Because the Idaho State Journal does not publish a Monday newspaper at this point, the normal Monday Morning Quarterback will appear Tuesday morning and will now be called “Grading the Bengals.” Regardless of the name, the premise remains the same.

    Idaho State traveled to Flagstaff, Ariz. — a place where it has not won since 1984 — and showed a grit and determination in a come-from-behind effort that has not been seen by Bengal fans in quite some time. In the end, the Zach Bauman-led Lumberjacks were too much as they took down ISU 39-30. Here are grades for each area of Idaho State’s team in regards to how they performed against Northern Arizona.

OFFENSE:

    Redshirt junior quarterback Justin Arias was in prime form for the second week in a row as he threw for 390 yards and three touchdowns on 30-of-57 passing. He did not throw an interception for his second game in a row. The Bengals’ scoring came in streaks, however. Sophomore running back Xavier Finney and redshirt senior receiver Cameron Richmond both scored in the first half, and redshirt freshman receiver Broc Malcom and Richmond found the end zone at the tail end of the game. Senior receiver Luke Austin caught eight passes for 100 yards, his second consecutive game with at least 100 receiving yards. The team lost two fumbles, and struggled to establish a running game as it notched just 44 yards on the ground.

GRADE: B-

DEFENSE:

    Head coach Mike Kramer was hoping Northern Arizona would not hand the ball off to Zach Bauman very often. Unfortunately, the best running back in the Big Sky carried the rock 28 times and rolled up a career-high 266 yards and had two touchdowns (a staggering 9.5 yards per carry average). Bauman especially got going in the second half, breaking off a number of long runs that helped the Lumberjacks put the game out of reach. He was also NAU’s leading receiver with 58 yards and a score on seven receptions. Idaho State did a good job on quarterback Chase Cartwright, who completed 17 of his 26 passes for 157 yards and three touchdowns. The Bengals did not force a single turnover, something that may have helped swing the momentum in their favor and keep the score closer during the third quarter.

GRADE: C-

SPECIAL TEAMS:

    Redshirt senior placekicker did not attempt a field goal on the day, but did hit both his extra point attempts. The Bengals successfully completed a pair of two-point conversions at the end of the game, which was done with the offense on the field, but those points still go down as earned via special teams. ISU also recovered an onside kick right after it had scored, and the offense punched it in once again. The second onside attempt was unsuccessful. Redshirt junior punter CJ Reyes punted the ball seven times for an average of 41.3 yards per kick.

GRADE: B+

COACHING:

    Kramer was respectful of Bauman during last week’s press conference, and the Lumberjack senior showed why. Bauman ran on the Bengals at will in the second half. This begs the question; did Idaho State relapse to its defense from last year, or was it an isolated blip where a young team was taken to the woodshed by a stellar running back? Kramer and his coaching staff did their best to prepare the Bengals for Bauman, but the man is as close to unstoppable as there is in the Big Sky Conference. Down 39-14 in the fourth quarter, ISU mounted a comeback that almost put the team in position to win. This tenacity and determination had been missing from the Bengals’ psyche for years.

GRADE: B-