Viks look to fix second half swoons
Portland State hosts Northern Colorado looking for consecutive wins and .500 conference record
An early-season trend has become a full-on problem for Portland State as it continues its late-season push for a top-half finish in the Big Sky.
A fourth-quarter collapse in the season opener against San Jose State seemed to be a product of bad luck.
Then it happened again in its first win of the season against Northern Arizona. And again in a loss at Idaho, giving up 42 unanswered points in a loss. Then it happened again last week at Eastern Washington, where an onside recovery and a handful of first downs saved the Viks from another late-game collapse.
Through eight games, the Vikings have surrendered more than four points more in the fourth quarter than in any other frame, allowing three fourth-quarter touchdowns in each of the last two games.
In contrast, PSU has scored just three touchdowns in the fourth quarter all season.
“We were doing well (in the second half of last week’s win at Eastern Washington), it was the penalties that set us back and put us behind the chains,” Viks head coach Bruce Barnum said.
“We clean that up, we’re celebrating maybe a little earlier in that game.”
With three games left in the season and a shot at finishing the season with their first winning record since 2015, the Viks will have to find a way to finish games stronger, beginning with this weekend against Northern Colorado.
The Bears are struggling through a 2-6 season and are near the bottom of the conference in both total offense and total defense.
They seemed to be able to score early in the season, even if the defense wasn’t up to snuff, putting up 35 points against Idaho State and Idaho, but have hit the skids in a tough three-game run up to last week’s bye, falling to Sacramento State, Montana State and UC Davis by a combined score of 150-31.
The Bears are led by the McCaffery family: Head coach Ed, the Stanford All-American and two-time Super Bowl champion with the Denver Broncos; offensive coordinator Max and starting quarterback Dylan, Ed’s sons.
That relationship, along with the middling results on the field, has led to many calls of nepotism and favoritism locally, something that dates back to a transfer exodus and damning stories of locker room mistreatment this winter.
However, should the Viks late-game woes creep up again, there are a handful of standout athletes on UNC that could make them pay, like former Sac State star running back Elijah Dotson and linebacker Elijah Anderson-Taylor.
The Bears, like many of the Viks opponents this season, are making their first trip to Hillsboro, last playing in Portland in 2018 in the final game at Providence Park.
The game is set to kick at 2 p.m. on Saturday and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
ACROSS THE BIG SKY
For the fourth-straight week the Big Sky will feature a top-10 faceoff, highlighted this week by No. 5 Weber State hosting No. 2 Sacramento State.
The Hornets, still undefeated at 8-0 overall and 5-0 in conference, have looked vulnerable while eking out back-to-back home wins over Montana and Idaho. Weber has been as good as any team in the Big Sky this season, its only loss coming on the road at No. 3 Montana State in a game it surrendered four safeties on bad punt snaps.
The Bobcats will head on the road to play Northern Arizona while across the state, No. 16 Montana will look to end a three-game losing streak when it hosts Cal Poly in the late game.
Idaho, which fell to No. 15 in the polls after a narrow loss at Sac State, will host Eastern Washington a week after PSU secured the first losing season for the Eagles in 16 years.
UC Davis, still on the edge of the playoff conversation, will host Idaho State looking to extend its winning streak to four games.
Saturday, Oct. 5
Eastern Washington at No. 15 Idaho, Noon PT, ESPN+
No. 2 Sacramento State at No. 5 Weber State, Noon, ESPN+
No. 3 Montana State at Northern Arizona, Noon, ESPN+
Northern Colorado at Portland State, 2 p.m., ESPN+
Idaho State at UC Davis, 4 p.m., ESPN+
Cal Poly at Montana, 5 p.m., ESPN+
Last week’s results
Portland State 38, Eastern Washington 35
No. 5 Weber State 24, No. 11 Montana 21
UC Davis 59, Cal Poly 17
No. 2 Sacramento State 31, No. 14 Idaho 28
AROUND THE BLOCKS
Former Portland State quarterback Davis Alexander, in his first year with the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes, scored his first career touchdown in his first action of the regular season, punching in a 1-yard sneak.
Alexander finished 8-for-13 passing for 89 yards and an interception, adding five rushes for 22 yards, playing mostly in the second half of the Als’ 38-33 victory over Toronto in the final week of the regular season.
Montreal, already guaranteed a spot in the Eastern Division semifinal, used its final warmup game to rest starters and give its younger players some run, which gave Alexander, the Als’ third-string quarterback, a chance to show how much he’s learned on the sidelines this season.
Montreal will host Hamilton on Sunday with hopes of earning a rematch against Toronto in the Eastern Final next weekend.
Another former Vikings star will be getting a second chance this week.
Ime Udoka, who earned a year-long suspension this summer for getting involved in an improper office relationship, looks to be on the move.
Never likely to regain his seat in Boston after severely violating team policy, Udoka instead will head back to Brooklyn, where he was an assistant coach from 2020-21. He will take the reins of a dysfunctional roster mired in a handful of off-court incidents, led by star players Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons.
Udoka also has the chance to put his stamp on an ultra-talented team that has seemingly lacked motivation and cohesion in its three seasons under its current structure.
The men’s cross country team finished third in the Big Sky, with the women narrowly avoiding the podium as well, finishing fourth in a tough field.
PSU Soccer dropped its opening round game of the Big Sky Tournament, ending its season in a 3-0 loss to Montana.
The volleyball team is on a two-match losing streak for the first time since early September, dropping the Viks into a narrow half-game lead over Northern Colorado and Weber State for the top seed in the Big Sky with four matches to play.
The Viks get a chance to hold on to their advantage with a match at Montana State on Saturday before heading home for their final two home matches of the season. PSU beat the Bobcats 3-1 earlier this season.
The women’s basketball team got off to the start it would’ve hoped for, blasting Lewis & Clark, 91-37, behind 16 points from Mia ‘Uhila and 15 points from Rhema Ogele.
It was the sole exhibition game for the Viks, who will host Warner Pacific in the season opener on Monday night.
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Portland State won its second-straight Western Football Conference title on November 5, 1988, with a 49-0 victory over Cal Lutheran.
The Viks, piloted by head coach Pokey Allen, would make the NCAA Division II national championship game that year, falling to North Dakota State, 35-21.
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