So I'm On This Road Tip, and All Hell Breaks Loose....

...Sorry I have not blogged in a while, but I've been tremendously busy trying to get life in order at Chez Mercogliano, and Chez ISU Media Relationville, and Chez Holt Arena, and that stuff comes first, but we are on road trip time for ISU basketball, so I have minute.

In case folks missed it, and judging by the fact that the message boards and Journal web chatter went crazy over this, but nary a peep was heard after this resounding news, maybe you did, but Idaho State is on a little road trip to South Bend, Indiana.

So we are over at practice today, and honestly, it was totally cool to see Touchdown Jesus, and to be amazed at the fact that Notre Dame, liking to keep things quaint, has this for a scoreboard. Anyways, I'm over there taking pictures, and i asked a very nice women who showed us around the arena when we got there a simple question...can we maybe get a chance to walk inside the football stadium? Figured this would be a cool thing, and Cody was curious. Well, as I was going to ask her, a person comes up to her and talks to her...and I give her space, and then ask the question about the stadium. She was like...maybe tomorrow, we just called a 6 pm press conference for football.

So I go online, and I read a report from the New York Times, which is since gone, because obviously the news has been updated...and I'm thinking "wow...I'm here for a little piece of Notre Dame history". Well, updated my facebook status to this...

"Well this trip got even more interesting...press conference for tonight apparently regarding Notre Dame football, and now New York Times is reporting Charlie Weis has been fired...can't believe I'm here witnessing this...FYI, Notre Dame's SID staff is off the charts helpful and superb! Bernie and Sean rock", while I uploaded the men's basketball relase, which contained this...

"While the game is foremost on the minds of the Bengals, Idaho State is in the midst of watching a national media storm, with ESPN and other national media outlets having converged on South Bend to cover whether or not Charlie Weis, Notre Dame's head football coach, will be fired, despite having about $18 million left on his contract and the Fighting Irish going 6-6 this year after losing their last four. "

Now, do I mention that he was fired as if I was told anything? Um...no....I had no clue (now I'm not stupid either), but there is nothing there breaking a story, correct? Correct? Then I get hit with the news that I have scooped ESPN! Don't belive me, click on Eye on Sports Media and come back when you are done laughing.

Now, given that I don't like to be the guy in the news, I'm not overly comfortable with this, but I really didn't scoop anyone at all, but the notoriety from Chris, who really has a must read site over at EOSM, is making for some fun on this trip.

That all being said, it is truly amazing to be here during this time...you can't help but run into someone with an opinion...it's the talk of everyone. Hell, i got a pretzel at the mall today, and the young lady that was the manager was talking about it with me. It's when things like this happen, and then when I'm sitting courtside tomorrow night that I think to myself...what a job I have...how much fun is this really? I mean, travel really blows sometimes (we left on Thanksgiving night for this trip, so I missed the Thanksgiving family movie for the first time in 14 years), but stuff like this cushions the blow. In the last month, I was picked by Jared Allen to give his induction speech in to the ISU Sports Hall of Fame, I've watched basketball games from Utah state and BYU, and now the Weis thing....one of my old friends Mike Pace said to me in a message on facebook "You live a fun life", and you know what...he's right. I try to be greatful every day...

An amazing time to be here for sure, and pure luck as well. Funny thing is...with all this going on, no one even really knows there is a basketball game here on Tuesday night, which is kind of funny.

COACHING NEWS ON FOOTBALL
Gothca, I have none really, and I know Brad is going to touch on this as well, but I haven't been around enough to know what's going on, and when I last saw John, it was prior to all this happening.

Personally speaking, I'll miss all three guys, especially Brian, who always came down a few minutes early to talk football with me, get the lay of the land so to speak. He has another child (his second) on the way, and a little more stable job teaching and coaching high school football is where his heart was for he and his family, and so I'll miss the guy. Sadly, he started hitting his stride late in the year with his play calling and figuring out what worked with our depleted group, but it opens a door obviously for the next person, which I'll get to in a second.

