Complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (3-2, 2-1) vs. #14 MONTANA GRIZZLIES (4-2, 3-1)
Game 6 • Saturday, October 15, 2011 • 12:05 p.m. PT, Washington-Grizzly Stadium (25,217), Missoula, MT

TELEVISION: Comcast SportsNet (channel 37/HD 737) in Portland (Live feed from KPAX TV of Montana)
RADIO: Freedom 970 AM, www.970.am • Pregame Show: 11 a.m. PT • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Analyst: Mike Lund
INTERNET: Live stats are available at www.GoViks.com. Live video stream with radio broadcast at www.b2tv.com
 
THE SERIES RECORD
All-Time Series: Montana leads 27-11 • Montana leads in Portland 12-8 • Montana leads in Missoula 15-3
Big Sky Series: Montana leads 13-2 • Montana leads 7-0 in Missoula • Montana leads 6-2 in Portland

Big Sky Conference games
Nov. 9, 1996: UM 63-6 @ Missoula
Nov. 8, 1997: UM 37-7 @ Portland
Oct. 3, 1998: UM 20-17 @ Missoula
Oct. 2, 1999: PSU 51-48 @ Portland (OT)
Oct. 28, 2000: UM 33-21 @ Portland
Oct. 27, 2001: UM 33-13 @ Missoula
Oct. 26, 2002: UM 24-21 @ Portland
Oct. 25, 2003: UM 42-14 @ Missoula
Oct. 30, 2004: PSU 35-32 @ Portland
Oct. 29, 2005: UM 37-16 @ Missoula
Sept. 30, 2006: UM 26-20 @ Portland
Nov. 3, 2007: UM 34-31 @ Missoula
Nov. 8, 2008: UM 29-12 @ Portland
Sept. 19, 2009: UM 49-17 @ Missoula
Oct. 16, 2010: UM 23-21 @ Portland

STREAKS
• Montana has won six in a row, 10 of 11, and 13 of15 in the Big Sky series.
• PSU has lost eight straight in Missoula, dating back to 1989.
• JR K Zach Brown has made a school-record 13 consecutive field goals dating to last season.
• SR SS DeShawn Shead has made 38 straight starts.

LAST YEAR: MONTANA 23, PORTLAND STATE 21
Brody McKnight hit a 25-yard field goal on the final play of the game giving Montana a 23-21 victory at Hillsboro Stadium. That nullified an upset bid by the Vikings, who had taken a 21-20 lead on a Cory McCaffrey touchdown with 2:34 left to play. Safety Manoa Latu had made an interception on the PSU 3 at the 7:55 mark. Then, quarterback Connor Kavanaugh led an 11-play, 97-yard drive culminating in McCaffrey's TD. Montana responded with an 11-play 54-yard march, aided by three timeouts, to set up the winning kick. PSU held Montana to 295 total yards in the game. PSU had 342 yards, including 277 on the ground as both McCaffrey and Connor Kavanaugh hit the 100-yard mark. PSU's downfall was four fumbles in the second half that led to 13 Montana points.

STORYLINES
• Grizzlies Head Coach Robin Pflugrad is a former Viking who played wide receiver for Mouse Davis in 1978-79. Pflugrad served as a PSU graduate assistant in 1980.
• PSU has beaten Montana just twice in its 15 seasons as a member of the Big Sky Conference. Both wins have come at JELD-WEN Field (1999 and 2004).
• Montana's 12-year streak of winning outright or sharing the conference title ended last season. Still, UM has been in on 15 of the last 18 Big Sky Championships.
• The Grizzlies have been nationally-ranked every season the Vikings have played them in Big Sky competition. The Vikings were nationally-ranked four times.

VIKINGS SEEK FIRST-EVER BIG SKY WIN IN MISSOULA
Portland State travels to the University of Montana this Saturday to face its second straight nationally-ranked opponent in a Big Sky Conference matchup. The Vikings and 14th-ranked Grizzlies will meet in a 12:05 p.m. PT game at Washington-Grizzly Stadium as PSU seeks a first-ever Big Sky win in Missoula.
    
The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet (ch. 37/HD 737) as CSN will pick up the KPAX of Montana feed. (Other metro-area TV affiliates aside from Comcast are: Beavercreek Cooperative Telephone SD 38/HD 638; Canby Telcom SD 33/HD 733; Oregon Cable Group SD 53/HD 753; Frontier Communications SD 77/HD 577; Wave Broadband SD 37or 45(depending upon location)/HD 737.) It will also air on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am. The pregame show begins at 11 a.m.
    
