Idaho State (3-3, 1-2 Big Sky Conference) lost its lead Saturday in a 39-31 loss to Montana at Holt Arena. The Bengals’ losing streak against the Grizzlies is now at 12 games. Here are the positives and negatives from Saturday’s loss.

PLUS: Tanner Gueller

For the second game in a row, Idaho State’s quarterback eclipsed 300 yards passing and completed at least one pass for 70 yards or more. Gueller’s 359 yards against Montana fell two yards short of his career-high 361 yards, which he totaled in last season’s finale against Weber State.

For the season, Gueller has 1,712 yards passing, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. His fourth pass attempt Sept. 23 against Northern Colorado was picked, but Gueller has thrown 84 passes in a row without an interception.

Gueller, a redshirt junior, is on pace to surpass last season’s totals of 2,351 yards passing and 20 touchdowns. He ranks in top four in the Big Sky in passing yards per game, pass efficiency and total offense, while ranking between sixth and 19th in the FCS in key passing categories. His 15 TDs and 15.5 yards per completion are both sixth in the FCS.

MINUS: Quarterback sacks

Gueller was sacked six times by the Griz, bringing his season total to a Big Sky-high 23.

Gueller scrambled out of pressure numerous times and netted 13 yards rushing. But his six sacks resulted in minus-64 yards.

Bengals coach Rob Phenicie has been careful to put the responsibility on Gueller to avoid sacks, not his offensive line.

A recurring knock on Gueller is his tendency to hold the ball too long, giving the defense time to get past his blockers.

“The first play of the game was (Gueller),” Phenicie said Monday during his weekly press conference of Montana’s sack on Gueller to open the game. “He stared and just got locked (on one receiver) because it wasn’t a perfect picture for whatever the reason. He could’ve got the ball to another receiver or thrown it away and lived to fight another day. Some of it was a mixture of things.”

ISU quarterbacks were sacked 33 times last season, ranking 12th in the 13-team Big Sky Conference. The Bengals have been sacked eight more times than any other Big Sky team this season, and only two teams in the 123-team FCS have been sacked more.

MINUS: Defense

The Bengals gave up 519 yards to the Griz, marking the third time in the last five games ISU has been hit for 500 yards or more. ISU ranks 11th in the Big Sky with 484.8 yards allowed per game. Only six FCS defenses allow more.

Montana averaged 7 yards per play, bringing ISU’s season average to 6.3 yards allowed per play. The Bengals gave up 6.5 yards per play last season, when their defense gave up 502.2 yards per game to rank 119th in the then-122-team FCS.

ISU has a veteran front-seven and a youthful, makeshift secondary that’s been adjusted because of injuries to experienced starters Anthony Ricks and Jayson Miller.

While Idaho State’s offense has made noticeable strides this season, the defense is still sputtering along near the bottom of the Big Sky.

“We definitely need a lot more turnovers,” Bengals linebacker Joe Martin said Monday. “We’re not winning the ratio like we want to. … More pressure on the quarterback. Too many missed tackles. We need to be a better tackling team.”

PLUS: Mitch Gueller and Mario Jenkins

Gueller led ISU in receiving yardage for the third consecutive game Saturday with 188 yards on nine catches, two of which were touchdowns.

Since returning from an injury three games ago against Northern Colorado, Gueller has tallied 470 yards and six TDs on 17 receptions — tops on the team in all categories. He’s ISU’s No. 1 deep threat, with touchdown grabs of 54, 70 and 75 yards. Gueller does not qualify for the Big Sky and FCS stats leaderboards because he has not played in 75 percent of ISU’s games this season.

Jenkins recorded his third game with double-digit tackles this season with a team-high 13 against Montana. He left the game with an injury in the first quarter, but returned and notched 11 tackles the rest of the way.

Jenkins is tied for fourth in the FCS with 12 tackles per game, and is second in the FCS among qualifying players with 72 total tackles. He has recorded at least a half-tackle for loss in all games but one, and has two of the top 18 single-game tackle totals in the FCS this season.