Idaho State can’t have a repeat of 2015.

Not just the season, but the two-week stretch before the meat of the schedule that sent the Bengals into an irreversible spiral.

It began in earnest with ISU’s conference loss at home to Portland State in week two — a highly anticipated matchup pitting former Idaho State assistant Bruce Barnum and the upset-minded Vikings against the upstart Bengals with Big Sky championship hopes.

Portland State walked out of Holt Arena with a convincing 34-14 win, and ISU was left preparing for consecutive FBS opponents with the early taste of disappointment lingering.

Idaho State was outscored 132-8 by Boise State and UNLV the next two weeks, capping a miserable nonconference slate before the Bengals were thrust back into conference play.

So ISU can’t let last week’s 56-7 loss at Colorado derail the next two months. Nor can the Bengals sulk into Corvallis on Saturday against the second of back-to-back Pac-12 opponents.

For Idaho State (1-1), it’s gut-check time this week against Oregon State (0-1).

“The casualty of any 49-point loss is morale,” ISU head coach Mike Kramer said Wednesday at his weekly press conference. “That’s the biggest casualty. I started this off today by stating no moping. No moping allowed. I don’t want to hear it. I saw it from my coaches and I barked at them, and I saw it from our team and I barked at them — ‘Hey, no moping allowed.’

“You can be concerned about your performance and you can try to rectify it, make it better, but no moping allowed.”

Players noticed it, too — hanging heads, frustration, a lack of confidence — a discouraging Deja vu to last season’s week between blowout losses.

“It’s pretty much the same,” senior tight end Josh Cook said. “Getting beat 56-7 is never fun. Everyone’s going to have their head down a little bit. But we’ve just got to recuperate.”

ISU’s 60 minutes of field time Saturday likely won’t prove much about the Bengals. Odds are the Beavers will runaway with a win, as ISU’s last 25 FBS opponents have. Idaho State hasn’t beaten an FBS team since taking down Utah State, 27-24, in 2000.

How the Bengals respond in the following days as they prep for their Big Sky opener against Sacramento State, on the other hand, could determine the fate of the season.

OREGON STATE FRESH AFTER 15-DAY LAYOFF

Oregon State hosts Idaho State on two weeks rest Saturday. The Beavers opened the season Thursday, Sept. 1 at Minnesota and had a bye last week.

Head coach Gary Andersen said Monday in his weekly press conference his team has been using the extra time off to take a long look at Idaho State, as well as work on its own deficiencies.

OSU led Minnesota 23-17 after three quarters and was outscored 13-0 in the fourth quarter of a 30-23 loss.

“It gave us a chance to, all of a sudden, sit back and look at (game film) again, and challenge the kids to truly look at it again and understand where we are,” Andersen said. “We’re at a very interesting point right now. It’s the ins and outs and the details of mastering your craft.”

Andersen’s second season at Oregon State is mired in youth. The Beavers carry 15 seniors, and 18 players made their OSU debuts against Minnesota.

COACHING TIES

Andersen’s first Division I coaching job was at Idaho State as the Bengals’ defensive line coach from 1992-93. OSU running backs coach Telly Lockette played at ISU during Andersen’s tenure and was inducted into the Idaho State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.

Idaho State defensive coordinator Spencer Toone and defensive line coach Steve Fifita both played for Andersen when he coached the defense at Utah. Fifita earned Fiesta Bowl Defensive MVP honors for the Utes in 2005, and Toone was a graduate assistant for Andersen at Utah State.

Kramer also expressed familiarity with OSU defensive coordinator Kevin Clune, who coached in the Big Sky from 2003-08 and spent five years at Utah State.

“We ran Utah State i.e. Oregon State’s defense with Kevin Clune for a long time here,” Kramer said.

The two veteran head coaches also shared praise for one another.

“I’ve admired coach Andersen for a very long time, and his success as a head coach, and even his success as an assistant coach,” Kramer said. “One of the great men in coaching, one of the great men in our profession, one of the great personalities of the Pac-12.”

“The head coach is a really good coach,” Andersen said of Kramer. “Ton of respect for that guy. He’s been around for a number, a number, a number of years, and he is a solid football coach.”

PEOPLES, HAYES UNAVAILABLE

Kramer said Wednesday defensive tackle JonRyheem Peoples and safety Nikko Hayes will be unavailable for Saturday’s game, but added both players will be reevaluated as the week progresses.

Peoples left the Colorado game with an apparent leg injury. Hayes’ reason for unavailability is unclear.

“There’s a chance Nikko might be able to come back,” Kramer said, “and we’ll see what the availability of JonRyheem is on Saturday.”

The two defensive unavailabilities add to ISU’s list. Offensive linemen Brian Fineanganofo, Chase Collins and Cody Abbott will miss their third consecutive game Saturday. Kramer said he expects them to return at some point this season.

“All three of those guys are on schedule to come back in the next couple weeks,” Kramer said during Wednesday’s Big Sky coaches conference call. “That’s really, really going to help us.”