“Winning cures all.”
The Portland State football team is riding high following its 20-13 victory over Southern Utah last week. As head coach Bruce Barnum said in his weekly radio interview this week, that win — in a tough road environment following a tough loss to a top-10 opponent — has been transformative in the locker room heading into another game against a difficult opponent on the road.
“You can wash away a lot of trash by winning a game.”
The win, the first in conference this season and first against a Division I opponent, came as the Viks finally got their run game going. PSU ran more times than it threw for the first time this season, netting 156 yards on 35 carries and getting a mix of running styles between backs Malik Walker and Jalynnee McGee.
The new-found balance should help ease the pressure on a PSU passing attack that ranks second in the Big Sky behind only the prolific attack at Eastern Washington, just as the Viks get ready to take on an athletic Idaho defense that leads the conference in pass defense.
The Vandals — coming off their own tough loss to a top-10 team — have a strong front seven led by a pair of outstanding linebackers, Fa’Ava Fa’Avae and All-American Tre Walker, and are extremely fast, allowing them to close down open spaces.
“They’re a hard unit to score points on,” Barnum said.
Luckily, Portland State has also been a hard unit to score points on this season. The Viks gave up three drives of 61-plus yards to Southern Utah but held the T-Birds to three points on those drives and 101 yards total in the rest of the game.
The Viks are second in the Big Sky in both sacks and red zone defense, forcing a conference best five turnovers inside the 20-yard line.
“I was very proud of the defense,” Barnum said. “They got it done all the way to the end. I’m proud of them. It was fun watching them. We just need to bring that (energy) and get a little better each week. We could always use some more turnovers and keep that rolling.”
If Idaho is going to crack the Viks defense, it will have to do so without starting quarterback CJ Jordan, who left last week’s game in the opening series with an injured shoulder.
The Vandals have used a platoon of quarterbacks this season, with UConn transfer Mike Beaudry throwing most of the passes, completing 63% of his throws last week for 255 yards and an interception. Sophomore Zach Borisch has yet to throw a pass this season, rushing for 82 yards and two touchdowns at running back last week, but played two games at quarterback in the spring and could take over the dual-threat role in Jordan’s absence.
Freshman running back Elisha Cummings was electric in his debut, running for 125 yards against UC Davis, while receiver Terez Traynor leapt up the Big Sky leaderboards with 10 catches for 131 yards.
The Viks should see the return of a few of their key pieces on Saturday.
Beau Kelly, who took a hard hit moments before the game-winning touchdown, was put in the concussion protocol to finish the game in Cedar City but hasn’t had any issues this week and is on track to play on Saturday. Mataio Talalemotu, out since the opening week with a hamstring issue, returned in limited form last week and should add an extra dimension to the stacked receiver depth chart.
The Viks are seeking their first win in the Kibbie Dome, losing all seven appearances in Moscow dating back to 1980, dropping an eighth game in nearby Pullman in 1970. PSU is 2-12 all-time against the Vandals but won the last matchup 24-0 in 2019.
This is the first of back-to-back games against Gem State schools. Portland State will host Idaho State next week in Hillsboro.
PRO VIKS
Former PSU defensive back Donovan Olumba, who was cut from the Los Angeles Rams in training camp, has landed back in the CFL, signing with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Bombers (7-1) are currently in first place in the West Division with six games remaining in the regular season.
He signed earlier his summer with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats but left for a shot in the NFL.
Long snapper Kameron Canaday, cut from the Pittsburgh Steelers this preseason, has had workouts with the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
AROUND THE BIG SKY
The Viks game against Idaho is shaping up to be the best Big Sky game of the week, with many of the conference’s powers playing overmatched opponents.
No. 4 Eastern Washington (5-0 overall, 2-0 Big Sky) will try to follow its high-end performance from last week’s win against Montana as it travels to Greeley to face a Northern Colorado (2-3, 1-1) side that was rattled last week.
The No. 6 Griz (3-1, 1-1) host Dixie State (0-4), a team that has already lost three Big Sky games this season, dropping blowout losses to Sacramento State, Weber State and UC Davis.
No. 7 UCD (5-0, 2-0) will travel to Idaho State (0-4, 0-2) for a noon kick and No. 10 Montana State (4-1, 2-0) will host Cal Poly (1-4, 0-2). Sacramento State (2-2, 1-0) will host Southern Utah (1-4, 0-2) in the nightcap.
Northern Arizona (2-3, 1-1), which took both the conference offensive and defensive honors this week, and Weber State (2-3, 1-1) are both idle this week.
Saturday, Oct. 9
No. 7 UC Davis at Idaho State, Noon PT (ESPN+)
Dixie State at No. 6 Montana, Noon (ESPN+)
No. 4 Eastern Washington at Northern Colorado, Noon (ESPN+)
Cal Poly at No. 10 Montana State, 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
Portland State at Idaho, 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
Southern Utah at Sacramento State, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
AROUND THE BLOCKS
For those who haven’t been paying attention, Portland State volleyball (9-6 overall, 3-1 Big Sky) is one of the hottest teams in the country, winning eight of their last 10 matches. The Viks swept matches at Idaho (3-10, 0-4) and Eastern Washington (5-7, 1-3) last weekend and return home for the first time since Sept. 19 to host Southern Utah (5-11, 1-3) and Northern Arizona (5-8, 3-1) this weekend.
The Viks hit the road again next week before returning to host six of their final seven matches at the Pavilion. (Weekly honors)
The Portland State soccer team couldn’t quite crack Montana’s goaltending dynamo Camellia Xu but played the first-place Griz to a 0-0 draw.
The Viks (3-6-1, 1-1-1) host Eastern Washington (4-8, 2-2) and Idaho (8-2-2, 2-1-1) this weekend in Hillsboro.
The cross country teams, off until next weekend, remained among 13 Big Sky teams in the regional rankings, both remaining at No. 12 in the West. (Weekly honors)
Golf returns from a nearly month-long hiatus for the Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational in Tacoma, its last tournament in the region before heading to Southern Nevada to close out the fall season.
Fall ball started for tennis and softball this weekend, with each getting a primary look at their new teams.
The men’s tennis team had a handful of singles wins and one on the doubles court at the PNW Invitational in Newburg while the women saw six winners in Boise at the Barb Chandler Classic.
The court action will be a little closer to home this week, the women playing at the Husky Invitational in Seattle and the men at the Oregon Invitational in Eugene.
The defending Big Sky champion softball team is playing a circuit of PNW community college teams this fall, starting with a doubleheader against Clackamas CC last weekend and another twinbill against Southwestern Oregon CC this week. The Viks will also host Mt. Hood CC and Edmonds (Wash.) College.
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Winning the Oregon Collegiate Conference in 1963 and 1964, Portland State ventured into NCAA Division II the next season and picked up its first win on Oct. 9, 1965 against old foe Southern Oregon, beating the eventual OCC champion Raiders 20-8 at Civic Stadium.
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