The Vikings, at 2-1 in league play, are tied for third with Weber State. PSU is 3-2 overall. Montana stands in second place in the Big Sky at 3-1, 4-2 overall.  
    
Portland State gave third-ranked Montana State all it could handle last Saturday at JELD-WEN Field, falling to the Bobcats, 38-36. The Vikings scored with 2:52 remaining in the game and attempted a tieing two-point conversion. But quarterback Connor Kavanaugh was stopped a yard short and MSU was able to hold on for the win.
    
Montana comes off a 33-0 whitewashing of Idaho State last Saturday in Pocatello. The Griz are 3-0 at home this year. Montana has never lost a Big Sky game to the Vikings in Missoula (7-0). The closest PSU has come are a pair of three-point losses (20-17 in 1998, and 34-31 in 2007). The Vikings have lost eight in a row in Missoula dating to 1989.
    
This week's game continues a very tough stretch for the Vikings that includes Big Sky opponents Montana State, Montana, Eastern Washington and Sacramento State.    

SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES
In 2010, Montana DID NOT win a share of the Big Sky Championship for the first time since 1997. But the Griz did finish 7-4, 5-3 in the league play under first-year head coach Robin Pflugrad. This season, Pflugrad has Montana at 4-2 overall and ranked 14th in the nation.
    
In league play, the Grizzlies have wins over Eastern Washington, Northern Colorado and Idaho State with a loss to Sacramento State.
    
Montana averages 381 yards of offense per game, nearly evenly split between the run and pass.
    
Four players have over 200 yards rushing for the Griz, but the top back has just 230 yards. Running back Peter Nguyen (230) and quarterback Jordan Johnson (227) are the top ground-gainers while Dan Moore has the most carries (72 for 218 yards) and most touchdowns (5).
    
Johnson is averaging 176.4 passing yards per game. He has completed 81-143 passes for 882 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions.
    
Junior wideout Sam Gratton has 14 catches for 139 yards. Jabin Sambrano (13-219-2) and Antwon Moutra (13-216-2), the other two starting receivers, have virtually the same statistics. Sambrano is also a dangerous punt (15.9 avg, 1 TD) and kick (21.0 avg, 1 TD) returner. He averages nearly 161 all-purpose yards per game.
    
Brody McKnight is a valuable double-duty man on special teams, averaging 45.2 yards per punt and kicking seven field goals this year.
    
The Montana defense ranks second in the league, allowing just 334 yards per game. Linebacker Caleb McSurdy has a team-high 67 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Defensive end Ryan Fetherston has a team-best three sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss. With two interceptions and a fumble recovery, safety Mike McCord has a team-best three takeaways.
    
While Portland State has been the most-penalized team in the league this season (61-599), Montana has been the least-penalized (32-268).

VIKINGS VS. NATIONALLY-RANKED TEAMS
Montana is Portland State's third nationally-ranked opponent of the 2011 season. PSU lost an earlier matchup with 20th-ranked (FBS) TCU. Since joining the Big Sky and Division I in 1996, PSU is 14-28 all-time against nationally-ranked FCS teams, 14-34 against all Division I nationally-ranked teams. Other notes:

• PSU is 4-16 on the road against nationally-ranked FCS opponents.
• PSU has lost 11 straight games to nationally-ranked teams (FCS or FBS).
• PSU is 2-13 against Montana when the Grizzlies have been nationally-ranked (every season the teams have met since PSU joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996).
• The Vikings have been nationally-ranked four times when they have played the nationally-ranked Grizzlies. PSU is 0-4 in those games, including 0-1 in Missoula.

