Portland State

If football and Portland State area ever really going to go together, Saturday is one of the days that can make it happen.

Not only do the Vikings need to win, but they need to win before a crowd: even better, an inspired crowd.

Portland State plays host to No. 3 Montana State in its third game at Jeld-Wen Field with the Big Sky Conference lead at stake. Both teams have won their first two conference games, but head to Saturday with different agendas.

Montana State is working to successfully defend its conference title, and is on the way there having beaten defending national champion Eastern Washington two weeks ago. The Bobcats are 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Big Sky games with wins over the Eagles, 36-21, and then Sacramento State, 31-21, before 18,847 fans at Bobcat Stadium. Eastern Washington was picked to finish first, and Sacramento State, which won at Oregon State, was picked to finish fourth in the preseason conference media poll.

The Bobcats lost their opener at Utah of the Pac-10, 27-10.

After Saturday, Montana State’s big game is its regular season finale against in-state rival Montana, Nov. 19, on its home field.

PSU lost its game against Texas Christian of the FBS, 55-13, although the game was tied 3-3 until late in the first half. The Vikings have beaten Northern Arizona, picked for sixth in the preseason poll, and Idaho State, picked for ninth among the nine teams, by a combined total of nine points.

Saturday is a tremendous test for the team and second-year head coach Nigel Burton. It’s also a test for Portland and connection with its inner city university athletic department.

The Vikings, you’ll recall, went to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament recently – twice, but play in one of the nation’s smallest arenas, the Stott Center, which can hold around 1,500 people if they get cozy with one another. Only Sacramento State has an arena close in size to the Stott Center.

Football, though, is a different story. If Portland wants to, it can put the Vikings among the national leaders in attendance for FCS teams. The Vikings can help that happen simply by winning.

Saturday is the start of a very big run of games for the Viks. Following MSU, they play at Montana, which gets more than 25,000 fans for every home game, play host to a non-conference game with Willamette, then play at Eastern Washington. That’s the top three teams in the conference in a little more than three weeks.

Jeld-Wen Field has seen a remarkable level of energy this spring and summer thanks to the Portland Timbers and their Army of supporters. How the Vikings can get an army is a mystery the school’s athletic department has been unable to solve.

A big upset would be the first step.

So, Portland, if you’ve got an idea to maybe attend one PSU game this fall, make it Saturday. The Ducks play Thursday, so a trip to Eugene isn’t needed, and Oregon State is winless. PSU has a shot at something big, and tickets are plentiful and inexpensive - $15 for general admission ($8 for kids). That’s about 1/10th of the cost to get into a Ducks game, but it would have about 10 times the effect on the Vikings program.

Portland State won its Big Sky Conference opener in as dramatic fashion as it wanted when Northern Arizona missed a field goal with seven seconds left.

The Vikings, after a week off, got four touchdowns from senior back Cory McCaffrey and led 31-17 when the Lumberjacks stiffened on defense and scored on a pair of field goals and a touchdown with 3:03 left that gave them a chance to tie. They failed to complete a 2-point conversion pass.

PSU got a first down and ran the Lumberjacks out of timeouts, but punted with 1:01 left and NAU drove to attempt a 42-yard field goal with 13 seconds remaining. Kicker Matt Myers, who had hit three earlier field goals, including one from 48 yards that hit the crossbar and went through, hooked the kick left and the Vikings celebrated a second win to open the season.

Portland State (2-0, 1-0 Big Sky) plays at Texas Christian next week.

NAU dropped to 1-1, 0-1.

McCaffrey ran for four touchdowns and 220 yards on 30 carries, but limped off the field midway through the fourth quarter and did not return. Quarterback Connor Kavanaugh ran for 134 yards on 16 carries.

The Vikings outgained the Lumberjacks in total yards 427-402.

PORTLAND - Portland State did excatly what it should do every season against Southern Oregon and rolled to a 52-0 win in its season opener Saturday at Jeld-Wen Field.

