Idaho State football looks to get over the hump in the 2021 season

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - A 2-4 record in the spring season didn't tell the full story for the Idaho State Bengals, as ISU led in three of their four losses in the final minutes of the game. But against Eastern Washington, UC Davis and Weber State, those leads slipped away.

Quarterback Tyler Vander Waal said getting so close to winning those games is providing motivation for this year's team.

"I think you look at a lot of those games, if we had two more minutes, I think we pull all those games out, instead of 2-4, we're 5-1," Vander Waal said. "So I think it's kind of just doing whatever it takes to get over that hump. We've talked about great teams getting over that hump. Good teams are kind of at that hump. And I say we're at that hump right now."

Linebacker Oshea Trujillo also stressed the importance of finishing games.

"We know what we did last year," Trujillo said. "Eastern, UC Davis, Weber. We know that's on us, whether we like it, whether we don't, that we lost with the last two minutes and the defense on the field. So we just got to go out there and finish every game."

Idaho State begins its quest for a Big Sky championship Saturday afternoon in its season opener against North Dakota inside Holt Arena. Per university guidance, masks are required inside the venue.