Idaho State knew it was overmatched coming into Sun Devil Stadium — the Bengals were just hoping to find something to take with them from Tempe.

What they found was a defense that played much better than last year’s unit and competed with ASU’s offense before wearing down late.

“There were some great efforts out there,” ISU coach John Zamberlin said. “In the first half, defensively, we played pretty darn good.”

The Bengals’ defense constantly had its back against the wall because ISU’s offensive unit was not able to move past midfield in the first half.

Most teams that are constantly put in bad field position would melt and fold, but ISU didn’t. Instead, it held the Sun Devils to field goals instead of touchdowns in the first half.

“Time and time again in the first half, they were put in bad situations, and they kept [ASU] out of the end zone,” Zamberlin said of his defense.

However, not much could be taken from the other side of the ball.

ISU junior quarterback Kyle Blum struggled in his first half duty and threw three interceptions — passes he labeled as “dumb.”

“It was rough — they were fast and physical and played really hard,” Blum said. “I have to be able to throw the ball. Since I couldn’t throw the ball, they just stacked the box and defended the run.”

Simply saying that ASU defended ISU’s running attack might be a severe understatement.

ISU senior running back Clint Knickrehm was hit hard and often. The back was pretty much asked to run into a brick wall 15 times.

One of the most vicious hits of the game was laid on Knickrehm by ASU linebacker Gerald Munns, which forced the ball out of the running back’s hands.

“[With] that play, there is a possibility for that to happen,” Knickrehm said of the tackle and ensuing fumble. “I got blindsided … that was [a hit] that looks good but doesn’t hurt. They caught me a couple times, [but] it was nothing too bad. You get up and get ready for the next play.”

Zamberlin said it will be hard to assess what exactly went wrong on offense because of how good the Sun Devil defense played.

“Their defense is probably one of the best in the Pac-10,” Zamberlin said. “They’re good. They just mismatched us.”

Zamberlin also got a look at both of his quarterbacks that are competing for playing time. Blum played the first half, while junior Russel Hill played the second half.

Blum completed three of 10 passes for just 10 yards and three interceptions. Hill went six-of-10 passing for 32 yards and one interception.

“They both made mistakes, but that comes from that tough defense,” Zamberlin said. “They have size and speed on that side of the ball. We have to understand that.”

The Bengals’ only score came on a 55-yard field goal by senior Jarrett Huk. For a kicker that finished just 1-of-6 on field goals last year, it certainly was a confidence boost.

“How about Huk?” Zamberlin said. “We put him in a tough spot, and he made it. We now have confidence that we can score from that far out.”
The road certainly doesn’t get any easier for the Bengals, as a trip to Oklahoma looms next Saturday.

“This game is done, this game is over,” Knickrehm said, “We have to wash it out of our brains and be ready for next week.”

For a team that seems to be marching to another mismatch, their sense of humor is staying strong.

“They put their pants on the same way as us,” quipped junior safety Dustin Tew on playing ASU and then Oklahoma.

Reach the reporter at andrew.gruman@asu.edu.