Senior Cory McCaffery ran for three touchdowns and senior Connor Kavanaugh threw for a score and ran for one to lead the Vikings into a two-week break with an exciting start to coach Nigel Burton's season.

The Vikings, just 2-9 last season, finished with 597 total yards, while holding the Raiders of the NAIA's Cascade Conference to just 107 total yards.

Kavanaugh threw for just 48 yards, but completed 4 of 5 passes and also ran for 78 yards on four carries before giving way to former starter Drew Hubel, who returned after more than a year off.

Hubel completed 13 of 22 passes for 181 yards and a 21-yard touchdown to Justin Monahan that capped a 16-play, 95-yard drive and made the score 38-0 at the half before the sund-baked crowd of 4,953.

The Vikings play host to Northen Arizona in two weeks to open their Big Sky Conferenc schedule.

Southern Oregon, which averaged just 1.6 yards per offensive play, meets Willamette in a non-conference game next week.

Under a blue sky, with just the right about of heat and humidity present, the Portland State football team opened fall camp Sunday with the optimism that comes along with not having played a game yet.

Only a handful of players might have known when the FCS National Championship game will be played, but that's because the team has a more basic goal: win the Big Sky Conference title.

A Big Sky title would be the school's first and come with an automatic berth in the 16-team FCS Playoff bracket.

With a field full of optimism, second-year coach Nigel Burton guided his team through a relaxed and spirited practice that included 40 plays of 7-on-7, several of which were highlighted by spectacular catches.

"There's so much excitement, so much energy with all the guys running around, we love it," Burton said. "This is a great time."

Burton's second year might be a bigger challenge than his first, when the team went 2-9 - the fourth straight year PSU failed to win five games. Eastern Washington tied Montana State for the conference title, then won the national title over Delaware in a thrilling game in which it rallied from a 19-0 deficit in the third quarter for a 20-19 final score.

The Eagles were picked by conference coaches as the preseason favorite, with Montana State and perennial title contender Montana close behind.

PSU was picked seventh among the nine schools.

The Vikings open their schedule Sept. 3, at home against Southern Oregon, which plays an NAIA independent schedule, in their return to PGE Park, which is now Jeld-Wen Field. PSU played last season at Hillsboro Stadium while Jeld-Wen Field was renovated into the home field for the Portland Timbers.

The schedule also includes a trip to Ft. Worth, Texas, to play Texas Christian.

PSU's biggest asset this season is in its number of returning players - virtually all of the regular starters are back, including safety DeShawn Shead, a preseason all-conference pick for First-Team Defense.

The Vikings also have their top two quarterbacks from the past two seasons - Connor Kavanaugh and Drew Hubel, as well as top running back Cory McCaffrey.

"We had a great summer with so many of our guys here," Shead said. "Everyone was out here, working hard every day, looking at game films to learn from our mistakes."

Although they lost their final seven games last season to finish 2-9, the Vikings were highly competitive. In four of their final seven games, they lost by seven points or less.

Burton said he's happy with his team's focus being on the Big Sky title and a trip to the FCS playoffs, which would be only the second for the Vikings. Winning the Big Sky is a big deal in the FCS world.

"It's been proven during the history of the Big Sky," Burton said, "that if you win the conference you'll be in the national title game."

A year after reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time, the Portland State women’s basketball team is poised to reach the tournament again after capturing the Big Sky Conference regular season title.

Along with the title, the Vikings get to host the six-team conference tournament, which begins Thursday with two quarterfinal games.

PSU, which won the conference tournament last year despite being the No. 5 seed, plays a semifinal game Friday at 7:05 p.m. The title game is at 2:07 p.m. Saturday.

The Vikings were seeded No. 15 in the NCAA Tournament last year and lost to Texas A&M in the first round.

This year’s squad, which is 19-10 overall, again features Big Sky Player of the Year Eryn Jones, as well as Newcomer of the Year Courtney VanBrocklin. The Viks lost to BYU and Georgia Tech during the season, but have wins over the University of Portland and Loyola-Marymount of the West Coast Conference.

