CSJ 2018 Week 12 Preview: Weber State at Idaho State, How To Watch and Fearless Prediction
Weber State at Idaho State
When: Saturday, November 17, 2:35 PM MST
Where: Holt Arena, Pocatello, Idaho
TV/Streaming: Watch Big Sky / Pluto TV
Weber State Wildcats (8-2, 6-1 Big Sky)
The Wildcats have won five games in a row and come into this game hoping to win at least a share of the Big Sky Conference title.
The Wildcats have won nine of their last 10 games on the road against Big Sky Conference opponents.
Weber State leads the all-time series 42-15, including a 20-10 mark in Pocatello and 14 wins in the last 15 contests.
The last outing saw the Wildcats win 35-7 to close the 2017 regular season and claim a share of the Big Sky title, the same scenario facing WSU this weekend.
Key Player: RB Josh Davis has 806 yards rushing so far this season. The freshman has stared so far for like him, a fairly young team. The Wildcats will try to rely on the running game but is going against the fairly strong Idaho State defense (at least in the score-happy Big Sky)–giving up 442 yards per game.
Fantasy Bonus Baby: Look for the Bengals to try to stop the run game and leave the passing game open for the Wildcats. This very well could lead to WR Rashid Shaheed, who leads the team with 24 receptions. Shaheed had 49 yards receiving last week and has 289 receiving yards for the season. But he will likely see some more throwing in this game.
Idaho State Bengals (6-4, 5-2 Big Sky)
The Bengals looked poised to make it a four team race going into the final weekend but fell a game behind their opponent this week of Weber State, along with Eastern Washington and UC Davis last week.
Idaho State lost to Cal Poly last week to set up this must win game to see the postseason game. Idaho State has not played in the FCS playoffs since 1983. The Bengals, however, were the national champions in 1981.
The Bengals have been the feel-good story in the Big Sky this year after being predicted 12th in the preseason rankings. A win at home would mean the team would finish undefeated inside the friendly confines of the Holt Arena and most likely a playoff bid.
Key Player: QB Tanner Gueller is the Bengal leader as a senior three-year starter and has thrown for 8,794 career yards. This season, he’s second in the Big Sky at 283.4 passing yards per game and leads the league in QB efficiency at 153.1. He’s thrown 25 touchdowns to nine interceptions. He will need to avoid the interceptions, which is a key component to the Weber State defense.
Fantasy Bonus Baby: WR Mitch Gueller is the younger brother of Tanner. He leads the conference with 113.5 receiving yards per game. He is a big-play threat, averaging 21.4 yards per reception. Look for him to get some big targets in this game.
Fearless Prediction: This is a battle with the top ranked defense of the Wildcats and one of the top ranked offenses in the Bengals. Turnovers most likely will be the determining factor in this game. But I think the Bengals got a wake-up call with loss to Cal Poly and playing at home, they will find a way to get into the postseason with a big win, yet narrow over the Wildcats. Idaho State 31 Weber State 28
Originally from LaMoure, North Dakota, Kent is a 1996 graduate of North Dakota State University. His prior writing experience is over 15 years having previously worked with D2football.com, I-AA.org, and College Sporting News before coming to College Sports Journal in 2016. His main focus is college football is the Missouri Valley Football Conference within the Division I FCS. And in 2017, he began also to look at the FBS Group of Five conferences of the American Athletic, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, and Sun Belt.
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