GAME WEEK ACTIVITIES
VIKINGS ON THE RADIO: 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... Tom Hewitt (play-by-play) and Mike Lund (analyst) call the action.
VIKINGS ON TELEVISION: Portland State and Comcast SportsNet have teamed up to present a minimum of four Viking football games during the 2011 season. The Vikings can be seen on CSN on Sept. 3 vs. Southern Oregon, Sept. 17 vs. Northern Arizona, Oct. 8 vs. Montana State, and Oct. 15 at Montana. There is a possibility that additional Viking games will be televised on CSN and will be determined later in the season... veteran broadcasters Bob Akamian and Rashad Floyd will be on the call for the first two games. Games against Montana State (Max Media) and Montana (KPAX) will be shared feeds produced by the opponents' television partners... Comcast SportsNet is available in the Portland area on Comcast cable systems, channel 37/HD 737. Other metro-area affiliates aside from Comcast are: Beavercreek Cooperative Telephone SD 38/HD 638; Canby Telcom SD 33/HD 733; Oregon Cable Group SD 53/HD 753; Frontier Communications SD 77/HD 577; Wave Broadband SD 37or 45(depending upon location)/HD 737.
VIKINGS ON THE INTERNET: 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 750 AM THE GAME: Viking football Coach Nigel Burton can be heard every Monday at 1:30 p.m. on the Dave Smith Show on 750 AM The Game. Burton will review and preview Viking football games.

McCAFFREY REMAINS NATION'S LEADER IN RUSHING, SCORING
Senior running back Cory McCaffrey had another big day against Montana State on Saturday. As a result, he remains atop the nation's rushing chart with an average of 157.0 yards per game. He also leads the nation in scoring with 18.0 points per game (12 touchdowns in four games played).
    
McCaffrey rushed 21 times for 119 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-36 loss to the third-ranked Bobcats. He also caught a career-high seven passes for 41 yards as the Vikings came a late two-point conversion attempt from sending the game into overtime.
    
For the season, the Sisters (OR) High School product has 97 carries for 628 yards and 12 scores. He averages 6.5 yards per carry. McCaffrey has rushed for 100 or more yards in 10 of the 11 Big Sky Conference games in which he has been the Vikings' feature back. The only time he has missed the number was the 2010 season finale against Northern Arizona when he left the game in the first period with an injury.
    
As a team, Portland State ranks third in the nation in rushing with 292.8 yards per game. PSU is 11th in total offense (439.4) and 12th in scoring (34.8). The Vikings lead the Big Sky in rushing and scoring.
    
Quarterback Connor Kavanaugh ranks 21st in the nation and third in the Big Sky in rushing at 103.8 yards per game. Kavanaugh has also broken his own PSU record for quarterback rushing in a season. The senior from Lincoln (OR) High School has 57 carries for 519 yards (9.1 pc) and five scores. Last year, he set a PSU QB record with 506 rushing yards.

FACTS, FIGURES AND CURIOSITIES
WINS AND LOSSES: Portland State's loss to Montana State was its' sixth straight to the Bobcats. It also ended a two-game Big Sky Conference winning streak... the Vikings are 2-1 at home, 1-1 on the road and now have more wins (3) than each of the last two years (2-9)... PSU is 53-30 in home games since moving to the NCAA I level, 26-61 on the road... PSU is 52-66 all-time in Big Sky Conference games in its' 16th season as a member. The Vikings are 33-27 at home, 19-39 on the road in BSC games.

OREGONIAN OFFENSE: Portland State started eight players on offense from the state of Oregon against Montana State... They were: Dustin Waldron (Pleasant Hill), Kyle Ritt (Aloha), Adam Kleffner (Portland/Jesuit), Mitch Gaulke (West Linn), Connor Kavanaugh (Portland/Lincoln), Justin Monahan (West Linn), Nevin Lewis (Culver) and SR RB Cory McCaffrey (Sisters). In all, Portland State has 35 Oregonians on its roster.

THE DYNAMIC DUO: The dynamic duo of SR RB Cory McCaffrey and SR QB Connor Kavanaugh have been shredding Big Sky Conference defenses when they play together... They combined for an impressive 194 yards against Montana State, although they came up short of another 100-100 game against a Big Sky opponent... in five of the eight Big Sky Conference games that Kavanaugh and McCaffrey have started together over the last two years, each has run for at least 100 yards. In one of the other three games (vs. Eastern Washington last year), Kavanaugh went out with a broken hand in the first period. If you throw out the EWU game, in the other seven that both have been healthy, they have combined for 2,026 yards and 23 touchdowns. That is an average of 289.4 yards and 3.3 touchdowns per game. Apparently, the Pistol offense works... McCaffrey is just the fourth Viking in history with at least three 200-yard rushing games (there have been 27 200-yard games)... with 1,915 rushing yards the past two seasons, McCaffrey is about to climb into PSU's all-time top 10 for career rushing. He ranks ninth all-time with 22 career rushing touchdowns... the only time McCaffrey has failed to rush for 100 yards in a Big Sky game was last year at NAU when he went out with injury in the first period... with 1,423 career rushing yards, Kavanaugh is PSU's all-time quarterback rusher. His 506 yards last season were a school record for a quarterback. He broke that mark on Saturday and now has 519 yards this season.

