Idaho State starts Big Sky Conference play Saturday against Portland State at Holt Arena. Here are three keys to a victory for the Bengals, as well as three players to watch for each team.

Feed Off the Crowd

After back-to-back weeks on the road — in front of raucous crowds at Utah and Northern Iowa, to boot — Idaho State is back home Saturday. Attendance at Holt Arena for the season opener three weeks ago against Western Colorado was spotty, to say the least, but that was a Thursday night game against a Division II opponent. Portland State is a Big Sky rival — one of ISU’s two designated rivals in the conference, in fact — and this week is a Saturday afternoon game, primetime for college football. If fans aren’t excited to come out after ISU’s blinder of a defensive performance against top-10 Northern Iowa last week, then Idaho State has bigger problems. But if Bengal Nation does indeed show up, the players will need to feed off that energy. Aside from wanting to make Holt Arena a tough place to play in general, Saturday’s game will probably be a close one, and every little advantage helps.

Finish Drives

Idaho State had a chance to go up multiple possessions early against Northern Iowa last week, but despite getting into Panthers territory on five straight drives to start the game, the Bengals came away with just six points on two field goals. Three points is better than none, and Kevin Ryan showed against UNI that he can consistently put the ball through the uprights when drives stall, but that game might have been completely different if Idaho State had managed to punch in even one touchdown. With bruising back Ty Flanagan and three gigantic receivers — 6-foot-3 Tanner Conner joins 6-3 wideout Mitch Gueller and 6-4 tight end Austin Campbell on the field this year — the Bengals should be well-equipped to handle things in the red zone and on the goal line. If they can’t, it’s a worry — and potentially a game-deciding one. In the high-flying Big Sky, spurning good chances to score points is a death sentence.

Force Turnovers

The one blemish on ISU’s otherwise dominant defensive performance last week was not forcing a turnover. In Monday’s press conference, defensive end Kainoa Fuiava referred to lack of takeaways as “motivation” to go out and get some this week, and it would be good news for ISU if the defense followed through on that. Through the fourth week of the season, Idaho State is tied with Northern Colorado for dead last in the Big Sky in turnover margin at minus-four, mostly because the defense has just one interception (against Western Colorado) and one fumble recovery (against Utah) in three games. Turnovers — particularly fumbles — can often be based on luck, and the Bengals have to hope theirs changes on Saturday. Portland State quarterback Davis Alexander can be inaccurate, but has thrown just two interceptions this year, fewer than, among others, Eastern Washington’s Eric Barriere, UC Davis’ Jake Maier and Montana’s Dalton Sneed.

PLAYERS TO WATCH — PORTLAND STATE

Davis Alexander (Jr. QB) — It’s been an up-and-down few seasons for Alexander, who started the final three games of the season for Portland State as a freshman in 2017 and threw for well over 300 yards in each. In a statistical twist, he came back the next year, started 10 out of PSU’s 11 games, and didn’t throw for 300 yards in a single one. Freshman campaign aside, Alexander is not traditionally considered a great dropback passer, but he can hurt defenses with both his arm and his legs. He finished second on the Vikings in rushing last year with 424 yards on 112 carries, and ranked 17th in the FCS in both yards per completion (14.2) and rushing touchdowns (12). Load the box to try and stop Portland State’s run game, and he has the arm and, after two years, the savvy to make big plays downfield passing the ball, even if he’s still a bit inconsistent. Through four games this year, he’s thrown for 872 yards and nine touchdowns with just two interceptions.

Charlie Taumoepeau (Sr. TE) — Taumoepeau, Portland State’s All-American tight end, has missed the last two games with hamstring issues, but he’s expected back Saturday and, if he is good to go, will create a matchup problem the likes of which Idaho State might not see again for the rest of the year. Taumoepeau might be the best NFL prospect in the Big Sky, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound monster who can run by you or box you out for catches. He looked like he was about to take over the league early last year, when he started PSU’s season by going off for a combined 255 yards and four touchdowns in two games against FBS programs Nevada and Oregon. After having touchdown catches of at least 70 yards in each of PSU’s first three games that year, defensive scheming and an ankle injury limited him, and he finished with 28 catches for 580 yards and five scores. If he’s fully healthy on Saturday, Idaho State will have to watch the gigantic gamebreaker wherever he goes.

Robert Holt (So. LB) — Portland State’s flex defense clears the way for the middle linebacker to make a lot of plays, and in his redshirt sophomore season, Holt has done just that. He had seven tackles and an interception against Arkansas in the season opener, and has gone on to force fumbles in games against Simon Fraser and Eastern Oregon, giving him three takeaways in four games. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder from Sacramento, California, played sparingly last year as a redshirt freshman, but showed a knack for the big play then too, blocking an extra point that was returned for a 2-point conversion against Eastern Washington.

PLAYERS TO WATCH — IDAHO STATE

Austin Campbell (Sr. TE) — Campbell has sneakily been a big weapon in the passing game for Idaho State this season, with seven catches, tied for third on the team, and 67 yards. The Bengals have shown a willingness to use him on screens as well as downfield routes, and he showed good chemistry with Matt Struck against Western Colorado and in the first half of the Utah game. If Struck returns from his concussion, Campbell may see a lot of targets again. Even if not, he’s a huge part of ISU’s run game as one of the best perimeter run blockers in the Big Sky.

Nehemiah McFarlin (Jr. RB) — Last week against Northern Iowa, McFarlin made a surprise return from a long-term injury that cost him the entire 2018 season, running for 2 yards on two carries against the Panthers. ISU targeted the start of conference play as McFarlin’s likely return date before the season, which means he should be fully healthy against Portland State. It couldn’t come at a better time for the Bengals, whose offense is crying out for a second competent back to take some of the load off Ty Flanagan’s shoulders. Flanagan is running as hard as ever, but has cratered in the second half in consecutive weeks. Redshirt freshman Soujah Gasu has tried to pick up the slack, but with an average of 1.9 yards on 19 carries so far, the highly-touted youngster might still be a year away. McFarlin, who saw some playing time as a redshirt freshman in 2017, might be the answer, allowing Flanagan to get a little more rest and keeping the running game from falling off a cliff when the senior does go to the sidelines.

Kainoa Fuiava (Jr. DL) — Fuiava himself said it the best in Monday’s press conference: “the quarterback, if he’s inside the pocket still, something ain’t right.” Idaho State wants to move quarterbacks around with pressure from its defensive line, and Fuiava is the best natural pass-rusher the Bengals have. An added challenge Saturday is that flushing Alexander out of the pocket and then failing to get to him can be worse than leaving him unpressured, because the Portland State quarterback can make some big plays on the run. If Idaho State wants to have its cake and eat it too — pressure Alexander without letting him scramble around too much — the closing speed of Fuiava and the other pass rushers will be severely tested.