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GAME 1
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS vs. ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS
Saturday, September 4, 2010, 7 p.m. PT, Sun Devil Stadium (71,706), Tempe, AZ

TELEVISION: Fox Sports Arizona in Arizona, Not aired locally in Portland
RADIO: 970 AM KXFD, www.970.am
Pregame Show: 6 p.m. • Kickoff: 7 p.m. • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Analyst: Mike Lund
INTERNET: Live stats are available at www.thesundevils.com

THE SERIES RECORD
1st meeting between the schools

STREAKS
• Arizona State lost its last six games of 2009, including three in a row at home.
• The Vikings lost their last five games of 2009, including two in a row on the road.

STORYLINES
• Portland State is 2-25 all-time against NCAA I FBS teams. Last year, the Vikings lost at another Pac-10 school, Oregon State, 34-7. The Vikings have wins over Hawai'i of the WAC (2000) and New Mexico of the Mountain West Conference (2006).
• The Vikings are 0-8 all-time against Pac-10 programs (0-3 vs. Oregon, 0-3 vs. Oregon State, 0-1 vs. Washington State, 0-1 vs. California).
• The Vikings will open and close their 11-game regular season schedule in the state of Arizona, playing at Arizona State on Sept. 4, and Northern Arizona on Nov. 20.
• Dennis Erickson has coached against Portland State before, but you have to go all the way back to the early 1980s. Erickson was 4-0 against PSU while the Head Coach at Idaho from 1982-85. The Vikings played at the NCAA II level at that time. Idaho was a member of the Big Sky Conference.
• ASU wide receivers coach Steve Broussard was a running backs and wide receivers coach at Portland State from 2004-06 under Head Coach Tim Walsh.

VIKINGS OPEN NIGEL BURTON ERA AT ARIZONA STATE
The long wait will end for Viking football fans and for first-year Head Coach Nigel Burton when Portland State squares off with Arizona State in a non-conference game this Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in a game televised on Fox Sports Arizona  but not locally in Portland. Viking fans can hear the game on Freedom 970 AM or on the internet at www.970.am.

Burton, a former Viking assistant coach who had successful stops at Oregon State (2003-07) and Nevada (2008-09), has been rebuilding and preparing his program since taking over on the Park Blocks last December. The Vikings return 14 starters and 45 letterwinners from last year's team.

Portland State comes off a 2-9 season - its worst record since 1982 when the Vikings played at the NCAA II level. In fact, the Vikings had three straight losing seasons under previous Head Coach Jerry Glanville after having winning records in seven of the eight previous seasons (1999-2006) under former Coach Tim Walsh. Burton was a Walsh assistant in 2001-02 at PSU.

The season-opener at Arizona State is one of two games PSU will play against Pac-10 competition. It is the first time PSU and ASU have met and the ninth time PSU has faced a Pac-10 school. The Vikings, who have played Oregon, Oregon State, Cal and Washington State, are winless in the previous eight games.

Portland State plays three straight on the road in the month of September (Sept. 11 at UC Davis, Sept. 18 at Oregon) before opening at home on Oct. 2 against Idaho State. The Vikings will play eight straight Big Sky Conference games through late November to round out the regular season.
   
SCOUTING ARIZONA STATE
Arizona State comes off a 4-8 record in 2009, and is 9-15 over the past two years. This, after going 10-3 under Head Coach Dennis Erickson in his first season in Tempe in 2007.

The Sun Devils will attempt to upgrade their offense in 2010. While ASU's defense ranked 13th in the nation in 2009 (297.6 yards allowed per game), the offense ranked just 90th of 120 teams (334.4 yards per game). ASU ranked only 102nd in pass efficiency.

Arizona State returns 15 starters and 51 letterwinners from last year's team. The Sun Devil defense is expected to be talented once again.

Like Portland State, ASU has had a battle for the starting quarterback position in fall camp between last year's backups, Brock Osweiler and Samson Szakacsy, and University of Michigan transer Steven Threet.

Sophomore linebacker Vontaze Burfict is the top returning tackler on the squad with 69 tackles and seven tackles for loss. Burfict has been named to the Watch List for the Chuck Bednarik Award presented by the Maxwell Football Club honoring the top defensive player of the year.

GAME WEEK ACTIVITIES
VIKING MEDIA: All Portland State football games can be heard on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am. The Viking Pregame Show begins one hour prior to kickoff each week... Live streaming video of all Portland State home and Big Sky Conference games can be seen free at www.b2tv.com. Live stats for Portland State home games are at www.GoViks.com.
NIGEL BURTON WEEKLY ON 95.5 THE GAME: Viking football Coach Nigel Burton can be heard every Monday at 2 p.m. on 95.5 FM The Game. Burton will review and preview Viking football games.
TICKETS: Tickets for all home games can be purchased in prices ranging from $12 to $35, with youth prices as low as $6. Groups of 15 or more get special admission prices. To purchase tickets by phone, call 1.888.VIK.TIKS or 503.725.3307. Tickets are on sale at the PSU Ticket Office, located in Smith Memorial Student Union, 1825 SW Broadway. You can also purchase tickets on-line at www.GoViks.com or at all TicketMaster outlets. 

