Another Local Icon Passes On

Before we get to Saturday night's ISU football game with Weber State, I have to pass on my thoughts and prayers to the family of Jim Garchow (right), the Idaho Falls radio broadcaster who passed away Sunday morning after a battle with leukemia. Jim was one of the truly professional sports announcers I have met on any level. He broadcast minor league baseball and high school football and basketball in this area for 38 years, and was the general manager at KUPI radio station for 37 years. He was also a great friend.

I got to know Jim through his friendship with my former broadcast partner, Jim Fox. Fox and Garchow were good friends in Flagstaff, where Fox succeeded Garchow as the voice of the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. Those two had some great stories to tell about those days together, and Fox later followed his good friend to Idaho when he purchased KWIK in Pocatello.

Garchow's daughter, Gina, was later my next door neighbor in Pocatello, after she married former Bengal linebacker Scott Berger. Berger, now the head football coach at Skyline High School, played on the Bengals' 1981 national championship team, and had a big interception against South Carolina State in the playoffs. Berger was an assistant coach at Poky when Fox and I broadcast the Indians' games in the 1980s, while Gina worked for Fox as traffic manager at his radio stations. Athletics frequently creates close-knit groups of friends, and we all enjoyed watching the Indians' play, then gathering together at a local watering hole to rehash the action. When the Indians were playing Skyline, Garchow was typically part of the conversation.

Garchow was also a close friend of country-western legend Waylon Jennings from their days working together in Arizona radio. It was not uncommon for Jennings to do a show in Jackson or Sun Valley, and then spend the weekend at the Garchow home in Idaho Falls. Finally, Garchow was also one of the longest surviving heart transplant patients in the country, having received a new heart back in the 1980s.

Despite losing a leg to the leukemia and seeing his health degenerate over the past several months, Garchow had a blessed ending to his life. He was able to complete broadcasting his last minor league season with the Idaho Falls Chukars on Labor Day, then listened as his grandson, quarterback Michael Berger, led the Grizzlies to a big win over Hillcrest Friday night before he passed away early Sunday morning. We'll miss you, Jim, the eastern Idaho sports scene won't be the same without you.

The Big Disappointment

For a game that started out so promising, there were so many disappointments in Idaho State's loss to Weber State in Ogden Saturday night: the lack of discipline that led to 15 Bengal penalties; the terrible special teams play that included another blocked punt, two long Weber State punt returns and no blocking to speak of for Bengal returners; and the key turnovers, especially Kyle Blum's interception and Stew Tracy's fumble, which led to key Wildcat scores.

Probably the biggest concern I left with Saturday night, however, was the continuing poor play of the Bengal offensive line, particularly in the running game. ISU came into the game averaging -13.5 yards per game in rushing, but we all knew a lot of that could be attributed to the competition in the first two games of the season: Arizona State and Oklahoma. Saturday night, however, ISU was lining up against a Weber State team that started two true freshmen at defensive tackle, then lost its best defensive end, Kevin Linehan, to injury in the second quarter. Ben Laporta was finally able to break off a couple of big runs during "garbage time" at the end of the game, but when Idaho State really needed to make Weber State honor the running game, they were unable to make it happen. ISU had just 29 yards rushing on 13 carries in the first half.

I'm frankly surprised by ISU's lack of production up front, because the Bengals return four starters from what was a serviceable offensive line last season. A lot of folks blamed ISU's poor run production last season on play calling or the lack of great speed in the backfield, and those certainly have to be considered factors. But the offensive coordinator is gone and the Bengals have added some weapons in the backfield, so those factors have been minimized. The offensive line is definitely going to have to pick up its play if Idaho State is going to be able to mount a consistent running threat.

Coaches Show Tonight

Jerry Miller and I will discuss the Weber game and the upcoming contest with Central Washington with ISU head coach John Zamberlin tonight at 6 p.m. on AM 930. Bengal kick returner JD Ponciano will also be our guest, and, as always, you can call in your questions to the coach during the show, or e-mail them to Jerry at milljerr@isu.edu. Hope to hear from you all tonight.

--Brad B.

And thanks for being a Bengal fan -- it ain't always easy, but it's always fun.

Hi-Ho, It's Off to Ogden We Go

The last time Idaho State won a football game in Ogden, Utah, Jim Koetter was the coach, Vern Harris, Todd Price, Steve Anderson and John Berry were the co-captains, and a sophomore from Highland High School named Merril Hoge was in the backfield. I'll spare you all the cultural references from 1984, but feel free to look them up yourselves. (Okay, I have to throw in one: Apple introduced the Mac computer -- above -- that year).

