Idaho State quarterback Tanner Gueller was named the STATS FCS National Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, as well as earning ROOT Sports Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The Bengals’ fifth-year QB passed for a career-high 492 yards with a school-record eight touchdowns in ISU’s 62-28 win Saturday over Idaho. Gueller’s eight touchdowns are a single-game high in the FCS this season and fell one shy of tying the single-game Big Sky record. His 289.1 passing efficiency rating is second-best in the FCS this season.
Nine of Gueller’s completions went for 20 yards or more, including an 87-yard score to freshman wide receiver DeMonte Horton. Gueller threw four touchdowns to Michael Dean, two to Austin Campbell and one each to Horton and Mitch Gueller. The QB added 81 yards rushing, giving him 573 yards of offense — more than the Vandals’ 541 — and got a shout-out on ESPN for his performance.
Tanner Gueller leads the Big Sky in total offense with 318 yards per game. Saturday’s win has the Bengals on the cusp of the top 25 in multiple polls, and ISU is ranked 25th in the Athlon Sports FCS Power Poll.
“When you start really dialing in and seeing what a defense is doing, it makes it a little bit easier,” Gueller said during a Monday press conference. “When you can really see every play, OK, this is what they’re in and this is where we can attack them. ... When we’re all rolling like that, it’s a lot of fun.”
Tanner Gueller is the third consecutive Bengal to earn a weekly Big Sky honor. Linebacker Kody Graves earned defensive player of the week honors following ISU’s win at North Dakota, and running back James Madison was tabbed as the offensive player of the week after ISU’s win over Northern Arizona. The last ISU players to earn national player of the week honors were quarterback Justin Arias and linebacker Mario Jenkins, both in 2014.
Tanner Gueller now ranks second on ISU’s career touchdowns list with 59. The 62 points scored by ISU are the most the program has scored against a Division I opponent since the very first game at Holt Arena — a 64-34 win over UNLV on Sept. 26, 1970.