I know it was hard on John to make these changes, especially to Mike Havens and Cherokee Valeria, who really rebounded from his incident with a DUI over the summer. I always apprecaited the fact that Cherokee is a stand up guy, and I was glad he got a second chance after that. He did a good job of recognizing how important it was to give back to the community after that, and he did a nice job of setting up community projects like the elementrary school reading programs and things like that afterwards. Also, while the offensive line struggled, Mike Havens was in his first year with the line, but he played at ISU, graduated from ISU, and will always be a Bengal. I really wish all those guys well...I lvoe this staff, and hopefully John can bring in some quality folks, and I'm sure he will.

I don't however know who he has lined up, and that's the honest truth because again, I haven't been around (ask my wife...I have almost forgotten what she looks like). I know there is chatter about Mike Dunbar, but really I'm not sure. Someone with that pedigree would be awesome.

HOLT ARENA UPDATE
FYI, there is a court down in Holt...stands are around it, and there is an indoor track set up as well. Hopefully by the time I get back the pole vault mats will be set up so they aren't blocking my office door anymore.

A Conversation with Mike Havens

Mike Havens (left) is in his first year as Idaho State's offensive line coach after serving two years tutoring tight ends. A former offensive lineman himself for the Bengals, Havens inherits four starters on one of the most experienced units on the team. But he's had to deal with injury issues to his two starting guards, Lance Cartwright and Mitch Rudder, during this pre-season camp. I talked with Havens after practice Thursday, as the Bengals get down to serious preparation for next week's opener with Arizona State. But before we get to the interview, a personal note or two: Havens is married to former Bengal volleyball player Nikki Havens and they have a llittle boy named Wrecker, who I met at practice Thursday night and, just for the record, Wrecker has a great smile. He's already developing that o-lineman's personality.

1. Mike this is your first year as the offensive line coach, what adjustments have you had to make in your coaching approach?

Havens: The biggest adjustment is going from having one to two guys on the field at a tme to having five guys on the field. Having to watch five guys at once can be tricky and it takes a little bit to get used to, but it's something I've had to adjust to.

2. What is your assessment of your offensive line right now?

Havens: We have a real solid group, about four returners coming back, Mitch Rudder, Lance Cartwright, Brad Shedd and Ryan Henry, and we're going to find that one guy to play left tackle, maybe Braeden Clayson or Travis Nua. So like I said, we've got a real solid group there. They're hard working, they want to be a prideful group, so I think we're going to be okay.

3. Tell us about your newcomers -- who do you think will see playing time this year?

Havens: Definitely our two JC transfer kids: Travis Nua, he's been taking time at left tackle and also on the right side, at right tackle. Also Demetrius Grant is another JC transfer that also plays tackle. So you've got a good chance of seeing those guys. Hopefully not, but if we get some injuries, maybe the young kids (true freshmen). Probably my first young kid who I'd have to put in there is Mark Clampitt, who's done an excellent job of playing a little bit of tackle, playing a little bit of center, so he's one of those good, all-around guys.

4. He (Clampitt) has also played a little bit of fullback, hasn't he?

Havens: Yeah, he has played a little bit of fullback, so you could see him wearing an eligible number in the backfield, which would be a treat for him, I'm sure.

5. If you had to pick a two-deep right now, what would it look like?

Havens: Right now, it would be Braeden Clayson at left tackle, Lance Cartwright at left guard, Ryan Henry at center, Mitch Rudder at right guard, Brad Shedd at right tackle. And then for our twos, it would be Travis Nua at left tackle, Braeden Clayson probably at left guard, Nick Tranmer at center, probably Brad Curtis, who is another young kid, at right guard, and then Demetrius Grant at right tackle.

6. You've had some injury problems, particularly at the guard spot, does it look like Cartwright and Rudder are going to be healthy and ready to go when the season starts?

Havens: Yeah, you know they don't have any real major issues, a tweaked knee (Cartwright) and a concussion (Rudder), so they're going to be okay. We're limiting Lance right now just so he can be ready for the game at Arizona State, so I think they'll both be fine.

7. First week, you get Dexter Davis, all Pac-10 defensive end, and the next week you get Gerald McCoy, all-American defensive tackle, you boys are going to have your hands full.

Havens; Oh yeah, we've been talking about Dexter for sure, and trying not to look past him to the kid from Oklahoma, but those guys upfront know they're going to have a fight on their hands and they're all willing to do it and they're excited.