SOME VERY SPECIAL TEAMS: New Special Teams Coordinator Stacy Collins might be the Viking coaching staff's “Coach of the Year” so far this season. His special teams have been terrific through the first five games. No more so than last Saturday against Montana State when the Vikings blocked two punts, one field goal, and recovered a late pooch kickoff giving the Vikings a chance to tie the game in the closing moments.  
• With six total blocks (four punt, two FG), PSU is tied with Drake, Dartmouth and North Dakota for the most in the nation at the FCS level.
• The Vikings had gone five years without a punt block, but now have four this season. JR WR Nevin Lewis has two blocked punts, JR LB Dionte Brooks and FR TE Taylor Martinek have one each... Lewis also made a tackle for loss on a fake punt in the first game.
• The Vikings hadn't blocked a field goal in two years, but now have two in 2011, both by GR DT Myles Wade. Wade's block in the closing moments against Northern Arizona allowed the Vikings to hang on for the win. He also had one against Montana State.
• The Vikings' JR K Zach Brown is working on a string of 13 straight field goals made, including 7-7 this season. That is a new Portland State record and also extends his career field goal record to 43.
• The Vikings benefitted from a high snap on a punt attempt in the fourth period at Idaho State. FR WR Ronnie Simmons ran down the ISU punter for a 23-yard loss. The Vikings took over and two plays later SR RB Cory McCaffrey scored the game-winning touchdown.
• PSU's kick return team averages 23.3 per return this season. Lewis (26.6) and SR FS DeShawn Shead (24.1) lead the way in that department.
• Lewis and Wade have each earned Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors this season.

FLAGS, RAGS AND OTHER FLYING YELLOW OBJECTS: Portland State has had two rough weeks with the officials. The Vikings have been penalized 36 times for 360 yards in the two games. PSU had to overcome itself as much as anything to pick up a 42-35 win at Idaho State. The Vikings commited 21 penalties for 209 yards in the game. The 21 flags was a new Big Sky Conference record and two shy of the NCAA I FCS record... in last Saturday's 38-36 loss, 15 penalties for 151 yards played a major role.

RELYIN' ON RYAN: SR LB Ryan Rau continues to lead the Viking defense. He has been the team-leader in tackles in four of five games and has a team-high 47 this year... Rau made 11 stops, two tackles for loss and a sack against Montana State... Rau passed 200 career tackles against TCU and now has 224 in his career... Rau made two big plays in the second half of the win over Northern Arizona. Early in the third period, following a PSU fumble, NAU had driven to the Viking 27-yard line. Rau blitzed and sacked NAU QB Cary Grossart for a 17-yard loss and the 'Jacks eventually had to settle for a field goal... midway through the third period, the 'Jacks had driven to the Viking 41-yard line and were looking for a tieing score. Rau forced a Giovannie Dixon fumble that was recovered by JR LB Joel Sisler to snuff out the drive... Rau tied his career-high with 12 tackles against NAU.

BALANCE IT OUT: PSU has been so good at running the ball, it has been almost unneccesary to pass. But, the Vikings know in the long term they will need to be effective with the pass. So far this year, PSU has run the ball 244 times and passed 118 times. That is a  67/33 run/pass ratio. Last year, it was a 59/41 ratio for the Vikings... the Vikings are averaging 146 yards passing per game on 23 attempts and 13 completions per game.

PLAYING LIKE SAMSON: The long flowing locks on JR WR Justin Monahan are reminiscent of the mighty Samson (although most on the team call him “Twilight” for his resemblance to a certain vampire in a famous movie/book series). Monahan played like Samson at TCU, totaling career-highs of nine receptions for 109 yards. His fourth-and-two catch at the TCU one-yard line in the fourth period kept a drive alive and led to a FR RB Shaquille Richard touchdown run... for the season, Monahan has caught nearly one-third of the Vikings' receptions. He has a team-leading 20 catches for 267 yards and one touchdown.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Portland State was last in the Big Sky Conference in 2010 in rushing defense, allowing around 230 yards per game on the ground. Included were 391 rushing yards by Northern Arizona in the 2010 season finale. On Sept 17, PSU held NAU - playing the same two feature backs as last season - to just 79 rushing yards... this year, through five games, PSU is allowing a respectable 118.4  yards on the ground (and 240.2 through the air). The 358.6 yards allowed per game so far is down more than 100 yards from 464.1 last year.

