POCATELLO — As players worked their way through the handshake lines and the few remaining fans cleared out of Holt Arena, Skyler Phillips stood still at midfield, staring into the distance. His final game at Holt Arena was over, and Phillips was soaking everything in.

Minutes earlier, Phillips slammed his helmet to the ground and shouted at his teammates to get their acts together. On the opposite sideline, UC Davis celebrated a pick-six that sealed a 56-17 blowout win Saturday — senior day for Phillips and eight others. Phillips got one last long look at the confines that groomed what he hopes is an NFL future.

It was an unceremonious home finale for Phillips and the Bengals (4-6, 2-5 Big Sky Conference), who suffered their worst home loss since 2012.

ISU had hopes of finishing the season with back-to-back wins to clear .500. Now, all the Bengals can wish for is a week of recovery and a chance to salvage their reputation against nationally ranked rival Weber State.

“Sacks, can’t have turnovers,” ISU head coach Rob Phenicie said after the game. “You have to convert third downs when the game’s on the line and get off the field on third down (on defense).”

The Bengals fell in a 21-0 first-quarter hole and never recovered. The Aggies (5-4, 3-3 Big Sky) raced past ISU’s defense with a pass-heavy, uptempo attack led by revered quarterback-wide receiver combo Jake Maier and Keelan Doss, racking up 488 yards of offense with ease. The Bengals never cut the deficit to single digits, getting within 28-17 in the third quarter before UC Davis scored the final 28 points of the game.

ISU played the second half without starting quarterback Tanner Gueller, whose blindside was hammered on numerous occasions in the first half, leading to him losing his helmet twice.

Redshirt sophomore Idaho transfer Gunnar Amos completed 8 of 18 passes with two interceptions in relief duty as he tried to lead an improbable comeback.

The Bengals’ defense rarely got stops, and the offense didn’t respond. The Aggies scored touchdowns on their first four offensive possessions of the game, and ISU’s offense didn’t cross midfield after halftime. Idaho State’s lone second-half score was a 2-yard run by Ty Flanagan after the Bengals blocked an Aggies punt and recovered the ball four yards from the end zone.

ISU finished the game with 410 yards on 85 plays and won the time-of-possession battle. But the Bengals were also flagged for eight penalties totaling 108 yards and went 5 of 16 on third down while UC Davis was 11 for 16.

“I can’t believe we got 85 plays,” Phenicie said. “It felt like we had 12. We had 410 yards of offense, it felt like we had 15. It’s just one of those games. It was just a grind.”

The Aggies kept drives alive thanks to ISU penalties despite a quiet first half from Doss. UC Davis’ star junior wideout entered the game leading the FCS in receiving yards (1,127) and receptions per game (10), yet had four catches for 27 yards at halftime, including a pair of drops.

Doss corralled seven grabs for 85 yards in the second half to finish with 11 receptions and 112 yards.

“That’s what he does,” Phenicie said of Doss. “You’re biding time with him.”

ISU lost defensive lineman JonRyheem Peoples to a targeting penalty after six plays. For all but 1 minute, 36 seconds of the game, the Bengals were without their clogger up the middle.

The play after Peoples’ ejection, Maier hit Wesley Preece for one of his three TD passes — all of which went for 33 yards or more.

Maier, one of the top QBs in the FCS this season, completed 29 of 40 passes for 358 yards and three first-half scores.

“That’s him,” Phenicie said. “He’s effective.”

In his final home game, Bengals wide receiver Hagen Graves tallied two catches for 30 yards. Fellow seniors Nikko Hayes (12) and Mario Jenkins (13) led the defense with a combined 25 tackles. Gueller completed 13 of 21 first-half passes for 183 yards and went without a touchdown for the first time in his last 17 games. Gueller is now fifth in ISU history with 5,857 yards passing in his career.

Flanagan (77) and James Madison (81) combined to rush for 158 yards. Flanagan scored two touchdowns, giving him 11 for the season, which ties for sixth in the Bengals’ single-season rushing touchdown record book. Michael Dean (55) and Mitch Gueller (50) combined for 105 yards with six catches each to lead ISU’s receivers.

The Bengals went 1 for 1 on fourth down and punted seven times. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Matt Peterson converted both point-after tries and a 25-yard field goal in his first kicking action since high school. Regular kickers Parker Johnson and Zak Johnson were both inactive.

Idaho State has a bye next week, which Phenicie said will be used to give the team a day or two off. After that, a short drive south to Ogden, Utah, to face the Weber State Wildcats, who have hopes of a Big Sky championship.

Despite a larger win total than past seasons, the best the Bengals can do is play spoiler.