Portland State enters the last four football games of the regular season staring down one of the toughest stretches in the country.
The Viks close their season with three ranked teams and a chance to make the FCS playoffs with a sweep.
With a week to prepare and heal up, Bruce Barnum is looking to build momentum into the home stretch.
“This last part is a gauntlet of ranked teams,” Barnum said. “They say, ‘You always remember what you do in November.’”
But first, Cal Poly.
The Mustangs (1-6 overall, 0-4 Big Sky) are not ranked and have had a rough go this season, struggling to put up points amid a rash of injuries and a daunting schedule.
But don’t let the record fool you. Cal Poly has lost each of its last six games to a ranked team. Mustangs coach Beau Baldwin has won big in the Big Sky, leading EWU to five conference titles and the national championship in 2010. Baldwin is a year into transitioning Cal Poly from the triple option to the spread offense and just last week saw the return of his starting quarterback, Cal transfer Spencer Brasch.
In two games against FCS competition this season, Brasch has averaged 303 yards passing and has completed 56% of his passes.
On defense, linebacker Matt Shotwell is leading the conference in tackles.
“They’re a good football team,” Barnum said. “They’ve gone through a real rough schedule.
“I like his defense … Getting your quarterback back, that’s dangerous. It’ll be interesting to see how that goes.”
While the Vikings (3-4, 2-2) will be wary of Cal Poly’s potential, it’s also an opportunity to put up numbers.
The Mustangs are last in both scoring offense and scoring defense and second-to-last in both total offense and total defense.
“This is a momentum game. You win a big game, it carries on. Going into it, we’re aware of it. I would love to get some momentum going this Saturday. If we keep improving, we’ll have a shot.”
“This one’s important. We need momentum going into the last three.”
Also at Saturday’s game, the Big Sky champion Vikings softball team will be presented their championship rings during a halftime ceremony.
AROUND THE BIG SKY
The biggest upset of the season came from the defending champs, as Weber State knocked off No. 2 Eastern Washington 35-34 on Saturday.
That win bounced the Wildcats back in the top 25 and set up a week that has the potential to sort out the middle of the pack in the Big Sky as the league’s top three teams get a rest.
The No. 23 Wildcats (3-4 overall, 2-2 Big Sky) play on the road at Idaho State (1-6, 1-4) as one of four teams looking to break above .500 in conference play.
No. 11 Montana (5-2, 2-2) hosts Southern Utah (1-7, 0-5) and Northern Arizona (3-4, 2-2) heads to the Kibbie Dome to try and continue its progress against Idaho (2-5, 1-3).
No. 15 Sacramento State (5-2, 4-0) will look to keep it unbeaten league record in tact as it plays at Northern Colorado (3-5, 2-3).
Eastern Washington, which fell to No. 7 in this week’s rankings, No. 6 Montana State and No. 9 UC Davis are all idle.
EIGHT IS ENOUGH
The preseason Big Sky basketball polls are out and both the Vikings men’s and women’s teams were picked to finish eighth in the media rankings with the professional onlookers waiting to see how changes on both teams will play out.
Coaches had the men seventh and the women ninth.
Big Sky media days, which will be virtual again this year, will broadcast next week. The Portland State contingent will include the Vikings new coaches and their two leading returning scorers, Khalid Thomas and Jada Lewis.
On a different court, Portland State Hall of Famer Ime Udoka earned his first win as an NBA head coach on Sunday as the Celtics beat Houston 107-97.
In other NBA news, Weber State alum and current Portland resident Damian Lillard was named to the list of the greatest 75 players in the league history.
THE CEILING IS THE ROOF
Portland State volleyball continued its tear through the Big Sky, beating Northern Colorado, 3-1, on Saturday to take possession of second place in the conference.
That climb continues this week with another big home match.
The Viks (14-7, 8-2) host Idaho State (6-16, 2-8) on Thursday to open the week before a showdown with top-ranked Weber State (15-5, 10-0) on Saturday.
PSU outhit the Wildcats in the first meeting this season but couldn’t contain its errors, falling in four sets.
The Viks have a chance to secure a spot in the conference tournament with a win and could make a run at the top seed with a win over WSU.
Portland State will host the Big Sky cross country championships this week, with the race firing off on Friday at Meriwether National Golf Club in Hillsboro.
Northern Arizona is the heavy favorite yet again in both the men’s and women’s races, though last season the Southern Utah men were able to steal away the conference crown from the eventual national champion Lumberjacks.
NAU is ranked No. 1 in the nation and reigning Big Sky individual champion Abdihamid Nur has paced the Jacks, setting the fourth-fastest time in the country at Florida State earlier this season.
Vikings soccer finished its season on Sunday, falling to NAU 2-1 at Hillsboro Stadium.
PSU needed to win one of its final two home games to have a chance at advancing to the Big Sky championships, but earned a 1-1 draw with last-place Southern Utah on Friday before surrendering a second-half penalty to fall behind for good in the season finale.
Sophomore midfielder Ani Jensen led the Viks with eight points. Fellow mids Abi Hoffman and Sienna Higinbotham shared the lead for goals with Jensen, all three netting three goals this season.
Vikings golf is also done for the fall, finishing 18th as a team at The Clash at Boulder Creek on Tuesday. Windy Huang led all Viks with a three-round 224, finishing in a tie for 28th.
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Portland State has already played Cal Poly twice on Oct. 30 in its history, winning both matchups. The Viks won 21-17 on the date in 1993 and 42-28 in 1999.
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