Viks head to Bay Area looking to strike gold
San Jose State fields familiar quarterback; Viks volleyball pulls off 30-year upset
After two months of practices, a short flight and a sightseeing tour of the San Francisco Bay, Portland State football is finally ready to kick off the season.
The Viks open the first of three road games to start the season at San Jose State, the 2020 Mountain West champs.
Taking the helm for the Spartans is a familiar face.
Chevan Cordeiro, last season’s starter at Hawaii, transferred to the mainland amid a very public rebuke of the Bows coaching staff last winter that saw 19 players transfer out of the program before coach Todd Graham resigned.
Cordeiro tore up the Viks pass defense in last season’s opener, mixing in a handful of designed runs on the way to scoring touchdowns on his team’s first four possessions. The Viks eventually corrected course, causing a pair of fumbles and an interception after the opening salvo to charge a near comeback, but will be wary of the wily quarterback this time around.
He’ll once again have a talented group of receivers to target, led by a pair of Nevada transfers, notably 6-foot-4 receiver Elijah Cooks, who led the Wolf Pack in receiving in 2019.
It’s the Spartans defense, however, that is likely to carry the program this season, with six players named to the preseason all-conference team. Defensive end Junior Fehoko had seven sacks and 10 1/2 tackles for loss last year and linebacker Kyle Harmon was third in the nation in total tackles.
Turnovers, as always, will be a huge key in the game.
The Viks should be able to move the ball in the game and have the talent to get stops when they need to, but will need to create a few extra possessions to give themselves the best chance of flying home with more than a big check.
There aren’t a ton of surprises on the opening depth chart. Sebastian Sias will open as the starting right tackle amid four other returning starters on the offensive line. Andrew Van Buren opens at the top of the running back list, though it’s likely multiple backs will see time in the game.
Most of the defense will look similar to last season, with San Jose State transfer EJ Ane filling a hole in the middle of the line. Liberty transfer Isaiah Avery earns the start at field-side cornerback opposite Anthony Adams, with last season’s breakout DB Tyreese Shakir running the rover position.
The game will be streamed online at themw.com starting at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
ACROSS THE BIG SKY
Idaho State opened the Big Sky season in Week 0, unable to pull off the upset at UNLV that EWU accomplished last season, falling 52-21 at Allegiant Stadium.
There are still plenty of opportunities for early season upsets, if not as many as last season’s historic Big Sky upheaval.
Thursday
NAU at Arizona State, 6 p.m. PT, Pac-12 Networks
The Lumberjacks took care of in-state rival Arizona last season and have the chance to knockoff the Copper State’s more accomplished Pac-12 side in this season’s opener.
NAU returns a team that is expected to compete for the playoffs this season and could make some waves against ASU, which saw a ton of roster turnover this offseason amid an NCAA investigation.
Western Oregon at Weber State, 5 p.m., ESPN+
Cal Poly at Fresno State, 7:30 p.m., FS1
Saturday
Idaho at Washington State, 6:30 p.m. PT, Pac-12 Networks
The Battle of the Palouse returns for the first time in five seasons, the two teams, situated less than 10 miles apart, both sporting new head coaches.
The Vandals are riding high on a positive offseason but will have a tough task against a team that finished last season winning six of their last eight regular season games under the new staff.
UC Davis at Cal, 1 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
The Big Sky’s best shot at a Power 5 upset this week, the Aggies take the short trip to Berkeley to try and kick off what they hope is another playoff run.
Northwestern State at Montana, Noon, ESPN+
Tennessee State at Eastern Washington, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Houston Baptist at Northern Colorado, 1 p.m., ESPN+
McNeese at Montana State, 5 p.m., ESPN+
Utah Tech at Sacramento State, 6:30 p.m., ESPN+
VOLLEYBALL BURIES BEAVERS IN ROSE CITY SHOWDOWN
Portland State got its season started off right, topping Oregon State 3-1 on Saturday for its first win over the Beavers since 1990.
It was the highlight of a tough weekend slate, which also saw losses to Long Beach State and No. 18 Oregon.
It sets up the Viks nicely in a competitive Big Sky, which also saw Northern Colorado knock off both North Carolina and Colorado State this weekend.
Portland State will be in El Paso, Texas this weekend for the Borderland Invitational against South Dakota, UTEP and New Mexico.
AROUND THE BLOCKS
The cross country teams once again begin the season in the regional rankings, marking a program benchmark they hope to continue.
Soccer split its weekend games again, falling to UC Riverside but scoring twice in a draw against South Dakota.
Women’s basketball released its nonconference schedule, with five nonconference home games and no multi-team event. There will be a lot less travel this season, with only three trips out of Portland before conference play on New Year’s weekend, one of those trips a short jaunt up to Seattle.
Add more to the roster turnover on the men’s basketball team.
Freshman M.J. Jones, a 6-foot-2 point guard out of Alabama, has entered his name in the transfer portal ahead of the first day of classes. Jones practiced with the teams in summer workouts and looked to be part of the future with the Viks.
The men’s roster has almost completely turned over once again this season, with just four players returning from last winter’s squad. There are currently 12 players on the roster, leaving Jase Coburn and the staff up to three spots to fill ahead of the season.
The Viks start the season against Portland on Nov. 11 at the Chiles Center. Preseason practices begin in October.
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
The Vikings have fared well in Sept. 1 football games, going 4-1 in its previous games on the date.
Current quarterbacks coach Kieran McDonagh led the Viks to their most recent Sept. 1 victory, topping NAIA Carroll College 38-20 at Jeld-Wen Field in 2012. McDonagh finished 8 of 16 for 192 yards, two touchdowns and eight yards rushing.
DJ Adams scored a 46-yard touchdown on his first play as a Viking on the way to a nearly 1,000-yard season and an honorable mention All-Big Sky nod.
Thanks for reading Big Sky Valhalla. It’s good to be back in football season and we’ll be ramping up coverage with multiple releases each week this fall. Subscribe to the free newsletter to get all the latest from Portland State and the Big Sky Conference in your inbox.