8. Who is your best offensive lineman right now?

Havens: Probably have to say Ryan Henry. You know, he's directing our group, he's one of the most explosive centers we've had here in a long time. He does some things that you know, the guys say, 'It's going to be a little bit tough.' We talk about those things as a staff, and I say, 'Yeah, it'll be tough, but we got Ryan Henry in there, it'll be okay, he'll get it done.' Like I said, he's explosive, he's athletic, he's a smart, heady football player, so he's probably our best right now.

Arizona State Update

Sun Devil Coach Dennis Erickson has released his first two-deeps and there are a number of interesting aspects to it. First of all, the Sun Devils have been hit by a number of injuries on the offensive line, and that has necessitated some shuffling. Second, Erickson who is still trying to decide who will be his feature running back/or backs, lists six different options there. He says he wants to narrow it to one speed back and one power guy. The Devils have suspended starting defensive end James Brooks for the first three weeks of the season, so he won't be playing against the Bengals. And freshman linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who has been something of a sensation with his big hits in practice, is still awaiting NCAA clearinghouse approval.

--Brad B.

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

A Conversation with Brian Strandley

Brian Strandley is in his third season as defensive coordinator at Idaho State. He's trying to rebuild a defense that finished last in the Big Sky Conference in several key categories last season: scoring, rushing and total yards, as well as turnover margin. I spoke with him Saturday afternoon at Holt Arena, after his defense looked much better in the second scrimmage of the pre-season. Here's how our conversation went:

1. Give me your overall assessment of where your defense is right now.

Strandley: I think we're doing a good job. We've got new systems going in right now and at the beginning of camp, I think their heads were spinning a little bit. But I think the difference you saw from today's scrimmage from the last one is I think guys are playing faster. We haven't gotten any faster as individuals, I just think they know more what they're doing. They're more comfortable with what they're doing and you see guys breaking to the ball faster and you see guys getting off on the ball faster, not so much worried about, 'What am I doing here? What am I doing?' but they know what they're doing so all they're worried about is reading their keys, getting off and playing the ball, so I think that was the big difference between this scrimmage and the last one.

2. Tell me about this scrimmage. What were you pleased with, what did you like in this scrimmage, and what areas do you still need to work on?

Strandley: I think, like I just mentioned, I was pleased with the fact that we played faster here today. The first scrimmage, we bent but didn't break, but you don't always want to do that. You wanna go after them and you wanna stop them. We got more three-and-outs and the kids played at a much faster pace, I thought, today. And there was more contact out here. I thought we tackled better. Initially, the first scrimmage we didn't tackle very well. The first couple of series in this scrimmage we didn't tackle very well, but then we started cracking some heads, we were wrapping up and doing those things. If you're not doing that, it doesn't matter what we're doing on defense, so I thought our tackling was much better.

3. Let's talk about pass rush, where do you expect your pass rush to come from this year?

Strandley: We expect it to come from all over the place, okay, but No. 1, it starts with the D-line, no question. And (defensive end) Sean Rutten has improved a great deal as a pass rusher in this camp, and he's out there, he's playing faster, he's got a larger array of moves, he feels better at that position now, and coach (d-line coach Joe Cullen) has done a real good job with him. (Defensive tackle) Demetrius Amos is rushing the quarterback better at times and he's showing great improvement there. And then we're looking at some other guys too. (Defensive end) Jake Rouser has improved as a pass rusher. (Defensive end) Rustin Phillips has improved as a pass rusher. (Defensive end) Jeff Tuua has gotten better as well, but there is some competition for some spots there, as well, there's no question and we might take a look at a linebacker playing that position if we get them in some third-and-eight situations. And also we're going to bring different kinds of pressures, too, so our backers have gotta get used to this blitz scheme, and they're getting better at it, too. So we'll bring it from all over the place, but we expect it from a four-man rush.

4. Talk about newcomers, new kids in camp, who are you most impressed with?

Strandley: Right now, we like all of our freshmen d-linemen. They're doing a good job. (Freshman DT) Minh Williams is a big, ole bull rusher, he's a big man that we haven't had for awhile, that big sized kid. Jarrid Nash (JC linebacker), he didn't play today, but he's done a great job as well. (Defensive back) Phil Pleasant has gotten better from his true freshman year, and he's playing some nickle now. He's not a newcomer, but he's running with the 1s right now, and he's doing a great job. (Boise State transfer DB) Keith McGowen shows great, great potential at corner and we just gotta iron out a few things with him. He's a playmaker, but there are still a few things technique-wise we're still working on with him. And (linebacker) A.J. Storms (who moved from safety), I guess you can call him a newcomer at linebacker, I tell you he's really fitting in that position very, very well.

