Complete notes in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (1-1) vs. WASHINGTON HUSKIES (1-1)
Game 3 • Saturday, September 15, 2012 • 1 p.m. • CenturyLink Field (67,000), Seattle, WA

TELEVISION: FX  (Nationally televised)
Play-by-play: Craig Bolerjack • Analyst: Joel Klatt • Sidelines: Petros Papadakis
RADIO: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com
Pregame Show: Noon • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Analyst: Mike Lund
INTERNET: Live stats: http://www.gohuskies.com/gametracker/universe/
 
THE SERIES RECORD: 1st meeting

STREAKS
• Portland State is 0-10 against Pac-12 schools and has lost eight straight to FBS schools overall.
• PSU has scored over 30 points in its last three contests and 29 or more in 11 of 13 games since the start of 2011.
• Washington has won its last two home games (21-12 vs. San Diego State, 38-21 vs. Washington State in 2011).
• SR OL Kyle Ritt has played in 35 straight games. Ritt has started 34, including the last 31.

IT CAN HAPPEN
It doesn't happen often, but so far this season the Big Sky Conference has three wins over FBS teams. Eastern Washington has beaten Idaho, 20-3, and Northern Arizona has beaten UNLV, 17-14. For the second year in a row Sacramento State has beaten a Pac-12 team with a 30-28 win over Colorado on Saturday (last year the Hornets defeated Oregon State).

STORYLINES
• While the University of Washington is the third-closest football-playing Division I school to Portland State (Oregon State and Oregon are closer), PSU faces the Huskies for the first time in history. The Vikings are 2-27 all-time against NCAA I FBS programs. PSU is 0-10 all-time against members of the Pac-12 (0-1 vs. Arizona State, 0-1 vs. Cal, 0-4 vs Oregon, 0-3 vs. Oregon State, 0-1 vs. Washington State). PSU's FBS wins came over Hawai'i (45-20) on Sept. 9, 2000 and New Mexico (17-6) on Sept. 2, 2006.
• The Vikings will face the Huskies in a nationally-televised broadcast on FX. It is believed to be the first time the Vikings have appeared in a nationally televised since playing in the NCAA II National Championship in 1988 (ESPN).
• Portland State Head Coach Nigel Burton is a University of Washington alum, playing under Jim Lambright (1996-98). Linebacker Coach Lester Towns (1995-99) and Special Teams/Defensive Tackles Coach Ikaika Malloe (1992-95) also are Washington alums.
• Washington Offensive Coordinator Eric Kiesau played college football at Portland State. He lettered with the Vikings in 1995 and 1996 and was the Vikings starting quarterback as a senior.
• Portland State has played at CenturyLink Field one other time. It was a Halloween horror show as the Vikings lost to Eastern Washington, 47-10, on Oct. 31, 2009 under Coach Jerry Glanville.

VIKINGS TRAVEL AGAIN TO FIRST MEETING WITH WASHINGTON
The Portland State Vikings and Washington Huskies will meet for the first time in history this Saturday when the Vikings travel to CenturyLink Field in Seattle. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. in a nationally-televsied game on FX. It also airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. The pregame radio show begins at Noon.
    
Both teams come into the game off road losses. The Vikings fell, 45-37, at North Dakota last Saturday and are 1-1. Also 1-1, the Huskies come off a 42-3 loss at third-ranked LSU.
    
Though less than 200 miles apart along the I-5 corridor, the two universities have never met in football. The main reason is they have competed in separate competitive divisions throughout their histories. Washington is an FBS member of the Pac-12 Conference while the Vikings are an FCS member of the Big Sky Conference. The game is being played at the home of the Seattle Seahawks (CenturyLink) while Husky Stadium undergoes a remodel.
    
Viking Head Coach Nigel Burton will face his alma mater for the first time. Burton was a Husky safety from 1996-98 under then coach Jim Lambright. Other former Huskies include Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Tackles Coach Ikaika Malloe, and Linebackers Coach Lester Towns.
    
