A historic win, an ugly loss. A strong start erased by a shaky finish. A tumultuous offseason, a booster-administration war of words, last-minute coaching changes and controversial pregame verbal jabs. Rob Phenicie’s first year as Idaho State’s head football coach was full of defining storylines.

Phenicie recapped his debut season at Monday’s year-end press conference. He was business as usual, balancing the good with the bad and deflecting improvements onto the need for more.

Phenicie and the Bengals went 4-7 in 2017 — a two-win improvement from 2-9 records in 2015 and ‘16. A rejuvenating 30-28 win Sept. 16 at Nevada gave ISU its first victory over an FBS opponent since 2000 and looked to propel the Bengals into conference play. But a pair of one-possession losses in the following weeks tempered the excitement, and three consecutive losses to end the season left the Bengals with a familiar sour taste.

An improved offense outpaced a weak defense, but even the offense sputtered. The running game was revived and paired with a star-studded aerial attack to give the Bengals one of the most potent offenses in the FCS for most of the season.

But 38 combined points over the final three games evened out the hot start and pushed ISU’s scoring average into the bottom half of the Big Sky rankings.

The Bengals’ defensive shortcomings boiled over after UC Davis rolled to a 56-17 blowout win on senior day — ISU’s worst home loss since 2012 and the most points scored by an opponent at Holt Arena since 2008. The Journal reported Monday that three-year defensive coordinator Spencer Toone will not return to the coaching staff next season — a decision that was made prior to the Bengals’ season finale at Weber State. ISU ranked in the bottom fifth of the FCS in every defensive statistic this season.

In summation, some improvements are evident, while others are sorely needed. Phenicie was quick to put his stamp on the program, instilling a football-first mindset that was absent before. He spoke highly of his team’s consistent effort and attitude which, coupled with an improvement in the win column, gives Idaho State a foundation for what appears to be a bright future.

But the future is just that: ahead of the present.

In Phenicie’s own words: “Unfinished business.”

“It was frustrating,” Phenicie said Monday. “Felt like we could’ve had a couple more wins there. I think we let a few go, and then we kind of faded there at the end of the season, unfortunately. We need to be better at that. We lost our last three and we lost four of our last five. We’ve got to be better than that down the stretch.”

PRESEASON DRAMA

Phenicie’s whirlwind offseason mirrored ISU’s.

After working two years as the Bengals’ wide receivers coach, Phenicie was promoted to offensive coordinator this offseason before accepting an assistant coaching gig at Northern Iowa. Shortly after leaving ID for IA, Phenicie returned to be the Bengals’ head coach after Mike Kramer retired a week before spring practice began.

Phenicie quickly organized his coaching staff, which was highlighted by securing Matt Troxel as offensive coordinator. Troxel had spent the past six seasons at ISU, including one as OC, but left for a coaching job at Montana, his alma mater, last winter before returning to Pocatello.

Once fall camp rolled around, ISU was embroiled in a controversy involving big-name athletic boosters and the school’s administration. Phenicie and the football team appeared to brush off the outside noise and beat Western Oregon 37-6 to open the season.

“Just control what you can control,” Bengals redshirt junior linebacker Joe Martin said Aug. 9. “If you’re not out here on the field with us, working, losing weight, sweating, blood, all that, it don’t really matter what you think or say about us, unless you’re a fan coming to the game supporting us.”

A WIN FOR THE AGES

Idaho State snapped a 27-game losing streak to FBS opponents by hanging on to beat Nevada 30-28 in Reno. The Bengals built a 30-7 third-quarter lead and stifled the Wolf Pack’s last-minute two-point conversion and onside kick to secure the win. The victory put an early signature moment on Phenicie’s resume and inspired a positive outlook for the rest of the season.

“We did what we practice. We came into the locker room and celebrated,” ISU linebacker Mario Jenkins said by phone after the game. “It was a great win for all of us. It was crazy. Lots of emotions.”