Opponents Updates

Arizona State, the season-opening opponent for Idaho State, played its second scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday. Sun Devil observers are predicting this will be ASU's best defensive team since 1996, and the defenders dominated the scrimmage on Saturday. ASU Coach Dennis Erickson also publicly confirmed that senior Danny Sullivan will get the call at quarterback when the Bengals come calling on Sept. 5.

Meanwhile, second-game opponent Oklahoma was ranked third in the nation in the first Associated Press poll released this weekend. The Sooners will likely be the highest-rated FBS team Idaho State has ever played when the Bengals travel to Norman on Sept. 12.

Also, ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper came out with his top 15 college players this week, and the Sooners had four of them, including quarterback Sam Bradford, rated the best NFL draft prospect in the country by Kiper. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy was ranked No. 4, and left tackle Trent Williams and tight end Jermaine Gresham were also in the top 15.

--Brad B.

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

Thoughts on the New Basketball Schedule

As noted earlier, there are very few gimmes on Idaho State's non-conference basketball schedule again this season, but... a quick glance at the slate that was officially released yesterday shows it's not quite as brutal as last year's. Here's a very rough rundown:

Last year's non-conference, Division I opponents finished with an average RPI of 88, a mean RPI between 80 and 89, and a winning percentage of 62.5 percent. The highest ratest team at the end of the season was Utah at No. 14, and there were a total of five teams (the Utes, Arizona State at 24, Utah State at 28, BYU at 37 and Wisconsin at 42) ranked in the top 50.

By contrast, if you look at last year's numbers and project to this year (which is sheer folly, I admit, but it's the only basis of comparison we have right now), the number for this year's opponents are: average RPI: 122; mean RPI: 94; winning percentage: 55 percent. Only four teams -- Utah, BYU, Utah State and USC (at 39) -- finished in the top 50 last year.

Here are a few other factors that will likely make next year's schedule not quite so tough: USC lost its coach and two NBA draft picks in the off-season, and didn't have a great recruiting year; Missouri-Kansas City (RPI of 309) and Cal-Bakersfield (RPI of 300) replace Hawaii -- at Hawaii (No. 246) and Long Beach State (155) as the lowest rated teams on the ISU schedule. And Utah, the highest-rated team from last year's slate (and one of the two D-I non-conference teams the Bengals beat) lost 7-foot center Luke Neville to graduation.

Frankly, I don't worry a lot about Ws-Ls in the non-conference. ISU is over-scheduled on the road for money (they're playing $380,000 in guarantee games this year), and very few teams in the West can get decent home-and-homes with other comparable D-1 teams. (Boise State fans complain all the time about the lack of marque home games at Taco Bell Arena -- the Broncos would have given a left saddle horn to have Utah, Utah State and BYU all play at their place last year, like the Bengals did.)

Where the Bengals need to get more serious, however, is on the road in Big Sky play. There has been a lot of complaining about the league's decision to go to Friday-Saturday road trips this year (and, for the record, I think it's a dumb idea), and ISU gets two of those: the Montana-Montana State trip (Feb. 5 and 6); and the Portland State-Eastern Washington excursion on the last weekend of the season (Feb. 26-27). Those will be extra challenges, but the truth of the matter is that Idaho State hasn't been a good road team for a long time, even with normal travel time. Over the last three seasons, ISU has won back-to-back road games exactly once--on Jan. 4 and 6 of 2007, when they beat Weber State and Sacramento State. If the Bengals really want to contend for their first regular season conference championship since 1994, they need to ignore any excuses about travel challenges and compete consistently away from home.

Opponent Check

It looks like Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson has settled in on senior Danny Sullivan as his starting quarterback when the Sun Devils host Idaho State in the season opener Sept. 5. Sullivan has put up rather pedestrian numbers in his three years as a backup, and there has been some clamoring for his two young backups, but it appears he's going to get first shot at running the offense against the Bengals.