Portland State faces the sixth different Pac-12 team in its history. The Vikings are 0-10 all-time against Pac-12 teams. Overall, the Vikings are 2-28 against FBS opponents, including losses in their last eight. Burton is 0-3 against FBS opponents.    
    
The Vikings rolled up 515 yards of offense against North Dakota in last week's loss. However, a couple of turnovers, missed defensive assignments, a dozen penalties and three blocked kicks by UND were the Vikings undoing. Freshman quarterback Kieran McDonagh had 301 yards passing and two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions. Junior running back DJ Adams scampered for 144 yards on 16 carries, scoring one TD. Senior wide receiver Justin Monahan caught six passes for 156 yards and two scores. He had 226 all-purpose yards.
    
Portland State opens its Big Sky Conference schedule on Sept. 22, hosting new conference foe Southern Utah.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON
The University of Washington will host Portland State for the first time in history. The game will be played at the home of the Seattle Seahawks, CenturyLink Field, as Husky Stadium is being remodeled.
    
Washington comes off a 7-6 season in 2011. The Huskies were 5-4 in the Pac-12 North. Twelve starters and 46 letterwinners return from that team. Quarterback Keith Price is prominent among the returners after a 3,063-yard, 33-touchdown season in 2011. Safety Sean Parker is also a top returner (91 tackles, 4 interceptions in 2011).
    
The Huskies have started this season at 1-1, beating San Diego State, 21-12 at home, then losing to third-ranked LSU on the road, 41-3. In two starts, the Huskies are averaging just 255.5 yards of total offense while giving up 382 yards per game.
    
So far, Price has completed 42 of 71 passes for 379 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The Hudskies have allowed seven sacks.
    
Austin Seferian-Jenkins has 15 receptions for 133 yards, while Bishop Sankey is the top rusher with 82 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries.
    
Defensive back Tre Watson has nine tackles, an interception and three pass breakups through two games. Thomas Tutogi leads the Huskies with 13 tackles and a fumble recovery.

GAME WEEK ACTIVITIES
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 John Canzano Show on 750 AM The Game. Burton will review and preview Viking football games.
VIKING COACHES' LUNCHEONS: Viking Coaches Luncheons are scheduled for Sept. 17, 24, Oct. 8, 29, Nov. 12 and noon at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Coach Nigel Burton, Viking players, and coaches representing other sports will be on hand to speak and take questions. Luncheons take place at The OSF at 0715 S.W. Bancroft in Portland. The cost is $10.00 per person and includes lunch and a non-alcoholic beverage.
VIKINGS ON THE RADIO: All Portland State football games can be heard on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. 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 will appear on television a record nine times in 2012. PSU and Comcast SportsNet have teamed up to present six Viking games, including four self-produced home games and two that will be picked up from opponent feeds. The home games will feature veteran broadcaster Bob Akamian and Portland State coaching legend Mouse Davis in the booth. Trysta Krick will be on the sidelines.
REMAINING TELEVISED GAMES IN THE PORTLAND AREA
Sept. 15, Portland State at Washington, 1 p.m., FX
Sept. 22, Portland State vs. Southern Utah, 5 p.m., CSNNW
Sept. 29, Portland State at Northern Arizona, 2 p.m. Fox Arizona Plus (satellite TV)
Oct. 6, Portland State vs. Idaho State, 5 p.m., CSNNW
Oct. 20, Portland State at Cal Poly, 6 p.m., CSNNW (opponent feed)
Nov. 10, Portland State at Montana State, 12:30 p.m. PT, Root
Nov. 17, Portland State vs. Eastern Washington, 1 p.m., CSNNW
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.bigskytv.org... Live stats for Portland State home games are at vikslive.statb.us with an available mobile phone feature.

