Big Sky football notes: ISU coach Mike Kramer can’t wait to see EWU’s Cooper Kupp graduate

Idaho State football coach Mike Kramer has a sense of humor that can’t be suppressed.

On Wednesday, Kramer appreciated the bright side of interminable bus rides, the Bengals’ 2-7 record and even the prospect of facing Cooper Kupp and Eastern Washington’s prolific offense on Saturday.

“I’ve been calling it Cooper Kupp week,” said Kramer, who coached at Eastern from 1994-99. “I think they should rename their stadium. “In fact I’m ready to call this the ‘Cooper Kupp Conference’ – I’m gonna see if I can bring that up next spring.”

Until then, Kramer says he’d like to “present him (Kupp) with a rocking chair and say get the hell out of here.”

On the subject of travel in the budge-conscious Big Sky Conference, Kramer was even more tongue-in-cheek.

The Bengals are coming off a bus trip to Missoula – distance 726 miles, round trip – and now face a 1,148-mile journey from Pocatello to Cheney and back.

The Bengals aren’t alone. Last week, Portland State journeyed by bus from Portland to UC Davis and back. This week they’re going round-trip to Sacramento, which means the Vikings will have covered 2,336 miles in two weekends.

“It’s the nature of the beast,” said Kramer, who took mock comfort in the fact the Bengals have two days to make to Roos Field. They’ll spend Thursday night in the same Missoula hotel that housed them them last weekend.

“So we have that familiarity factor,” said Kramer, warming to the subject.

Tough as the bus rides are, Kramer said last month’s trip to Northern Arizona was even worse, as the Bengals had to fly commercial to Phoenix before boarding buses for a 2 1/2 -hour trek to Flagstaff.

“We’re getting a lot of frequent-flier miles,” Kramer said.

Regarding the Bengals’ on-field struggles, Kramer said his team took some positives from a 62-44 loss at Montana.

ISU’s scoring output was the most by any team at Montana since South Dakota State scored 48 in 2009.

“Forty-four points on the Grizzlies at any time is something to behold,” Kramer said.

Eagles to honor 12 seniors

They vow to keep things businesslike, but emotions are sure to flow for some of the 12 EWU seniors who will play their final regular-season home game Saturday.

“You definitely have a game to play … but it’s also going to be an emotional moment,” said senior captain Zach Bruce. “But I do think we’re going to get another game on the red.”

At 8-1 overall and 6-0 in the Big Sky, the Eagles figure to get a home playoff game or two, but that won’t lessen the meaning of Saturday’s game.

“I just have to stay composed and enjoy the moment,” said wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, who expects “many” family members to visit from Portland.

“I’m still trying to come up some more tickets – hopefully it’s not a sellout so I can buy some,” Bourne said.

The other seniors include receivers Cooper Kupp and Shaq Hill, running back Jabari Wilson, tight end Zach Wimberly, quarterback Jordan West, offensive lineman Jerrod Jones, defensive linemen Samson Ebukam and Matt Sommer, linebacker Miquiyah Zamora and defensive back J.J. Njoku.

“The seniors deserve the recognition – they’ve continued to lay the bricks on our foundation,” coach Beau Baldwin said.

From 2013-16, Eastern has won 37 games overall and 26 in the Big Sky Conference, with two outright Big Sky Conference championships and NCAA Football Championship Playoff berths when most played as freshmen and sophomores.

Eagles still a second-half team

Despite trailing at halftime in five of eight games this season, Eastern is 8-1 partly because the Eagles have made a habit of dominating the third quarter.

The only leads EWU has had at halftime were by the slimmest of margins – 21-14 at Cal Poly, 21-10 versus Montana, 24-17 against MSU and 22-21 at Northern Arizona when the Eagles kicked a 44-yard field goal with 23 seconds left in the second quarter.

However, Eastern has outscored opponents 143-41 in the third quarter; the highlights include 14-0 runs at Washington State and Northern Iowa; 35-7 against UC Davis and 21-7 versus Northern Colorado.

Eastern has a 242-91 advantage in the second half, but a 161-175 disadvantage in the first half.