So the Bengals have 25 years of history to overcome when they play the Wildcats in Stewart Stadium on Saturday night. A big part of that history, as we noted when we previewed this game earlier this summer, has been the play of Wildcat running back Trevyn Smith, who has put up 667 yards of total offense and scored 10 touchdowns against the Bengals over the past three seasons. Smith has gotten off to a slow start this year, as WSU has dropped heart-breakers to two FBS teams -- Wyoming and Colorado State -- by a total of 8 points. He's yet to break the 100-yard mark, with the Cowboys and Rams limiting the Wildcat running game to just 2.6 yards per carry.

He won't get any sympathy from the Bengals, of course, who are averaging -13.5 yards rushing after their wire-brushings by Arizona State and Oklahoma over the last two weeks. Redshirt freshman Ben Laporta leads the Bengals in rushing with 28 yards in 21 carries. A lot of ISU faithful will be looking at Saturday night's game to provide an answer to the eternal question: Is the Bengal running game that bad, or were ASU and Oklahoma's defenses that good?

Truth be told, Idaho State's blowout losses to the Sun Devils and Sooners have left as many questions about this year's version of the Bengals as they have provided answers. Another answer Bengal fans will be seeking from Saturday night's game will be whether the Idaho State defense has really improved this year. On the surface, that may seem like a silly notion to ponder, after the Bengals yielded 114 points to their FBS opponents. But those who watched both games sensed a more physical Idaho State D, most notably when they stuffed the Sooners four times inside the Bengal five yardline early in the first quarter.

Idaho State's defense has largely failed to show in the last three games against Weber, giving up an average of 47 points in those contests. They will be tested again by the likes of all-conference quarterback Cameron Higgins, his two great receivers, Tim Toone and Cody Nakamura who are one-two in the league right now with 15 and 14 catches, respectively; and of course, the ever-present Mr. Smith.

Through all the carnage in Phoenix and Norman, the Bengals have given the appearance of cultivating some new playmakers on the defensive side of the football: linebacker A.J. Storms, defensive backs Chris Holmesly, Dustin Tew and Phillip Pleasant, and defensive ends Sean Rutten and Jeff Tuua. Saturday night will be the test to see if these were just mirages of optimism, or really the beginning of the development of a solid defense. The Wildcats, meanwhile, will be looking to answer some questions of their own on offense: they have coughed the ball up eight times, and Higgins has been culpable in all eight -- seven picks and a killer last-minute fumble against CSU. The Bengal defense will be looking to continue that TO trend.

On the offensive side of the football, ISU emerged from weeks 1 and 2 with no such cockeyed optimism. They come into Big Sky play with a still very large question mark at quarterback, where Kyle Blum's poor play in game 1 and Russell Hill's broken thumb before game 2 have not allowed ISU's coaches to put an end to the QB guessing game. I'm only speculating now, but I'd have to think Blum, who played better (remember, all things in such blowouts are relative) against the Sooners, will get the call Saturday night.

Then there is the issue of the running game. As unfair a test as throwing them up against ASU and Oklahoma was, neither Clint Knickrehm nor Laporta was able to generate anything to get excited about. Will they be able to find some seams against WSU? And ISU has held out Boise State transfer Stew Tracy the first two games because of a balky hamstring, but he was probably the most impressive of the Bengal runners in fall practice. Can he get into a running rhythm against the Wildcats and make a statement?

Finally, ISU will go to battle Saturday night with another question mark on offense, where leading receiver Isaiah Burel is doubtful after turning an ankle and reinjuring a knee ligament against Oklahoma. Kelvin Krosch or true freshman Roderick Rumble may be asked to step in and provide production in a passing game that has been limited to nothing more than three-step-drops, slants and quick outs by the athleticism of the first two opponents.

Third-down conversions are kept as an official stat for a reason: they frequently portend the winner of a close game. Given that games against FBS opponents have totally skewed the statistics, there is still enough validity to be concerned about how the Bengals execute on third down in Ogden Saturday night. The Wildcats held their two FBS opponents to just 13 percent conversion (3 of 23) on third down. ISU, meanwhile, converted just two of 27 of its third down opportunities. Even factoring out the level of competition, the Bengal offense is going to have to rise to an entirely new level to be competitive this week.

A special note to Bengal fans traveling to Ogden this week: Take your radio along and you can listen to our broadcast in the stadium on FM 102.1. See you in Ogden!