View our Flickr slideshow from the game here

On a night when infamous and oft-injured Trail Blazers center Greg Oden was in the house, it was Charles Odum who stole the show, scoring 10 quick points in a late game flurry to help lead the Portland State Vikings to a much needed win over the Montana State Bobcats Saturday night at the Stott Center.

Odum, the Viks’ leading scorer on the season, had contributed just four points to the cause heading into the game’s final eight and a half minutes. But with his team down 10, 53-43, the junior guard went into attack mode, knocking down consecutive three-pointers to cut the Montana State lead to 55-49 with 6:30 to play. Following another long-ball from teammate Melvin Jones to trim the Bobcat advantage to 57-52, Odum again went on a personal min-run, connecting on back-to-back slashing drives to the rim to diminish what had been a 10-point second half deficit down to just one with 3:50 remaining on the game clock.

“He’s such a competitive kid,” said PSU head coach Tyler Geving of Odum after the game. “I sometimes give him a hard time…because he’s so stubborn at times. But that’s what makes him good, because he’s a stubborn kid that’s gonna will his way to a win. He’s not gonna back down to anybody or take no for an answer.”

Odum would cool off, but his teammates would pick up the slack down the stretch thanks to stingy defense and heady senior play. With the contest tied at 59 a piece with 2:15 remaining, Jones — a senior point guard playing in his final game at the Stott Center — drove to the basket, was fouled and connected on two free throws. Following a stop by Portland State at the other end, Thomas would again put his head down and make his way into the paint, but this time he kicked out to senior center Phillip Thomas, who canned the medium range jumper to put Portland State up 63-59 with 54 seconds left and essentially seal the deal.

Thomas and Jones played well on senior night and finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively, while Odum once again topped all Portland State scorers with 16.

Before Odum caught fire, though, it looked like the Vikings would suffer yet another heartbreaking loss in a season that has been filled with injury and disappointment.

Portland State led 30-23 at halftime, but Montana State started off the second half on a 10-2 run to retake the lead and momentum. Danny Piepoli led the charge for the Bobcats, connecting on six of eight attempts in the second half — including three makes from behind the three-point arch — on his way to a team-high 19 points. But right after Piepoli swished his final three-pointer of the night to put his team up 10, Odum put on his hard hat, went to work and willed the Viks back into the game.

"We found a way to win and grind one out," added Geving. "Hopefully we can be a good team next year, and that’s what good teams do. I hope the guys coming back next year can remember that. You can find a way to win, even when you aren’t playing your best, and they did that tonight."

Portland State (13-15, 5-10 in conference) matched their win total of last season with two more road games remaining against Northern Arizona and Seattle. Montana State fell to 12-17 on the season, but remain one game ahead of the Vikings with a 6-9 conference record.

Portland State came into Thursday’s contest with Big Sky Conference leader Montana having lost six of its last eight games, and sporting a disappointing record of 12-14 on the season. But the Vikings showed that they weren‘t ready to throw in the towel on their season just yet, taking the 19-8 Grizzlies down to the wire at the Stott Center before eventually falling 85-84.

Montana led 47-35 at halftime, but the Viks wouldn’t go down without a fight. PSU began to creep up on Montana throughout the second half, getting as close as 72-69 on a Philip Thomas hook shot in the paint with less than five minutes to play. But when the Grizzlies mounted an 8-1 run to make it 80-70 with just 1:10 to play, it looked like it was time for the Vikings to grab a Gatorade and hit the locker room.

Anyone who left the Stott Center early, though, missed out on a frenetic finish highlighted by a nice lay up from Chehales Tapscott as he was fouled and a simply nasty follow dunk by Chris Harriel. But the capper was an inbounds pass steal that led to a three ball by little-used guard Alonzo Brandon to cut the deficit to 83-81 with just 9.3 seconds to go.