LED BY SHEAD: SR SS DeShawn Shead started his 38th straight game against Montana State. He is the only Viking to start and play in all 38 games over the last four seasons.

ZACH BROWN AND HIS LEG OF RENOWN: JR K Zach Brown hit field goals of 21, 28, and 47 yards against Montana State extending his consecutive FG made streak to 13 - a school record. He is now 7-7 kicking this season and has a PSU career record total of 43 field goals. Brown has made 13-14 extra points for 34 total points... with 188 career points he now ranks 10th on the PSU career scoring list... at 43-58 on career field goals, Brown's .741 mark is a PSU record as well.

ZACH BROWN's PORTLAND STATE KICKING RECORDS
Field Goals, Season: 18, twice (2009, 2010)
Field Goals, Career: 43
Field Goals, Consecutive: 13 (current)
Field Goal Percentage: 43-58, .741
Field Goals, 50+ yards, Career: 4
PATs, Consecutive: 44 (tied)

NEW ATTITUDE AT HOME: Portland State hopes to bring a new attitude to JELD-WEN Field. After going 35-9 at home over Tim Walsh's final eight seasons, 1999-2006 (including two 5-0 marks), the Vikings were just 7-13 at home the last four years (which includes 1-3 at Hillsboro Stadium in 2010). The Vikings have started their six-game home schedule 2-1... Head Coach Nigel Burton now has a 3-4 home record.

INTEREST GROWS: Portland State has a ways to go to fill 18,627-seat JELD-WEN Field, but Saturday's game was a big improvement as a crowd of 9,054 attended. That was the largest PSU home attendance in 15 home games dating to the 2008 season (12,071 vs. Montana on Nov. 8, 2008). The crowd total was an improvement of more than 3,500 over the Northern Arizona game. PSU has three home dates remaining (Oct. 22 vs. Willamette, Nov. 5 vs. Sacramento State and Nov. 19 vs. Weber State).

THE VIKINGS RECORD ON TV: Since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996, Portland State has appeared on television locally in Portland 39 times. PSU is 16-23 in those games, 10-8 at home, 6-15 on the road... the Vikings broke an 11-game TV losing streak with the win over Southern Oregon. PSU is now 2-1 this season on TV.?

CAREER AND MILESTONE WATCH: Here is a look at the active leaders in respective stats for the Vikings (and their all-time PSU ranking where applicable):

Games Played: DeShawn Shead, 2008-11, 38; Ryan Rau, 2008-11, 37; Braedyn Eagle, 2008-11, 37
Games Started: DeShawn Shead, 2008-11, 38 (consecutive); Zach Brown, 2009-11, 27
Receptions: Justin Monahan, 2010-11, 50; Cory McCaffrey, 2008-11, 29; Keitrell Anderson, 2009-11, 19
Receiving Yards: Justin Monahan, 2010-11, 636; Keitrell Anderson, 2009-11, 251; Cory McCaffrey, 2008-11, 203
Rushing Yards: Cory McCaffrey, 2008-11, 1,915 yards; Connor Kavanaugh, 2008-11, 1,423 yards
Passing Yards/TDs: Drew Hubel, 2007-11, 6,612 yards (4th all-time)/43 TDs (6th all-time);
    Connor Kavanaugh, 2008-11, 2,007 yards/9 TDs
Tackles: Ryan Rau, 2008-11, 224; DeShawn Shead, 2008-11, 171
Tackles For Loss: Ryan Rau, 2008-11, 16.5; Carl Sommer, 2009-11, 11; DeShawn Shead, 2008-11, 9.5
Sacks: Ryan Rau, 2008-11, 6; Julious Moore, 2010-11, 4.5
Interceptions: DeShawn Shead, 2008-11, 9
Pass Breakups: DeShawn Shead, 2008-11, 26
Field Goals: Zach Brown, 2009-11, 43 (1st all-time)