Shots in the Dark

I went 6-2 last week, and I'm taking full credit for calling Montana's close win over Cal-Davis and Weber's close loss to Colorado State. I also have to acknowledge being completely off on Northern Colorado's relatively easy win over San Diego and Cal Poly's route of Sac State. Here's a look at this week's games:

Northern Colorado at Eastern Washington: Troy Coverdale, the Bears' play-by-play voice, has pleaded with me not to jinx his team by picking the upset this week. I'm sorry, Troy, but there is just something irresistible about UNC this week. Maybe it's the fact the Bears have discovered a running game, with JC transfer Andrew Harris rolling for 152 yards and two touchdowns against the Toreros last week. Maybe it's the fact that UNC has played Eastern tough in Cheney in recent years. Or maybe I'm just throwing darts (probably the latter), but I'm picking Northern Colorado.

Portland State at Montana: This was my other option for an upset special. The fact that Montana is still playing quarterback roulette, and that I really like PSU's experienced Drew Hubel under the other center both tempt me to go with the Vikings. But it's awful hard to pick against the Griz in Missoula, and their defense has been terrific so far. It will be fun to see Montana cornerback Trumaine Johnson, who has arrived as a big-time playmaker, against the run-and-shoot. So I'll resist temptation and go with Montana.

Southern Utah at Northern Arizona: As expected, I didn't learn a whole lot about NAU after they lost to Arizona 34-14 in Tucson last week. What I do know is they gave up 365 rushing yards to the Wildcats. Southern Utah, meanwhile, features Austin Minefee, who is averaging 129 yards rushing a game, and put up over 100 in SUU's loss to San Diego State last week. Southern Utah has traditionally played well against the Lumberjacks, losing by five last year in Cedar City, and the T-birds are the last team to beat NAU in a home opener, 16 years ago. I'll go with Southern Utah.

--Brad B.

And thanks for being a Bengal fan -- it ain't always easy, but it's always fun.

Oklahoma: Cleaning Up the Record

As an announcer, I hate screwing up facts on a broadcast. So I'm going to use this space to make some corrections to mistakes I made during Saturday night's broadcast from Oklahoma.

First of all, I need to apologize to freshman long snapper Clint Brock, who was suffering from a minor injury and did not play Saturday night. The Bengals had some bad snaps from back-up snapper Daniel Urias, and I didn't notice that it was not Brock on the field. That's a big mistake on my part, and I apologize for not confirming who the long-snapper was. And I'm not being critical of Urias -- he stepped up in the spring and took over the long-snapping job because the Bengals basically didn't have anybody else available. Then, to ask him to take the job back over under lousy conditions (it rained all day and night in Norman) without much preparation, well, it was a tough job.

Secondly, I don't know where my math went wrong (but somewhere there are a couple of nuns who used to teach at SS Peter & Paul elementary who are nodding at each other knowingly), but I proclaimed on the air that JD Ponciano broke the ISU record for most kick-off return yards during the game with the Sooners. Actually, he still needs 66 more yards (is that right, Frank? -- please check my subtraction!), and hopefully those will come against Weber State Saturday night in Ogden. No matter, "Ponce" did a great job Saturday night, picking up 104 all-purpose yards and doing such a good job in the return game that the Sooners stopped kicking to him. That's a big compliment.

Finally, I offer my last word on the issue of scheduling. As I noted last week, the worst part about playing Arizona State and Oklahoma back-to-back is that it makes it nearly impossible to run a good deal of your offense, and it makes it very difficult to tell where you stand on that side of the football. Nothing that happened Saturday night would change that perspective. But I would point out that the Bengal players seemed to really enjoy the "Oklahoma experience" (see the photo above of them taking pictures prior to their walk-through on Friday), and I find a lot of the message board chatter about "prostituting the players" to be ridiculous. The Bengals played a very physical brand of football against both ASU and the Sooners, and from that perspective, I thought they competed well. The edge in speed and quickness was the real difference I saw in both games, but none of the Bengal players I talked with during the trip felt embarrassed or used.

Join Jerry and I on the coach's show tonight (Monday night at 6 p.m. on KSEI, AM-930) to get an update on Isaiah Burel's condition, what happens to the quarterback situation with Russell Hill's injury, and how the Bengals plan to stop their tormentor, Trevyn Smith on Saturday.

--Brad B.

And thanks for being a Bengal fan -- it ain't always easy, but it's always fun.