PSU would foul on the ensuing inbounds, and Montana would convert on both free throws to go up by four. Phil Nelson put the finishing touches on the scoreboard by flinging up a seemingly casual long ball from near mid-court that cut the deficit to just one point as the buzzer sounded.

Tapscott led the Vikings with an impressive performance, scoring a career high 28 points and snagging 7 rebounds, while Charles Odum contributed 17 points. Montana was led by Will Cherry with 24 points. Portland State will play their final home game of the season this Saturday against Montana State at 7:05 p.m.

TEMPE, Ariz. - Portland State took one on the chin in its season-opener losing to Arizona State, 54-9, on a 100-degree night at Sun Devil Stadium.

The Vikings got off to a good start, forcing Arizona State to a three-and-out on the Sun Devils' first possession. Then, starting quarterback Connor Kavanaugh drove PSU to a 42-yard field goal and a quick 3-0 lead.

ASU running back Cameron Marshall answered with a pair of long touchdown runs of 50 and 38 yards. The Sun Devils tacked on a safety and led 16-3 at the end of the first period.

Viking kicker Zach Brown kicked a career-long 53-yard field goal in the second period, pulling PSU within 16-6.

ASU added two more scores before halftime to take a 30-6 lead into the locker room. Marshall had just four carries in the first half, but they went for 104 yards and three touchdowns.

The Sun Devils defense, tops in the Pac-10 in 2009 and expected to be just as good this year, shut down the Vikings, allowing just 83 yards by halftime. Meanwhile ASU, ran up 341 yards of offense.

Following a quick ASU touchdown in the third period, Brown came back with another field goal - this time from 47 yards. It came after the Vikings' biggest play of the game, a 62-yard pass from Kavanaugh to Ray Fry.

But ASU's speed was too much on both sides of the ball as the Sun Devils eased to the win and ended a six-game losing streak.

Arizona State outgunned the Vikings 553-263 on offense as each team ran 66 plays. The Sun Devils had the element of the big play that the Vikings did not possess.

Kavanaugh completed 12-23 passes for 146 yards. Tygue Howland completed 6-14 passes for 63 yards and two interceptions.

The Vikings managed just 54 rushing yards against the Sun Devils speedy defense.

"We knew it was going to be a challenge," said Viking Coach Nigel Burton. "Arizona State has a great defense. They have got some guys.

"With a guy like Connor Kavanaugh, he is used to being able to escape the pocket. He can see a linebacker, shake him down and go. He wasn't able to pull away from these guys."

Brown's three field goals made him the star of the game as he now has made 21-28 in his 12-game Viking career.

Junior cornerback DeShawn Shead made six tackles, had two for losses and a sack. Sophomore linebacker Joel Sisler had an interception.

With all buzz going across the state about Oregon and Oregon State and Quizz and LaMichael, TCU and BSU, the PSU Vikings have just disappeared from the media radar.

But, they’ve got problems/drama, too, maybe even more that both the Ducks and Beavers because the Viks are inaugurating a new coach Saturday at Arizona State.

Payday game for their new coach, Nigel Burton. Payday game against a program in need of whomping on a smaller program to make a statement it’s a big-time program.

And the Viks get another one of those games two weeks later when they visit Autzen Stadium, the loudest stadium on the planet, to take on the No. 11 Ducks. Currently, I’ve got that game pegged at 70 for the Ducks, 0 for the Vikings. That’s because the state know’s nothing about how the PSU program is going to perform under Burton, who’s never been the head coach for a college game.

So, banter all you want about the Oregon and OSU games on Saturday – and I’ll be watching the Beavs’ game intently, but the Vikings are the real drama on Saturday. Can they actually win against the Sun Devils? Can they actually score against the Sun Devils. It’s the game with the most drama among all the programs in Oregon.

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On the first play of the Portland State spring game, linebacker Kevin Takeno charged through the offensive line and put a violent tackle on running back Kevin Watts, stopping him cold at the line of scrimmage. And with that, a tone had been set at Hillsboro Stadium - the temporary home for the team next season.