Sagarin ratings, albeit thin after only a few games, shows UCA at 45 and Idaho State at 40....that makes for a 2-3 point prediction in UCA's favor.....of interest both ISU and UCA are 0-2 with strength of schedule of 53 for UCA and 55 for ISU...note that Kennesaw State has a 30 SOS, 0-2 rating, a loss to a Top30 (like UCA) but a rating of 51...
ISU lost @ UNLV in their opener by 52-21 and then lost @ San Diego State by 38-7....this is the Bengals 2022 home opener.....
The game is in Pocatello is about 4500 feet in elevation (compare to Boulder at about 5400)....expect some elevation effect probably late in the game...as I recall we played very well at Boulder a few years back .....
The football field is inside Holt Arena that seats 12,000...see pic and info at:
https://pocatello.net/holt-arena-idaho-state-university/ISU has some videos at:
https://isubengals.com/sports/footballBengals are also a past national champion in football winning the old I-AA (now D2) in 1981 the season after going 0-11......they defeated Eastern Kentucky in the tile game by 34-23...quite a turnaround...
Thanks to BearonCampus for the link to ISU's preseason Youtube team preview (also found at 2022 topic):
https://youtu.be/ZDUrZN2WkzsHead Coach Charlie Ragle is in his first year with ISU ..this is his 23rd year in coaching that has combined high school stints, including 63-7 at Chaparral HS in Scottsdale, Arizona and since 2012 assistant coach positions at Arizona and Cal...see more at:
https://isubengals.com/staff-directory/charlie-ragle/500For what it's worth a summary of 2021 stats as follows:
ISU/Opp
Points per game: 15/34
Rush yards: 122/174
Pass yards: 188/256
3rd down%: 38/49
4th down%: 53/67
Sacks by: 7/39
Home attendance was 3700 per game for 5 home games....
Game results from 2021...record was 1-10....pretty challenging schedule...
9/4 University of North Dakota L 14-35 4,667
9/11 at University of Nevada L 10-49 23,965
9/25 Sacramento State L 21-23 5,997
10/2 at Northern Arizona University L 17-48 9,713
10/9 UC Davis W 27-17 5,20610/16 at Portland State University L 10-31 1,809
10/23 at Montana State University L 9-27 19,297
10/30 Weber State L 17-40 2,500
11/6 at BYU L 14-59 63,470
11/13 at Cal Poly L 29-32 5,651
11/20 University of Idaho L 0-14