Meanwhile, over in Norman, Okla., the Sooners continue to roll in the pre-season honors. OU All-American defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and defensive end Jeremy Beal were both named to the Nagurski Award watch list. The award honors the nation's best defensive player. The Sooners held a 50-play scrimmage Tuesday night and, despite the presence of such rugged defensive linemen, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops was very pleased with the play of his offensive line. That's not good news for Sooner opponents, because the O-line was supposed to be one of the few pre-season question marks for OU.

--Brad B.

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

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

First off, I'm headed to training on the new video board (I'll try to get some more pictures...) today from 9 am to whenever, so I'm gone a lot, but hopefully it will be working today, all the lights, and everything....I'm giddy. Couple that with a kick-ass announcement for next week (or maybe Friday, or maybe today if training isn't an eight-hour deal), and yes, stuff is getting done here at Idaho State. As for that title....it's from Spiderman in case you missed that....and yes, I'm talking about you, BengalDenners! My tongue is FIRMLY in cheek here guys and girls). However, I've mentioned on there from time to time that recruits read that message board, and players do as well (it's the generation for that kind of thing) so that should always be kept in mind when posting. Well, apparently over there it's been making the rounds that Chad O'Donnell might not be making it to camp. I've always admired how people over there know about what goes on in the weight room and this kid did this and this kid looks like this, and whatnot (maybe they are going to the 7-on-7 skelly drills...I'm not there after being here all day...I get enough 12-hour days in the fall, I don't need them in the summer). Anyways, Chad contacted me with a message, and here it is verbatim:

"Frank,

Hey I know that there are rumors that I am not coming up or anything but that is completely not true!! I will be heading up on August 2nd which is this Sunday. I just had to finish my summer school to transfer and get everything in line for this fall!! Along with my mother just getting breast cancer! Her surgery was this week so I was not able to leave until she was out of surgery and now she is doing great!!

A few little stats...I have been working quite hard in the weight room this summer!! I put up 315lbs 15x on bench press on monday....and hang cleaned 315lbs last week!! Im not coming sloppy!!

See You Soon!!

Chad O'Donnell"

How great is that??? Let's break this down a bit....a kid whose mom has breast cancer surgery, so not only does he stay back to help with that before coming here, he finishes up school, and manages to hit the weight room so he is ready for camp. John Zamberlin has always talked about getting character guys in here that will contribute on the field and be positive community members, ones that the fans and town can be proud of....well, that's exhibit A right there.

Also, again the roster will be up next week once guys get here so I can have it complete with all the walk-ons and such, but I can confirm that we had a photo day for headshots of new guys in town, and for returners that wanted new head shots, and Jordan Scott did get a head shot, along with Isaiah Walker, Keith McGowen, Tubotein Taylor, Kenny Viser, Jake Pele (a big dude), Logann Horrocks, Jarrid Nash (also a big dude), Mark Clampitt, Justin Vae'ena (slightly bigger dude), Mihn Williams (a behemoth of a dude), Isaiah Walker, Shaquille Senegal, and Josh Hill. The others will get theirs the first week of camp.

Also, it looks like the Jeopardy answer of "Idaho" will fit the question of "What state produced the most players on the Idaho State roster this year, California, Idaho, or Washington?" That's a first in my 12 years....

Busy Journal Boys....

Tim Flagstad has been busy, getting a couple of great preseason interviews with Chad Teichert and Allison Gibson just before camp starts....good stuff. Also, the Journal finally has a sports department instead of a sports duo (poor Tim and Kelvin Ang have been going at it as a two-some for months now), as they hired Dan Angell, who comes from the University of Missouri. Here is a sample of a football story he did last season ... Dan sounds like he will have the men's basketball beat, with Kelvin moving to football, and Tim sliding back to women's basketball.

Why Baseball Absolutely Rocks

Most folks around here know that I'm a pretty big baseball geek...I subscribe here for goodness sake, and I went highbrow with the HD package (it's a great way to work....a little day baseball love in the office is always fun). Anyways, what I love about baseball is the fact that you can see things that just boggle the mind. I mean this is a sport where the Philadelphia Phillies won the 2009 World Series on October 29, but officially, they won it on October 27 because that's when the game started and was suspended due to rain.