FACTS, FIGURES AND CURIOSITIES
WINS AND LOSSES: Portland State is 1-1 on the season... the Vikings are 5-2 at home since the start of 2011, 3-3 on the road... Head Coach Nigel Burton now has a 6-5 home record, 4-9 road record... PSU was 3-2 on the road in 2011 - its first winning road record since 2006 (4-3)... PSU's 3-1 Big Sky road record matched its best ever (also 2000 and 2006)... the Vikings have eight winning records in 16 years as a member of the Big Sky Conference... PSU is 56-31 in home games since moving to the NCAA I level, 28-64 on the road... PSU is 55-68 all-time in Big Sky Conference games in its' 17th season as a member. The Vikings are 34-28 at home, 21-40 on the road in BSC games.

THE VIKINGS RECORD ON TV: Since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996, Portland State has appeared on television locally in Portland 43 times. PSU is 18-25 in those games, 11-8 at home, 7-17 on the road... PSU is 1-1 in televised games this year... the Vikings will make a school-record nine locally televised appearances this season.

MONEY MAN: The return of SR WR Justin Monahan to the lineup had a big impact for the Vikings. Monahan caught a 65-yard touchdown pass on the Vikings' first play from scrimmage. In all, he caught six passes for a career-high 156 yards and two first-half touchdowns. He had 226 all-purpose yards with a 39-yard kickoff return and a 31-yard punt return... Monahan was the Vikings' leading receiver in 2011 (52-707-6). He has 88 career catches for over 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns.

DJ MEANS TD: Portland State's running attack was in full force at North Dakota, gaining 214 yards on 38 carries. Most of the damage was done by JR RB DJ Adams, who had 16 carries for 144 yards and a touchdown. In two games, Adams leads the Vikings with 30 carries for 226 yards and three touchdowns. In fact, counting his Maryland career (15 TDs on 107 carries), Adams has scored 18 touchdowns on 137 running plays, an average of one score for every 7.6 touches... Adams ranks 15th in the nation with 113.0 rushing yards per game.

SHAQ ATTACK: SO RB Shaquille Richard has been effective as a backup to Adams. Richard has 22 carries for 77 yards and three receptions for 117 yards. That gives him a total of 194 yards in two games.

TRUE FRESHMAN TAKES FIRST SNAPS: It can't be confirmed, but it is believed that FR QB Kieran McDonagh is the first true freshman quarterback to start his first game at Portland State since at least the 1950s, if ever. Drew Hubel started as a true freshman in 2007 but not until the seventh game of the season... in two games, McDonagh has 493 passing yards and five touchdowns. He is 21st in the nation in total offense (260.0 yards per game).

DEFENSE STARTS SLOW, FINISHES BETTER: In two games, the Viking defense has allowed 497 yards of offense and 47 points in the first half. In the second half it has allowed just 247 yards and 22 points. Unfortunately for PSU the damage was done in the first half at North Dakota as UND had five passing touchdowns and 35 points.

TOO MANY MISTAKES: It would be easy to point at the defense for the Vikings' 45-37 loss at North Dakota. And, it's true, the D was poor in the first half. But there were lots of other areas that hurt the Vikings in a game they lost by only a touchdown and two-point conversion... PSU had a poor snap causing a failed extra point attempt on its first touchdown. The Vikings had two field goals and one punt blocked (UND led the nation with 11 blocked kicks in 2011). PSU also committed 12 penalties for 109 yards. And, the offense had two turnovers.

TACKLE LEADERS: Preseason All-Conference SR LB Ian Sluss has lived up to his billing, making 18 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery in two games. Sluss now has 17 career TFLs in 12 games played. His 3.5 TFLs leads the Big Sky Conference after two weeks... JR DT Julious Moore leads the Big Sky with two sacks in two games and ranks second in TFLs (3.0)... the Vikings lead the Big Sky with 9.5 tackles for loss per game, ranking seventh in the nation... JR LB Jaycob Shoemaker's return to play after missing almost a season-and-a-half with injury is inspiring. “Shoe” has 14 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and an interception return for touchdown.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: Last year, Portland State had the second-most blocked kicks in the nation with nine, including seven blocked punts and two blocked kicks... the trend continued against Carroll College as JR DT Julious Moore burst through the line to deflect an extra point attempt by Carroll in the first quarter. It was the first extra-point block by a Viking in four years. It looked like Moore would have another against North Dakota, but an offsides penalty by the Vikings allowed UND a re-kick, which it converted.

