The Idaho State football team has broken into the national rankings for the first time since 2018.
After their 38-10 win over Virginia Military Institute in their season opener Saturday, ISU moved into the 23rd spot in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll. The Bengals were in the "others receiving votes" category in last week's poll.
Idaho State is one of five Big Sky Conference teams in the top 25. Defending national champion Montana State tops the rankings after winning its opener against conference newcomer Utah Tech on Saturday. Montana fell from No. 2 to No. 3 after edging Southern Utah. UC Davis drops a spot from No. 6 to No. 7 after a comeback win over Portland State, and Northern Arizona moved up three spots to No. 22 after knocking off Eastern Washington.
The Bengals also chalked up an individual honor with true freshman defensive end Trehsyn Fesili being named conference Defensive Player of the Week after his collegiate debut against VMI. The native of Hawaii had three solo tackles, six total tackles, two tackles for a loss, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the game.
Idaho State head coach Cody Hawkins announced that Bengal running back Dason Brooks is out for the season after suffering a leg injury in Saturday's game. Brooks, who rushed for over 1,000 yards last season, is considering his options about where to take his career from here, Hawkins said.
Idaho State returns to action at Utah State on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Logan.