The Bengals say they’re better. The Idaho State football coaches and players have been repeating that message since the spring.

    The words have a little more gravity after ISU defeated Sacramento State 44-24 on homecoming.

    It’s not just Idaho State saying the Bengals are better any more. Their opponents are starting to chime in, including the Eastern Washington Eagles, who host Idaho State in Cheney, Wash., on Saturday.

    “They are improved in all aspects of their defense. They are talented and they have a better understanding of what they are doing,” said Eastern Washington head coach Beau Baldwin. “You can tell they play with more attitude, swagger and confidence on that side of the ball.”

    During the weekly Big Sky football coaches teleconference, Baldwin, who is the two-time defending Big Sky coach of the year, said three other things jump out at him that are different about Idaho State from years past.

    First, senior quarterback Justin Arias has always been a good player. And now that he’s in his second season as ISU’s starter, he’s experienced and his game has evolved to another level.

    “He’s been a very good player, a great player, but now he’s a veteran,” Baldwin said. “So he knows what he’s doing.”

    Arias has thrown for 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Bengals, who are 1-0 in the Big Sky and 2-2 overall. He had his best game of the season and one of the finest of his career against the Hornets when he threw for 413 yards and directed the Bengals to 639 total yards of offense.

    Baldwin believes the Bengals are also better at the wide receiver position. Since Kramer and ISU offensive coordinator Don Bailey installed a spread offense in 2011, the Bengals have been able to throw the football, finishing either first or second in the conference in passing. But the number of playmakers ISU had was limited.

    “They have a number of receivers that can do damage on you,” Baldwin said. “And a lot of times in the past, maybe it’s been one or two guys that you can try and key on. But now that’s not the case. And on top of that, schematically, Coach Bailey and the staff do a great job of scheming and attacking certain things and it shows up.”

    The final area of improvement that Baldwin mentioned is ISU’s rejuvenated run game. It’s an added element to Idaho State’s offense that teams used to not worry about.

    With junior running back Xavier Finney leading the Big Sky in rushing with 514 yards, ISU’s ground game isn’t a gimmick.

    “That added dimension equals a lot of success from an offensive standpoint,” Baldwin said. “So that’ll be a huge challenge for us.”

    How worried are the Eagles really, though? As the second-ranked team in the country that has reached the FCS semifinals three of the last four years, EWU is stacked with talent.

    But Eastern’s defense has looked suspect at times. The Eagles are eighth in the Big Sky in scoring defense (33.6 ppg) and seventh in total defense, allowing 430.2 yards a game.

    Eastern Washington defeated Idaho State last season in Holt Arena. The Bengals scored 34 points and piled up 566 yards of offense.

    “We solved their defense and unless they’ve got an influx of great new players, I think we’ve got their defense solved to a point,” Kramer said. “But that’s just words and words don’t win games.”

    It should be pointed out that while Idaho State played one of its better games offensively against Eastern, the Eagles torched ISU for 55 points and 743 yards of offense.

    Whether ISU’s improvements this season can make a difference is the question.

    “With our success and the momentum we have from the win at home on Saturday, we’re going to go in pretty confident,” said ISU receiver KW Williams. “Obviously we’re going to respect them because they are the No. 2 team in the nation. ... It’s going to be a good game. We’re going to go out firing on all cylinders.”