Idaho State is still trying to prove everybody wrong.

The Bengals are off to a good start, but they haven’t yet swayed the masses.

Because we’ve all seen this before. We all know one win doesn’t make a season.

For the second consecutive year, the Bengals went on the road and beat a team the odds say they shouldn’t have. In 2017, it was Nevada – a splashy, welcome-to-the-league win for first-year head coach Rob Phenicie. It was a great moment, to be sure. It let ISU supporters sense the beginnings of a program turnaround.

But the Bengals didn’t follow through.

The next week, a fourth-quarter collapse erased the same day’s fourth-quarter comeback. Idaho State followed its thrilling upset win with a stunning loss at Northern Colorado to open Big Sky Conference play, and the Nevada excitement was instantly dulled.

In some ways, ISU never recovered from the UNC loss. The Bengals won two more games that season, but ultimately went 4-7, lost their last three games and were blown off their home field by UC Davis on senior day.

Saturday, ISU beat 22nd-ranked North Dakota – a win that, though not as historic and monumental in nature as the Nevada upset, gives ISU a coveted Big Sky win in its quest for a conference title. It marked more firsts for Phenicie – first conference road win, first win over a ranked opponent, first win against the Fighting Hawks.

Like last year, the Bengals will return home to droves of supporters eager to congratulate them on their success. They’re the talk of the town, the toast of Twitter, the wildcard of the week.

But what happens next week, and in the coming months, will set this season into permanence.

It’ll be easy to let this win cloud preparation for Northern Arizona on homecoming. Lumberjacks All-American quarterback Case Cookus is injured, and NAU’s usually high-powered offense appears to have lost some steam.

On the flip side, ISU’s defense is the real deal. It’s safe to say that now. Combine those factors with the comfort of Holt Arena, and Saturday’s matchup has all the makings of a trap game.

After Saturday’s win, which was buoyed by the defense’s second-half shutout, Bengals linebacker Kody Graves said the performance could not only change the Bengals’ season, but uplift the fortunes of Idaho State’s program. It was bold, but Graves said it with confidence. It also might be true. We won’t know for a while.

Let’s start with next Saturday, a must-win if there ever was one. Time for the Bengals to cash in on their upsets.

If they don’t, upsets will remain such – once-in-a-while wins no one saw coming, with no tangible carryover.