POCATELLO, Idaho — Idaho State picked up its first win over an FBS opponent since 2017, and its first win over Utah State since 2000, holding off the Aggies 29-17 on Saturday at Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium in Logan, Utah. The victory also gives the Bengals a 2-0 start against Division I opponents for the first time since 1995.
Mason Lindberg was the story of the night, connecting on all five of his field goal attempts (28, 48, 25, 43 and 41 yards), including a 48-yarder that marked a career best for the junior kicker. The Idaho State defense forced four turnovers, all interceptions, and turned two of them into short fields that helped the Bengals overcome a lopsided day in total offense, 407 yards for Utah State to 241 for Idaho State.
“We talked about all the things that it takes to beat an FBS team is you need to score 30 points, and you need to get three turnovers,” head coach Cody Hawkins said. “We didn’t quite get to 30, but shout-out Mason Lindberg for doing a great job. And our defense got four turnovers, and that’s kind of the recipe.”
The win moves Idaho State to 3-19 all-time against Utah State in the series. The Bengals lost to the Aggies 78-28 in 2023, the last time the two programs met, this game marking a strong change in the Bengal football program.
“My very first year here they scored 78 points on us, and we got absolutely smoked,” Hawkins said. “It’s fun for our guys to see the progress and the contrast of ’23, but our goal is to be the best version of ourselves.”
How it happened
Idaho State’s first drive of the game showed off a balanced offense right away. Jordan Cooke found Eli Aragon-Cruz in the flat for a first down on the opening play, and Robert Freeman IV broke off a run past the left side for another. The Bengals strung together three first downs on four straight completions before the drive stalled in the red zone, and Lindberg connected from 28 yards to make it 3-0.
Utah State answered on its ensuing drive to take a 7-3 lead.
Cooke kept the Bengals moving on the next possession, working through his receiver room before a sack pushed Idaho State into a long third down. Lindberg answered with a 48-yard field goal, a career best for the kicker, to cut the deficit to 6-7.
The Idaho State defense started to find its footing from there. Trehsyn Fesili picked up a sack, and Nate Abbott recorded his first sack as a Bengal on Utah State’s next series. Idaho State’s offense responded with a physical drive behind Freeman IV and Carson Sudbury, including a big option pitch to Sudbury for a chunk gain, before Cooke dove in from the 1-yard line on fourth-and-1 to give the Bengals a 13-7 lead.
Jacob Perez delivered the first of Idaho State’s four interceptions on Utah State’s next snap, his first career pick, returning it to the 5-yard line and setting up another Lindberg field goal to make it 16-7. The Bengals defense forced a Utah State punt on the following series before a missed connection on third down led to Idaho State’s first punt of the game, won by the Aggies, who used the field position to kick a field goal just before halftime and cut the deficit to 16-10.
Utah State came out of the half and pushed deep into Bengal territory, but the Idaho State defensive line stood up a fourth-and-1 attempt at the 1-yard line to preserve the lead, a stop Hawkins pointed to as one of the game’s turning points.
“Our defensive line and the work that Ricky has done with them is second to none,” Hawkins said. “To have a fourth-and-one stop after being on the field for at least a dozen plays was pretty impressive.”
Utah State regained the lead 17-16 on a touchdown pass later in the third quarter, but Idaho State answered with a 30-yard catch from Julian Mason that set up a 43-yard Lindberg field goal, his fourth of the night, to put the Bengals back on top 19-17.
TreShawn Shorty delivered the signature defensive play of the game on the ensuing Utah State possession, hauling in his first career interception and returning it 42 yards into Aggie territory. Cooke found Chedon James alone in the end zone on the next snap to extend the lead to 26-17.
Lindberg added a fifth field goal, from 41 yards, early in the fourth quarter to push the margin to 29-17. Shorty sealed the win with his second interception of the night in the final minutes.
Bengal Bites
● The win moves Idaho State to 3-19 all-time against Utah State in the series.
● Idaho State’s last win over an FBS opponent came in 2017, a 30-28 win over Nevada in Reno.
● Saturday’s win gives the Bengals a 2-0 start against Division I opponents for the first time since 1995.
● Mason Lindberg went 5-for-5 on field goals (28, 48, 25, 43, 41 yards), with the 48-yarder a career best.
● The Idaho State defense forced four interceptions: Jacob Perez (his first career pick, returned 28 yards), TreShawn Shorty (two interceptions, the first a 42-yard return, marking the first multi-interception game for a Bengal since Charles Ike against Cal Poly in 2022), and Troy Wilkey (his first interception as a Bengal).
● Jordan Cooke completed 18 of 33 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown, and added a rushing touchdown. With this game, Cooke moves to 6th all-time in program history in passing yards (6,041), 4th in career completions (491), 10th in passing touchdowns (33), and tied for 5th in passing attempts (842).
● Julian Mason led all receivers in the game with 7 catches for 75 yards, including a long of 30.
● Chedon James caught five passes for 27 yards and a touchdown.
● Four different Bengal receivers caught a pass on the night, Mason, James, Aragon-Cruz and Trilla, reflecting a more balanced passing attack.
● Trehsyn Fesili recorded two sacks. Nate Abbott and Jake East each posted their first sack and first tackle for loss of the season, respectively.
● Robert Freeman IV made his first start at running back, leading Idaho State with 32 net yards on 10 carries.
● Carson Sudbury’s 30-yard run in the second quarter was the longest rush by either team.
● Idaho State forced four turnovers and committed none, a plus-4 turnover margin, and converted 4 of 4 red-zone chances into points.
● Idaho State won the game despite a time-of-possession disadvantage, 26 minutes 27 seconds to 33 minutes 33 seconds for Utah State, a testament to the strength of the Bengal defensive unit in forcing empty possessions. Utah State’s opening drive of the second half ran 16 plays and consumed 8 minutes 38 seconds of clock, the longest drive of the game by time, yet came away with nothing after the Bengal defense stood up a fourth-and-1 attempt at the 1-yard line.
● Attendance was announced at 20,723 at Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium.
Up Next
Idaho State returns home to face San Diego, an FCS playoff-caliber opponent, according to Hawkins.
“We have an FCS playoff team coming into our house next week, so we got to redial,” Hawkins said. “Win, lose or draw, we got to fix our mistakes.”
