Idaho State head coach Mike Kramer walked into Wednesday’s press conference and immediately praised three players on his team.

    “I want to talk about three dudes that are really having exceptional impacts on our program,” he said.

    Kramer went on to mention junior cornerback Vai Peko, redshirt senior cornerback Cameron Gupton and redshirt junior quarterback Justin Arias, and everything they are doing to positively affect the Bengals.

    Even after three less-than-stellar performances from Arias (he went 40 of 66 for 365 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions last Saturday against North Dakota), Kramer was quick to praise his signal-caller, and mentioned he has only started five games at the FCS level.

    He’s still learning.

    “Some maturity and growth for him (is necessary), but he’s played five games as a starter, and I think we’ll see outstanding play from him through the next seven ball games,” Kramer said.

    Junior offensive lineman Jim Bagley doesn’t know what Arias’ issue may be, but isn’t too concerned about it.

    “Maybe (it’s) a fluke, maybe stress from the Washington game, but I couldn’t pin it on one thing,” he said.

    The biggest criticism of Arias from Bengal fans is a lack of ball security. Against UND, he lost a pitch deep in ISU territory that was recovered by the defense for a touchdown. Throw in a trio of interceptions (Arias has thrown six in the last three games), and that criticism seems valid, one that Kramer shares.

    “Justin Arias is coming off a rough game, and he’s got to play better,” he said. “He’s had a number of key turnovers this year that are not just interceptions. We’ve fumbled the ball too much, so his ball security has got to improve so that we don’t thwart ourselves on our own drives.”

    Kramer won’t cast all the blame on Arias, however, as a relatively inexperienced ISU receiving corps is trying to find its way as well.

    “After Cameron (Richmond) and Luke (Austin), those receivers are awfully young,” he said. “We see those guys being plagued by clanks (drops). And Justin, I don’t know if he gets on himself, but he will isolate away from those guys a little bit.”

    Arias’ decision-making was also brought up by Kramer, but only to discuss when he should run the ball or keep looking to pass. During Idaho State’s first two games, Arias hung onto the ball too much, didn’t slide and took some hits. Against UC Davis and North Dakota, he had opportunities to run, but elected to throw, which led to turnovers. Kramer wants him to find a happy medium.

    “We’re trying to pat him on the rear end and say, ‘Hey, run the ball if you can,’ because there were a couple of runs that he evaded last week to try and stay within the play,” he said.

    Kramer also had positive things to say about his quarterback.

    “The one thing (Arias) is deadly at is on third down. He is a rapier,” Kramer said. “He had a couple third-down plays last week that extended drives that were eye-popping plays, and he can make those plays all the time. He has tremendous upside.”

    Don’t expect the Bengals to make a quarterback change anytime soon, not with the team in the middle of Big Sky competition and Northern Colorado coming to town Saturday. Kramer says Arias’ ceiling is very high.

    “I like where he can go, is a better way of saying it rather than be satisfied or very positive about where he’s at,” he said.

    “We’re confident in Justin,” said Cameron Richmond. “He’s our guy. We’re rolling with him until the end.”

    Notes: Kramer said everyone on the team will be available for Saturday’s game against North Dakota, with the exception of redshirt junior offensive lineman Nick Beckman, who is out for the season. Idaho State is 20-9 all-time against Northern Colorado, with the Bengals losing 52-14 last season in Greeley.