NEW IN THE LINEUP: On offense, the Vikings had new starters in SO LG Cornelius Edison, FR QB Kieran McDonagh and SO WR Alex Toureen against Carroll... the defensive line had three new starters with SR DE Marquis Jackson, JR DE Nick Alexander and JR DT Zack Ka'ahanui. Also new in the starting lineup on defense were SR CB Aaron Kincy and JR CB Dennis Fite... against North Dakota FR OL John Archuleta and SO K Nick Fernandez had their first career starts.

VETERANS: SR OL Kyle Ritt is one of 12 fourth-year seniors on the roster for 2012, but he is the only offensive player to compete in all 35 games over the past four years. He has the most starts of all offensive players with 34… SR K Zach Brown had started and played in 34 games before missing the North Dakota game. SR P Thomas Duyndam has played in 34 career games, with his only miss due to the Vikings not punting in a win at UC Davis in 2010. Duyndam has 33 starts… on defense, Mike Williams has played in the most games with 34 appearances. SR LB Joel Sisler (33) and SR DT Dereck Jester (32) follow close behind. Sisler has the most starts on defense (29), followed by Williams (24).

QUARTERBACKS SPLIT WIDE: FR QB Kieran McDonagh won a four-man competition for the starting role out of fall camp. Although the coaching staff narrowed their quarterback list down to four, one thing is certain: the Vikings have A LOT of quarterbacks on their roster.  In fact, they now have more former QBs at wide receiver than they do taking snaps. All of these current wide receivers were either quarterbacks at PSU at one time, or were high school quarterbacks: Nevin Lewis, Nick Green, Thomas Carter, David Jones, Keitrell Anderson and Hank Taylor... oddly enough, entering the 2012 season, the Vikings did not have a single quarterback on the roster who had taken a snap in a Portland State game.

OREGON FLAVOR: Portland State's 2012 signing class was perhaps the most locally-based since Portland State joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996, and likely since Mouse Davis trod the sidelines for the Vikings in the late 1970s. Of the 24 signees in 2012, 16 are high schoolers from the Pacific Northwest, 13 are from Oregon, 10 from the metro area. Portland State got lots of help in the offensive and defensive backfield as well as on both lines, and Burton feels they came up with remarkable young talent at the linebacker position. Better yet, from The Sports Network's columnist Craig Haley: ”With their high number of two- and three-star commits, it can be argued that James Madison and Portland State are putting together the best recruiting classes in the FCS.”…  among all the players on the roster entering camp, 19 of the freshmen are from the Oregon/Vancouver, WA area. Fourteen of those are specifically from the metro area. In the original 24 player signing class of 2012, 16 were high schoolers from the Pacific Northwest, 13 are from Oregon, and 10 from the metro area… PSU has 38 Oregonians on the roster.

2012 HIGHLIGHT REEL
BIG PLAY FIRST DAY: Portland State made several big plays in a season-opening 38-20 win over Carroll College (9/1). JR RB DJ Adams opened with a 46-yard touchdown run. That was followed by a 32-yard interception return for touchdown by JR LB Jaycob Shoemaker. JR RB Justin Lilley caught a 36-yard touchdown pass off a deflection intended for another player. And, SO RB Shaquille Richard scampered 80 yards with a screen pass for a score.

MONEY HANDS: SR WR Justin Monahan had a big day in his return to the field against North Dakota (9/8) despite a 45-37 loss. Monahan caught a 65-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage and went on to make six catches for a career-high 156 yards and two touchdowns. He had 226 all-purpose yards.