POCATELLO — Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz said it best: “There’s no place like home.”

Idaho State, which opened the year with three straight road losses and was physically beat up, won its home opener at the ICCU Dome in record-breaking fashion.

The Bengals destroyed Division II Lincoln University out of Oakland, California 90-0.

That’s not a misprint.

And if both coaches didn’t agree to play the second half with eight-minute quarters, ISU probably would have set the all-time record in the Big Sky Conference for most points in a game. That record was set in 1980 by Portland State, which dropped 105 in a game against Delaware. The Vikings were led by future NFL quarterback Neil Lomax and future NFL offensive coordinator “Mouse” Davis.

As it was, Idaho State set school records for most points in a game, breaking the 1960 mark of 77. The 42 points the Bengals scored in the second were the most in a quarter in program history as were the 69 points in the first half. ISU’s 13 total touchdowns was just off the Big Sky Conference record.

Idaho State head coach Cody Hawkins was asked what he told the team in the locker room after the most dominant win in program history.

“I told them that I was proud of them,” he said. “But there’s nothing that I didn’t think about these guys the day before because I think they are capable. Today was probably your least favorite kind of game because things can only go wrong. We knew that they had some good players, but obviously you could see on the sidelines the depth was just going to be a difference-maker for us. For these type of games, it’s not just about winning the game, but about how you play.”

For all intents and purposes, this game was over in the first quarter. ISU came out in a no-huddle, hurry-up, high-octane offense that even included a recovered onside kick and led 21-0 when it was all said and done.

Hawkins talked about the strategy behind the first few offensive possessions.

“The matchup was extremely skewed in our favor, but we wanted to come out and go fast, just run your basic stuff as fast as you can and try to wear them out,” he said. “For us, we just said, ‘Let’s just be really basic, but really fast to try to use our depth to our advantage,’ and also when you’re trying to play depth guys, it also helps to have a simpler game plan.”

ISU generated 521 yards of total offense, had 25 first downs, ran for 240 yards and converted 7-of-8 chances on either third or fourth down to keep drives alive. They led 69-0 at the half.

They also got back some of their key injured players as quarterback Jordan Cooke, who had been out after knee surgery, and power running back Dason Brooks, out the past few weeks with a bad ankle, got in on the action.

Cooke went 4-for-5 for 43 yards and a touchdown, and Brooks ran for 83 yards on six carries with a score.

“Both of them, we got what we needed,” Hawkins said. “Jordan was way ahead of schedule from what they thought he would be at from a surgery standpoint. We didn’t want to start the game with him because I didn’t want to put him in harm’s way, but it was important for Jordan to get out there and take some reps so he can say, ‘All right, I’m good, I felt good throwing it,’ and for Dason to break real tackles and trust his ankle — that was going to help as we get going into conference play. I wanted both of them to go into this week’s preparation knowing that they could hold up physically. I wanted them both to take a couple pops, and we accomplished that.”

ISU was able to get a number of players into the game, and many made their mark.

Davis Harsin started at quarterback and figures to be in the running for Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for six touchdown passes and 195 yards on only 13 attempts. Carson Sudbury ran for 75 yards with two scores and did his best Saquon Barkley impression on one of them, hurdling over an attempted tackle before dragging defenders into the end zone. Raiden Brown and Michael Sulikov both had two touchdown receptions.

The Bengal defense also caused four turnovers — two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. They also had four sacks.

The 6,203 in attendance saw Idaho State move its home-opening all-time record to 81-40-3 after the win.

From an injury standpoint, the Bengals did have some players go out. Wide receiver Adam Watts was seen after the game with a walking boot on his leg and on crutches, and defensive back Jaylon Brown won’t be available for most, if not all, of next week’s game at Northern Colorado as he was ejected for a targeting call.

Now the second season in football begins with conference play, and as mentioned, ISU will open at Northern Colorado this coming Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Greeley.

The Bears over the previous five seasons had only won eight games total, but this year seem to be much improved. They’ve got wins under their belt against Chadron State and Houston Christian and close losses to Colorado State and South Dakota.

Saturday night they took down Houston Christian 26-23 in overtime.

With games coming up in back-to-back weeks against Big Sky powers Montana and Montana State, the Bengals, sitting at 1-3 on the year, can’t afford a letdown to UNC. While not a “must-win” with plenty of games remaining, losing the conference opener and dropping to 1-4 would make things a lot harder to climb out of, and Hawkins knows that.

“(Tonight) it’s good for the personal confidence of having the muscle memory of success,” Hawkins said. “But our guys also understand the grueling schedule that’s ahead of them and how we’re gonna have to continue to up our game week in and week out.”