The next week, ISU lost a heart-stopping 42-21 game at Northern Colorado. The Bengals rallied from a 40-24 third-quarter deficit to take a 42-40 fourth-quarter lead, but costly errors on offense, defense and special teams allowed UNC a chance at a game-winning field goal in the final seconds.

The kick was good, and the momentum from the Nevada win was nullified.

“We gotta finish,” Phenicie said in a postgame radio interview. “Gotta finish. No moral victories. We lost.”

MONTANA RIVALRY RENEWED

There was no way to ignore the build up to Idaho State’s Oct. 7 home game against Montana, where Phenicie reached the pinnacle of his success as an assistant coach from 2003-09.

Phenicie and the Grizzlies played in three FCS national championships and won the Big Sky Conference title each year he was there. In his weekly press conference previewing the matchup, Phenicie propped Montana on a pedestal and anointed then-head coach Bob Stitt as an offensive genius. The quotes came off as humorous and motivational to some, while sounding like a sarcastic, bitter, rookie battle cry to others. Stitt fired back later in the week, and in the week following Montana’s 39-31 win at Holt Arena.

A win against the perennial beasts of the Big Sky could have catapulted the Bengals, as the Nevada win three weeks earlier should have. But ISU never got over the hump, losing four of its final five games.

INDIVIDUAL ACCOLADES

Idaho State placed four players on the first-team all-Big Sky list — the program’s highest total since 2003. Mario Jenkins, Mitch Gueller, James Madison and Skyler Phillips took home first-team honors, while six other Bengals found a spot on the third-team and honorable mention lists.

Gueller and Madison return to ISU’s offense next season, while Jenkins and Phillips have their eyes on the NFL.

“That was great for all four of those guys to get first team,” Phenicie said Monday. “That was really cool.”

Phillips also earned an invite to the Reese’s Senior Bowl, which features the top senior NFL Draft prospects in college football. Jenkins is a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, which recognizes the top defensive player in the FCS.

The Bengals graduate nine seniors from this year’s team, giving Phenicie a strong foundation of skilled returners moving forward.

“It definitely helps having a lot of guys back,” quarterback Tanner Gueller said Monday. “Just another offseason to throw every single day and (get) that next level of trust, knowing everybody, how they run certain routes, things like that. Building on that all offseason is going to be huge for us.”

OFFSEASON PLAN

Phenicie and his assistants are hot on the recruiting trail with the NCAA’s early signing period for football players on Dec. 20.

Phenicie said the team’s biggest needs are on the offensive and defensive lines. Phillips and veteran Chase Collins graduated from the O-line, while JonRyheem Peoples is the biggest loss along the defensive front — which shrunk from four down linemen to three early in the season when Toone changed the base defensive formation from a 4-3 to a 3-4.

Phenicie said his immediate goal is to target in-state recruits.

“We want to build a wall around the state, if we can, and not let them go other places,” Phenicie said. “We have some areas that we need to address, specifically our fronts, and that’s where there is a lot of focus right now.”

Phenicie also expressed excitement over the offseason weight-training program put in place by ISU Director of Strength and Conditioning Dan Ryan. Phenicie said the weight room is acquiring new bars and bumper plates, and that Ryan’s offseason training program is a first in his time at ISU.

“In the years previous I’ve been here, there’s been absolutely no emphasis on the offseason program,” Phenicie said. “That’s the way we’re going to build something during the offseason. That’s never occurred around here.”

Lastly, Phenicie turned his focus to games No. 1, 2 and 3 of next season. The Bengals open 2018 against Western State Colorado on Sept. 1 at home and start Big Sky Conference play Sept. 22 at North Dakota. In between is a game at California of the Pac-12.

“I’m grinding on Western State, Cal and North Dakota, believe it or not,” Phenicie said. “Sept. 1 in the Holt Arena, we want everybody there. The Bengal walk will be at 12 noon. Please be there.”