Idaho State Down, But Not Out

Good timing doesn’t have to be precise.

Which is why Mike Kramer can look past all of the obvious factors that suggest otherwise and declare that his Eastern Washington Eagles are catching Idaho State at just the right time in this afternoon’s 12:35 homecoming matchup at Woodward Stadium.

Forget that the Bengals (1-5 over all, 0-3 in the Big Sky Conference) are coming off their first win of the year a 46-31 victory against Southern Utah last weekend. And forget that Kramer’s league-leading Eagles (6-1, 4-1) are primed for an emotional letdown after last Saturday’s shocking 40-35 road win over Montana.

“Right time,” in this case, doesn’t mean the right day, or even the right weekend. It means the right year.

“Right now they’re just simply not the team Idaho State has been in the past, particularly in terms of skill and speed,” Kramer said in reference to the shabby state of the program that first-year coach Tom Walsh inherited last winter.

Since 1992, ISU players recruited during the Brian McNeely Era were involved in everything from statutory rape and shoplifting to theft of dormitory furniture and even an off-campus shooting. Before McNeely was fired at the end of last season, the Bengals’ rap sheet had grown to embarrassing dimensions and most of the usual suspects he had recruited had either fled the program or been incarcerated.

In addition, ISU’s mega-talented quarterback Shawn Griggs, who threw for 1,823 yards and 16 touchdowns as a true freshman last fall, jumped ship and transferred to South Carolina.

Walsh was left with a shallow pool of returning talent and an empty canister of recruiting ammunition. As a result, the Bengals had just 40 players show up for spring drills. And Walsh welcomed back only 28 letterwinners this fall.

Kramer, then, has no trouble understanding ISU’s 0-5 start. But he is impressed with what he has seen of Walsh’s rebuilding efforts and is convinced that the Bengals won’t be down for long.

“I see solidness in the way they are going about revamping their whole program,” Kramer explained.

Still, the Bengals rank last in the Big Sky in total offense (223.7 yards per game), passing offense (117.0) and scoring offense (14.2 points per game). And they are second-to-last in total defense (405.2 yards per game) and scoring defense (33.3 points per game).

However, ISU came within a point of upsetting Montana State, the only team to beat Eastern his season.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Eagles vs. Idaho State