FACT, FIGURES AND CURIOSITIES
LET'S TURN THIS THING AROUND: Saturday's game is between a pair of programs in need of a win. Portland State and Arizona State enter the 2010 season opener having lost a combined 11 straight games. ASU has lost five in a row, while PSU has lost six in a row. The Sun Devils have lost three straight at home, but they were by a combined 10 points to Cal, USC and Arizona. The Vikings have lost two straight on the road, allowing a combined 88 points in the two games.

QUARTERBACK CENTRAL MEANS HEATED COMPETITION FOR PLAYING TIME: The Vikings had no less than seven quarterbacks on the roster at the start of fall camp. It will be intriguing to see who ends up with the playing time, and whether it is one player or quarterback-by-committee. The incumbent starter the past few seasons, SR Drew Hubel (6,358 yards, 42 TDs in his career), is always at the top of the list, but had off-season surgery on his knee following an injury last season. His health will have a huge impact on who will play in 2010. That said, he has a stronger arm, but is not nearly as mobile as his 2009 backup - and close friend - JR Connor Kavanaugh. A mobile quarterback seems to be the tenet of The Pistol offense, and Kavanaugh showed that ability (398 rushing yards in a backup role and two starts) in 2009... meanwhile, SR Tygue Howland, who was the opening game starter in 2007 and 2008, is back with a sixth year of eligibility following a series of season-ending injuries during his career - including a torn ACL in July 2009. Howland looked good in the spring game, has perhaps the program's strongest arm, and is athletic for a big man... another quarterback with good throwing ability is JR Justin Engstrom, who started the 2009 season finale, and has skills and size similar to Hubel... going into the week leading up to the Arizona State game, Kavanaugh, Howland and Hubel were still competing to start... SO Nick Green thinned the ranks at QB a bit when he made the move to safety during fall camp. He will see playing time at that position... FR Chad Dashnaw joined the Viking program in time for spring football. He has excellent size and played in a high school program that had a similar offense to the Pistol... FR Josh Milhollin was one of the state of Oregon's most talented athletes in football and track. He joined the Vikings for preaseason camp.

QB Games/Starts    06      07     08       09    Total     Notes
Drew Hubel                -       6/4    10/8    8/8    24/20    missed 3 games with injuries in 09
Tygue Howland         2/0     1/1     7/3    0/0    10/4      RS in 05, injured in 3rd game in 06, 1st game in 07, preseason in 09
Connor Kavanaugh    -        RS    2/0     9/2    11/2      played all 11 in 09 including holder
Justin Engstrom         -          -         -      5/1    5/1        transfer from OSU prior to 09

GREEN MOVE: One move of interest during fall camp was Nick Green from quarterback to safety. Green, a sophomore from Central Catholic High School, was one of a host of players competing for time at quarterback. A talented athlete, he was moved to safety to improve the depth at a position with little experience entering the 2010 season. The move should get Green more opportunity for playing time, while four returners and two freshmen continue to compete at the quarterback spot... “He was probably not in the top three quarterbacks,” said Burton. “So, when you have an athlete standing on the sideline you find a way to help him help the team. Nick is a sharp guy. He is not afraid of contact. It was a no-brainer; (Nick was) probably the fourth or fifth quarterback, or he could be the second safety - today. He moved up just by switching. And he has a chance to fight to start because of his athleticism.”

BACK WHERE HE BELONGS: Junior Cory McCaffrey has made the move from wide receiver to running back this year, and has the inside track to start against Arizona State. The move is not unusual when you look at McCaffrey's background. In three seasons at Sisters (OR) High School, he rushed for 8,460 yards.  As a senior in 2007, he he rambled for a state record 2,925 rushing yards and 46 touchdowns. McCaffrey was a two-time state Player of the Year at the 4A level. But, when he came to PSU in 2008, former coach Jerry Glanville moved him to slot receiver. He didn't see much action, playing briefly in 10 games over the last two seasons. McCaffrey had three total receptions. When Nigel Burton was hired last December, one of his first moves with the existing team was to return McCaffrey to the backfield. Now, McCaffrey figures to have a big impact on the running game in the Vikings' Pistol offense.

AGE AND EXPERIENCE: As of Monday of game week, the Portland State depth chart projects six senior starters, 11 juniors, five sophomores and one freshmen (with a sophomore kicker and punter)... the two-deep includes nine seniors, 16 juniors, 14 sophomores and five freshmen.

TRANSFER TIME: It is always interesting to see how players transition when moving from a NCAA FBS program to an FCS program. In 2010, Portland State has some of those transfer coming into positions of need at cornerback and running back; JR CB David Ross (Oregon State) and JR RB Willie Griffin (Washington). Ross was actually recruited to Oregon State by Nigel Burton when the Viking Head Coach was a secondary coach for the Beavers. Ross saw limited action with the Beavers, but comes to a position lacking depth on the Viking roster. Griffin played two years at Washington, carrying 66 times for 230 yards. He comes to a Viking program that is putting renewed emphasis on the running game through the Pistol offense and has only one returner with significant playing time returning (SO Ben Bowen)... other FBS transfers include SO WR Martin Bayless (Northwestern), JR OL Scott Shugert (Washington)... previous FBS transfers who have come in to play important roles for the Vikings include SR WR Ray Fry (Idaho), JR DE Carl Sommer (Oregon State), and JR QB Justin Engstrom (Oregon State).