So I present to you the Washington Nationals, who have had some slight problems this year, and that doesn't count how bad they play. They apparently don't have a good seamstress, a good spellchecker or two even, and they can't even tell which way is up, whether it be a letter (upside down N), or a number (upside-down 8, note the beveling). Usually by the way, it's a 9 flipped to a 6 or vice-versa, so credit the Nats with a bonus of goofing up the 8.

Anyways, ,why I love baseball. On May 5, the Houston Astros visited the Washington Nationals, and in the game was tied at 10 after 10 innings. Washington's Joel Hanrahan got Houston out in the top of the 11th, and in the bottom half, Houston's LaTroy Hawkins got an out before Elijah Dukes walked. Then the rains came....and came, and came, and never stopped. So they suspended the game, but since Houston doesn't visit Washington anymore, it was decided they will finish the game in Houston on July 9.

Here is where the fun starts. They resumed the game yesterday in Houston, but Washington traded Joel Hanrahan (and Lastings Milledge) to Pittsburgh for Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett. And what of Elijah Dukes, who was at first base when the game was suspended? Well....Mr. Dukes is currently in Syracuse in Triple-A. So, when play resumed yesterday, Morgan, who was in Pittsburgh and went 1-for-5 against Milwaukee on May 5, pinch ran at first base, thereby getting credited with playing for two different teams in two different cities in the same day, ala Joel Youngblood back in 1982, who actually did play in two games in two different cities for two different teams in the same day.

Anyways, Morgan ended up scoring in the 11th of the resumed game, finishing that in just seven minutes. The winning pitcher was Joel Hanrahan, who at the time he got the win, was taking a nap.....as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates...in a hotel.....in Philadelphia. Hanrahan's Pirates you see didn't play yesterday, and he was tired from the travel to Philly, so he was napping when he got the win, and didn't find out about it until some of his ex-National teammates texted him afterwards.

To sum up: the Nationals defeated Astros in a game started in Washington, ended in Houston, with the winning run scored by someone who started the game for Pittsburgh, and was won by someone sleeping in Philadelphia. Of course, it's justice for the Nationals, who started the week by losing 5-4 to the Colorado Rockies, allowing Rockies pitcher Alan Embree to earn the win without ever throwing a pitch, and no, I didn't make that up.

All of this to say, ladies and gentlemen, your 2009 Washington Nationals! To think, we aren't at the all-star break yet.

Here is the box score for all that wackiness.

Speaking of baseball
My Marlins woke up just in time to take down Arizona.

Almost as good as Ivory Soap.
Ivory soap is boasted as being 99 44/100% pure. That's almost the season ticket retention rate at Oklahoma. At least it will have cooled down by then in that state....geez....115 degrees? Seriously....

Kudos
For those paying attention, Brad Bugger's series on ISU's football opponents are must reads...great stuff.exactly the type of stuff that can't really go on ISU's official website, but is perfect for the blog. Well, well, well done Bradley!

News coming down the pike
I'm going camping next week (and looking forward to no computer doncha know), so I won't be around. However, once I get back, it should be very fun with some good announcements, probably starting the Monday I get back, and of the two, one is a direct boon to a major sport, and one is a direct boon to you the fans. I'm giddy....more around the week of July 20th or so. Sorry I can't say more yet.

Looking Ahead No. 1: Arizona State

With the summer doldrums upon us, now is a good time to start taking a sneak peak at Idaho State's opponents for the upcoming football season. Each week, I'll give you a quick look at a different foe, in order of appearance on the schedule. We start today with the Arizona State Sun Devils, who will host the Bengals on Sept. 5 in Tempe.

Last Year

Coaching gypsy Dennis Erickson's second season in the Valley of the Sun was a real come-down after he went 10-3 in his debut. The Sun Devils started the season as a likely top 25 team, led by four-year starter Rudy Carpenter returning at quarterback. But they finished the season out of the bowl picture with a 5-7 record that was heavy on victories over lightweights (Northern Arizona, Stanford, Washington, Washington State and UCLA), and no signature wins to be found. They weren't blown out often, losing to then-No. 3 Georgia just 27-10 and to eighth-rated USC 28-0, but they couldn't find a breakthrough win.

