It's About Dam Time
Portland State, Eastern Washington meet for rivalry game amid sputtering seasons on the gridiron
Reeling from a spate of injuries and back-to-back games against a pair of the nation’s best defenses, Portland State could use a bounceback game.
Oddly enough, that could come this weekend against Eastern Washington.
The Eagles have had a winning season for the last 15 years and have been among the nation’s best in that stretch, winning the national championship in 2010 and the Big Sky six times. During that time they’ve had three Walter Payton Award winners for the top offensive player in the country and one Buck Buchanan winner for top defensive talent.
Since the introduction of the Dam Cup in 2010, EWU has beaten the Viks in nine of 11 meetings, including the last five with Portland State last getting the edge during the playoff run in 2015.
“(EWU head coach) Aaron Best and the crew does a hell of a job putting it together,” PSU coach Bruce Barnum said.
EWU’s typically potent attack has had its wings clipped this year, stuttering to the same 2-5 start overall and 1-3 start in the Big Sky as Portland State.
The Eagles are just seventh in scoring offense in the league this season (24.0 points per game) and last in scoring defense (42.3 ppg).
New quarterback Gunner Talkington, who grew up in the Portland area, is still among the most efficient in the conference, rating second in the Big Sky with 17 touchdowns to seven interceptions and the Eagles still have a dynamic group of targets on the outside.
EWU is 1-2 in Cheney this fall, with the two losses coming against No. 2 Sacramento State and No. 3 Montana State.
“They’ve been through the gambit like us,” Barnum said. “They’ve had a tough schedule. It’s kind of a mirror image.”
The game is typically a high-scoring affair. The teams have averaged a combined 79 points in the Dam Cup era, going over 90 in three of the last four years as record-setting quarterbacks Davis Alexander and Eric Barriere whipped the ball around the park.
The arm talent is dialed back a bit this season on each side of the ball, but expect another high scoring affair as both sides deal with injuries on defense.
Kickoff is at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Roos Field in Cheney and be broadcast on ESPN+.
Speaking of Alexander, the recently graduated Viking signal caller will get his first regular season snaps for the Montreal Alouettes this weekend, starting the second half in Saturday’s regular season finale against Toronto. The Als, who at 8-9 have secured the No. 2 spot in the East Division, lost 24-23 to the Argos last weekend, ending any shot at winning the division and will be using the final week to rest starters ahead of the playoffs.
“Everybody wants to play, but this whole experience this year has been awesome for me,” Alexander said. “Being in the room with guys like (Vernon Adams Jr.), Trevor (Harris), Dom (Davis), they’ve helped me so much. Obviously, (Anthony Calvillo) has gone out of his way to help me, and just keep me improving and understanding the game.”
ACROSS THE BIG SKY
The Big Sky title could have a frontrunner after this weekend, with the league’s top teams colliding once again on Saturday.
No. 14 Idaho (5-2 overall, 4-0 Big Sky), which pulled away from Portland State in the second half in Moscow last weekend, brings its undefeated conference record to No. 2 Sacramento State (7-0, 4-0), in a contest that could determine who lifts the regular season title.
The game against the Hornets is the last game on Idaho’s schedule against a currently ranked team, which would give the revamped Vandals a leg up with a win in California’s capital.
Sac State, which escaped with an overtime victory against Montana last weekend, will look to even the standings with Montana State (7-1, 5-0), which is on a bye week along with Idaho State, Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona.
No. 11 Montana visits No. 5 Weber State in the early game, looking to avoid a three-game skid for the first time since 2018, when the Viks kicked off the Griz slide with a 22-20 win in Missoula.
Saturday, Oct. 29
No. 11 Montana at No. 5 Weber State, Noon PT, ESPN+
Portland State at Eastern Washington, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Cal Poly at UC Davis, 4 p.m., ESPN+
No. 14 Idaho at No. 2 Sacramento State, 6 p.m., ESPN+
Last week’s results
No. 17 Idaho 56, Portland State 21
No. 3 Montana State 43, No. 5 Weber State 38
Northern Arizona 24, Idaho State 10
UC Davis 58, Northern Colorado 10
Eastern Washington 17, Cal Poly 10
No. 2 Sacramento State 31, No. 7 Montana 24, OT
AROUND THE BLOCKS
Portland State volleyball continued its reign at the top of the Big Sky, beating NAU 3-0 on Thursday for its fourth sweep in five matches and its seventh straight win in the conference.
The Viks have been dominant in the conference at 9-1 and hold a two-game lead on the rest of the pack with six matches to play. Their lone loss was a sweep at Northern Colorado, Saturday’s opponent at the Viking Pavilion.
Soccer couldn’t keep pace at the top of its standings, falling from the top spot after going winless in its final three matches to close the season.
The Viks secured the No. 3 seed in next week’s Big Sky Tournament, opening play against No. 6 Montana, who Portland State beat 1-0 earlier this season.
The Big Sky cross country championships are this weekend, and while both sides are heavily favored toward national powerhouse Northern Arizona, which is No. 3 in the nation on the men’s side and No. 4 for the women, Portland State looks to make an impact on the team score.
Golf closed its fall season strong with an 11th place team finish at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Hawaii.
Women’s tennis heads to the Gonzaga Invitational this weekend with the men off to Spokane next week for the same meet.
Preseason Big Sky rankings have been released for men’s and women’s basketball, with the men picked to finish seventh and the women 10th in both polls. We’ll have more on the hoops teams as they tip off the season in a few weeks with conference media days broadcast on Nov. 1.
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Portland State picked up its first victory over a big-time program on Oct. 29, 1960, topping Nevada, 14-7, on a muddy field. The Wolf Pack were favored by four touchdowns in the game according to the 1961 Viking Yearbook.
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