BROWN GIVEN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA, ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS: Portland State kicker Zach Brown has been named to the Big Sky Conference preseason All-Conference team as voted on by league media. He has also been named second team preseason All-America by The Sports Network - the main news-gathering source and award sponsor for the FCS - and by the College Sporting News... Brown, a sophomore, comes off a freshman year (2009) in which he earned second team All-Big Sky honors. He is one of just two sophomores named to the preseason Big Sky team. He is one of four sophomores named to the first, second and third-team All-America list by the Sports Network.... from Keizer's McNary High School, Brown made a school-record 18 of 25 field goals in 2009, ranking sixth in the nation with 1.64 field goals made per game. During the season, Brown made two field goals from 50+ yards, and three of his seven misses were from 52 yards or more. He was also perfect on extra points making 21 of 21... Brown was named one of the top ten returning specialists (kicker/punter/returner) in all of the NCAA I Football Championship Subdivision by the Sports Network.

FROM THE HARDWOOD TO THE GRIDIRON: SR TE Julius Thomas is familiar to Viking fans for a different reason - he starred on the Viking basketball team for four seasons. Thomas, at 6-5 and a beefed-up 240-pounds, set basketball school records for career games played (121), career wins (78), and career field goal percentage (.663). He also participated on two Big Sky Champion teams and in two NCAA Tournaments (2008 and 2009). Thomas averaged 10.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and and shot a school-record .671 from the field as a senior... since athletes competing at the NCAA level have five years to complete their eligibility, Thomas (who has graduated) elected to go out for spring football. He so impressed the coaching staff that he figures to play an important role in 2010. A native of Stockton, CA, Thomas only football experience is as a freshman at Tokay High School (2002).

LOOKING FOR IMPROVEMENT: After a 2-9 season there are always several places to point a finger for improvement. The most obvious come in the areas of possession and efficiency. With that in mind, the Vikings can go a long way toward turning things around by improving their turnover ratio and red zone success. Portland State had a -20 turnover ratio in 2009, with 34 turnovers and 14 takeaways. The -1.82 turnover ratio per game ranked last in the nation among 118 teams at the NCAA I FCS level... the Vikings converted just 11 of 29 red zone opportunities into touchdowns (a poor 38% - opponents converted 64%). The Vikings did convert 10 of those opportunities into field goals... PSU's pass defense allowed 280.9 yards per game, ranking 117th in the nation. PSU also gave up school records of 3,090 passing yards and 28 passing touchdowns... the scoring defense was 111th in the nation (33.8 points allowed per game).

GOOD STARTS: Two Vikings enter the season-opener having started every game for the past two seasons. They are SR DT Travis Beckley and JR CB Deshawn Shead with 22 straight starts... Beckley and SR TE Rory Richards lead the team with 33 career games played. SR QB Drew Hubel (24 games) is next on the list.

INFLUENTIAL? HE CERTAINLY CAN BE: New Portland State Football Head Coach Nigel Burton was recently named the 25th Most Influential Person on the state of Oregon sports scene by Oregonian columnist John Canzano. (The top of the list? No surprise: Portland Trail Blazers billionaire owner Paul Allen, and Nike mogul Phil Knight). So, how does Burton get on the list without having coached a game yet at Portland State? He has the unique opportunity to turn around a program that has won just nine games in the last three seasons and comes off its poorest mark (2-9) in 28 years. If he can do that, Burton can create a huge buzz for the football program at the state's largest institution of higher education (28,000 students) located in Oregon's major metropolitan area (more the 2.1 million people) as it heads back to a newly remodeled PGE Park in 2011.

BACK IN GREEN: The Viking football team will have a new look, which is actually an old look, but better represents Portland State Athletics. PSU has new uniforms which include green as the dominant color once again. Gone are the all black uniforms of the past three seasons. In 2010, the Vikings will have varying combinations of green, white and black as in years past.

NEW COACHES ARRIVE: Portland State football added three new assistants over the summer... Mark Ka'anapu has taken over as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator. Ka'anapu came from a head coaching position at Merced JC, and was also a head coach at Menlo College... former Southern Oregon Defensive Coordinator John Ely is now the Special Teams Coordinator for the Vikings. Ely has had stints at Western Washington, Washington State, San Diego State and Idaho State... former Oregon State star and NFL Super Bowl Champion Richard Seigler has been named assistant defensive line coach.

A LITTLE GIVE BACK: Portland State Football hosted a free youth football clinic on Aug. 23 at Stott Community Field. The Vikings used their off-day to host approximately 100 area youth players and teach them basic football skills. The free youth clinic was part of the “Our Town, Your Team” program that PSU has undertaken in 2010-11 to engage student-athletes with the Portland community. Details on “Our Town, Your Team” can be found at www.GoViks.com.