Pre-Season Outlook

ASU returns 14 starters from last year's team, as well as all the specialists. The Sun Devils also have a very manageable early season schedule, with home games against ISU and Louisiana-Monroe sandwiched around a bye. They do have to play at Georgia in game three, but then they get four winnable PAC 10 games in a row: Oregon State and Washington at home, and Washington State and Stanford on the road. With experience on both sides of the football and that schedule, it's conceivable ASU could be 6-1 before Cal and USC come to Tempe Oct. 31 and Nov. 7, respectively.

Playmakers

ASU's brightest star is defensive end Dexter Davis (above), a 6-2, 252-pound senior who has started every game since his redshirt freshman season. He's recorded 27.5 sacks in his career, including 11 last season. (You can read Dexter's "sack lunch" blog here: http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/sack-lunch.html). Davis is the biggest name on a veteran defensive front, which also includes Lawrence Guy, who stepped in as a starting defensive tackle as a true freshman last season, and recorded 10 tackles for a loss and two sacks.

Also on defense, linebacker Mike Nixon, a 227-pound senior, tied for the PAC 10 lead with five interceptions and recorded 90 tackles on the season; cornerback Omar Bolden, a junior, broke up seven passes and had two picks; and linebacker Travis Goethel was third on the team with 71 tackles and intercepted two passes.

Offensively, ASU appears to lack true "home run hitters," at least with experience. Wideout Chris McGaha has caught 112 passes in his career, but has scored only five touchdowns in three seasons. WR Kyle Williams appears to be more of a big-play threat, averaging 19 yards a catch last year, but he only caught 19 balls with four touchdowns. Dimitri Nance, their most experienced running back, averaged less than 4 yards a carry in accumulating his 410 yards last season.

But ASU recruits to a PAC 10 level, and that means depth -- and incoming freshmen who could make an immediate impact. On the depth front, Ryan Bass, who was rated as the No. 2 running back recruit in the nation by Rivals last year, averaged 4.6 yards a carry as a true freshman while playing in seven games for ASU last season. The Devils also brought in three freshmen backs who could compete for playing time.

Not to be forgotten is probably ASU's most legitimate All-American candidate -- placekicker Thomas Weber, who has converted on 86 percent of his field goal attempts in his two seasons, including a 24-25 performance as a freshman All-American. Weber is 10 for 14 on field goal attempts of 40 yards or longer, and 2-for-2 over 50.

The Big Question Mark

The burning question in Tempe come August camp will be: Who will replace Carpenter at quarterback? As of the end of spring football, senior Danny Sullivan, 6-4, 242, was listed atop the depth chart. A native of Los Gatos, Calif., the same town that produced Bengal All-American Jared Allen, Sullivan has played in 25 games over three seasons, throwing for 409 yards and three touchdowns. He'll continue to compete with sophomore Samson Szakacsy, a much more athletic QB, and Brock Osweiler, a Montana high school legend, in the fall. Osweiler, a 6-8, 237-pounder from Kalispell, was recruited by both major college football and basketball programs. He graduated from high school in December so he could take part in spring football this year. (To see an interview with him, go here: http://www.abcmontana.com/sports/local/45970877.html)

How the Bengals Match Up

The good news is that while ASU has a lot of experience on both sides of the football, the Sun Devils don't really boast any first-team PAC 10 or All-American caliber players, with the notable exceptions of Davis, the defensive end and Weber, the kicer. The other good news is that ASU will be breaking in a new starting quarterback, which hopefully means the playbook will be somewhat limited when ISU comes to town for the season opener.

The bad news is that ASU, while lacking true headliner talent, is very deep and athletic. ASU lists six different running backs on its spring depth chart -- and that's before the three highly-recruited freshmen hit the campus. They list 12 candidates at wide receiver and four tight ends. Then consider that ISU had one healthy scholarship tailback during spring football. This will definitely be an athletic mismatch.

ISU, who entered spring with a giant hole at the key left tackle slot, will also have to figure out how to keep Davis off the Bengal quarterback. Putting together a running game against that veteran ASU front seven will certainly be a challenge.

And ISU's lack of depth, along with what may be 90-degree or greater heat at the 6 p.m. kickoff will likely take its toll on the Bengal special teams, creating big play opportunities for the Devils.

Still, with ASU being inexperienced at quarterback and in only early-season rhythm offensively, this won't be the worst matchup of the season for Idaho State. That comes next week, when we preview....Oklahoma.

--Brad B.

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