In every season, for every team, there’s a tipping point, a time when what happens helps determine the rest of the year for good or bad.

For the Idaho State football team, that time comes Saturday when it travels to take on UC Davis, another terrific team in the Big Sky.

For most of the year, the Bengals have played hard, played smart, won a road game at Northern Colorado and been competitive in other games.

But something has gone south the past few weeks.

A poor performance resulted in a blowout loss at Montana State. After a bye week, which head coach Cody Hawkins said they were going to use to work on details and clean up mistakes, ISU came out and was its own worst enemy in a Homecoming loss to Northern Arizona last week.

Idaho State made crucial mistake after crucial mistake in the 31-18 loss, dropping its record to 2-6 on the year, 1-3 in the Big Sky.

After that loss, Hawkins again said he’d do a deep dive into trying to find out what is wrong and to work harder to fix them.

“I still feel really confident about our football team. We have to keep looking at the process,” he said. “I told the guys to go home and write down one thing they can do better, and I am meeting with our leaders about what the staff can do better. The standard is high because they are capable of really good things.”

Saturday afternoon will see if things have gotten better or stayed the same.

And it won’t be easy against the Aggies, rolling along at 6-1 on the year, 4-0 in league play and with a five-game winning streak. They are ranked sixth this week in the STATS FCS Top 25 poll.

It marks the fourth consecutive game ISU has played against a team ranked in that national poll, following games with Montana, Montana State and Northern Arizona.

Last Saturday, while ISU was struggling, UC Davis was methodical in beating Northern Colorado in Greeley, 27-16. They jumped out to a big lead then coasted along in the second half, holding off a late charge by the Bears.

And the Aggies did it with a backup quarterback as Grant Harper replaced an ill Caden Pinnick to throw for 216 yards and three touchdowns in picking up his first win in his first-ever start.

UC Davis had a balanced attack as receiver Sam Gbatu Jr. caught five passes for 108 yards and a score, and Carter Vargas ran for 94 yards.

Pinnick may return Saturday. If so, he’s one of the best in the league, having thrown for five touchdown passes in his last game, a win over Northern Arizona. He’s also tied the Big Sky record by being named the Offensive Player of the Week for three consecutive weeks when he was in action.

In short, he’s the real deal and Hawkins knows that.

“We’re planning on him (Pinnick) playing this week. The special thing about him is that staff is going to generate explosive plays for him in the run and pass game,” Hawkins said. “And for what they’ve been able to do, Pinnick is the straw that stirs the drink and created some extra zest for them.

“He’s a good player who falls in the mode of a lot of Davis quarterbacks, a great leader, accurate and he’s got a little more bounce to him than guys that have played the position the last decade,” Hawkins added. “He can move a little bit and extend plays with his feet. And that causes problems.”

But just in case, ISU may have to prepare for either quarterback playing, and Hawkins was asked about having to get ready for either guy.

“You have to prepare for Pinnick and react to Harper that’s how it’s going to go,” he said. “Just because, I don’t think the offense, the play calls will change, but just how you’re going to react. Harper is a great kid and he’ll operate the offense at a high level. He may not be as elusive as Pinnick, but he’ll operate that offense with the same level of efficiency. He can rip it.”

Of course, the great unknown will be the type of effort and mental awareness that ISU shows in the game. Hawkins didn’t want to get into specifics as far as what was discussed privately with individual players, but again said that the little things, the details were being focused on. Even things off the field itself, like keeping an individual locker clean and making sure you have writing materials on hand for meetings, were brought up.

This is also somewhat of a homecoming for Hawkins, who was an assistant coach with the Aggies for five years with the last three being the offensive coordinator. He was asked if it is still a little strange playing against people he worked with and recruited.

“It’ll be a little weird to be on the other sideline, but I’ve been bleeding orange for a while now. I’m excited to play a game with our guys,” he said with a smile.

Kickoff from UC Davis Health Stadium is at 2 p.m.

From the Sidelines

• UC Davis leads the all-time series 6-1. ISU’s only win came during the 2021 season in Pocatello.
• The series began in 2012 when UC Davis outscored the Bengals 52-45 at what is now the ICCU Dome.
• The Aggies were picked second by the coaches and third by the media in the Big Sky preseason poll.
• The Bengals enter the week averaging 457 yards of total offense and 33 points per game. Idaho State leads the league in passing (317 ypg) and ranks second in total offense behind only Montana State.
• UC Davis averages 426 yards and 33 points per game.
• Davis quarterback Caden Pinnick has completed 69% of his passes for 1,414 yards and 16 touchdowns against two interceptions, among the best marks in the league.

UC Davis notable alumni

• Chef and food journalist Martin Yan, Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Ann Guilfoyle, former NFL quarterback Ken O’Brien, former Boise State head football coach Chris Petersen, Country singer Cam, former NFL kicker Rolf Benirschke, actor Michael Gaston.

Broadcast Information

• Television: ESPN+ (Pay subscription Service), KQCA-TV, Kickoff: 2 p.m.
• Radio: KISU-FM 91.1 Pregame: 1:30 p.m., Kickoff: 2 p.m.