per game while allowing just four touchdowns all year.
Did you know? In the matchup against the Bengals, the Aggies will try to win on the road for the first time this year. UC Davis is currently 0-3 away from Aggie Stadium and will try to take a turn for the better against Idaho State.
The Aggies have only won one road game dating back to last season in the victory over rival Sacramento State last year in the Causeway Classic on Nov. 19.
Preview: This upcoming week, the Aggies will take on the road to face Big West conference foe Idaho State. It will be the first time that the two teams have been matched up.
The two teams are coming off different types of games from last week and both have something to prove. The Aggies barely lost a 48-41 thriller against second-ranked Montana State and will seek redemption this week. The Bengals are coming off a 77-10 loss against Portland State and are desperate to prove themselves as well.
“A loss is a loss at the end of the day, but I think a lot of the players found a little pride in that game because we realized what we can do and now we can finish the season right,” said sophomore running back Dalton Turay.
“The team is continuing to feel very good about itself. We are really playing good football and the wins are going to come as long as we stay the course,” said head coach Bob Biggs. “It’s a credit to the team to put a game behind them and look forward to the next team. It’s a sign of good senior leadership.”
The Bengals come into the week bringing one of the best-rated passing attacks in the FCS.
“They have some very lethal wide receivers. [Rodrick] Rumble, their preseason All-American is an outstanding player as are their other guys,” Biggs said.
Biggs also mentioned that the Aggies will have to maintain a steady pressure on the Idaho State quarterback.
“Their quarterback [Kevin] Yost, if you give him time will put the ball on the money. We’re going to work on things to try and put pressure on him and try to mix up the coverage,” Biggs said.
“They throw it up a lot so we’re just focusing more on our coverages this week and showing the quarterback different looks so he’s more confused back there,” said senior linebacker Jordan Glass.
The Aggies will try to implement their hard-nosed running attack again this week after facing a Montana State team that boasted the best running defense in the Big Sky.
“They tend to give up a lot in the run game right now so it is an area that we want to continually improve. We’re going to continue to do what we do, which is being a balanced offense and worry about what we do,” Biggs said.
— Jason Min
