complete game notes in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (1-0) vs. NORTH DAKOTA (1-0)
Game 2 • Saturday, September 8, 2012 • 4 p.m. PT • Alerus Center (12,283), Grand Forks, ND

TELEVISION: Comcast SportsNet Northwest (channel 37/HD737) - MidCo Sports Feed • Play-by-play: Dan Hammer • Analyst: Tony Stein • Sidelines: Danny Luetzen
RADIO: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Pregame Show: 3 p.m. • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Analyst: Mike Lund
INTERNET: Live stats are available at www.undsports.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml? Live video stream at www.bigskytv.org
 
THE SERIES RECORD
All-Time Series: The series is tied 1-1 • PSU leads 1-0 in Portland • UND leads 1-0 in Grand Forks
Sept. 6, 1980: PSU 28-14 @ Portland
Sept. 5, 1981: UND 17-10 @ Grand Forks

STREAKS
• Portland State has won two straight road games.
• North Dakota has won three straight home games and five straight overall.

STORYLINES
• Portland State and North Dakota will meet for the first time in 31 years. And although they are now conference opponents, this year's contest will be a non-conference game. Since the Big Sky Conference is now home to virtually every NCAA I FCS program in the west region, and schools will only play eight of a possible 12 opponents each year, it will not be uncommon for Big Sky schools meet one another outside of the conference schedule - like the Vikings and North Dakota (Northern Colorado and Sacramento State also meet in a non-conference game in 2012).
• North Dakota has been a member of the NCAA I FCS level since 2007. Previously UND was a member of the Great West Football Conference and has compiled a 24-20 record as a Division I member.
• Wide receiver Greg Hardin was a preseason All-Big Sky Conference selection.
• North Dakota is currently in the process of developing a new program mascot.

FIRST BIG TEST COMES THIS SATURDAY AT NORTH DAKOTA
Portland State got an important but expected season-opening win last Saturday, beating Carroll College, 38-20, at JELD-WEN Field. This week, the challenge increases as the Vikings take on a talented Big Sky Conference team in North Dakota at Alerus Field in Grand Forks (kickoff 4 p.m. PT). UND also opened with a home win, rolling over South Dakota Mines, 66-0.
    
This week's game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet Northwest (ch. 37/HD 737) as CSN picks up a feed from MidCo Sports. It also airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. The pregame radio show begins at 3 p.m.
    
While North Dakota is a new Big Sky member, this week's game will be played as a non-conference matchup. With 13 teams in the expanded Big Sky and an eight-game league slate, there will be occasional non-conference matchups between Big Sky schools. Still, it will be vitally important for both teams to seek a non-conference win with FBS opponents coming on Sept. 15 (PSU at Washington, UND at San Diego State).
    
PSU is 1-0 after the win over Carroll. The Vikings had a handful of big plays to maintain control throughout the game, but it was a hard-fought contest at the line of scrimmage. FR Kieran McDonagh made his debut as the new Viking quarterback and was solid with 192 passing yards and two touchdowns. JR DJ Adams had 14 carries for 82 yards and two scores, including a 46-yarder on the first tote of his Viking career. SR LB Ian Sluss (11 tackles, 2.5 TFLs), JR LB Jaycob Shoemaker (7 tackles, INT return for TD) and SR FS Joel Sisler (5 tackles, INT) had big games on defense.
    
The Vikings won their last two road games of 2011 and will try to stretch that streak in the first road contest of 2012.
    
The Vikings final non-conference game of 2012 comes on Sept. 15 at Century Link Field when PSU plays Pac-12 University of Washington for the first time in history.

SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota is a first-year member of the Big Sky Conference in 2012. A program with a strong tradition, UND went 8-3 last season, 3-1 in the Great West Conference to tie for first with Cal Poly.
    
Head Coach Chris Mussman is in his fifth season at North Dakota. He led his team to a season-opening 66-0 win over South Dakota Mines last Thursday and has a 24-20 career record. Sixteen starters and 39 letterwinners return from last year's team.
    
North Dakota has won three straight games and five straight home games dating to last season.
    
UND went for a school-record 653 yards of total offense against South Dakota Mines. Meanwhile, North Dakota held the Hardrockers to just 142 yards in the shutout.
    
A preseason All-Big Sky Conference selection, wide receiver Greg Hardin had three receptions for a game-high 103 yards against SD Mines. He caught a 44-yard touchdown pass. In all, UND completed 18-20 passes for 283 yards and four scores as Braden Hanson and Marcus Hendrickson split duty at quarterback.
    
The run game was nearly unstoppable, totaling 370 yards and five touchdowns on 48 carries. Jake Miller had 12 carries for 178 yards and a score. Miller comes off a season with 942 rushing yards and 13 TDs.
    
Linebackers Ben Peters and Garrison Goodman each had five tackles in the game for North Dakota.
    
Defensive lineman Ross Brenneman is one of North Dakota's top returners. He had 8.5 sacks in 2011.

GAME WEEK ACTIVITIES
NIGEL BURTON WEEKLY ON 750 AM THE GAME: Beginning Sept. 10, 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.
UPCOMING GAMES TELEVISED IN THE PORTLAND AREA
Sept. 8, Portland State at North Dakota, 4 p.m. PT, CSNNW (opponent feed)
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 1-0 on the season and has won five straight season-openers... the Vikings are 5-2 at home since the start of 2011... Head Coach Nigel Burton now has a 6-5 home 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, 28-62 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 42 times. PSU is 18-24 in those games, 11-8 at home, 7-16 on the road... PSU has won its last two televised games... the Vikings will make a school-record nine locally televised appearances this season.

NEW-LOOK OFFENSE: Viking fans were used to hearing names like Kavanaugh, McCaffrey and Monahan on offense the past two seasons. But in Portland State's opening win over Carroll a lot of new names came to the fore. First and foremost was new starting quarterback Kieran McDonagh, who completed 8-16 passes for 192 yards and two touchowns without an interception. McDonagh had eight rushing yards on five carries (losing yards on a fumbled snap and a sack), but had some big runs, including a 20-yarder for a first down... JR RB DJ Adams had the best rushing day, scoring a 46-yard touchdown on his first carry as a Viking. Adams was 14-82 with two TDs in the game... SO RB Shaquille Richard had nine carries for 27 yards and JR RB Justin Lilley started, making eight carries for 22 yards. Lilley added two receptions for 76 yards and a 36-yard touchdown. His score came on a pass intended for SO WR Alex Toureen that was tipped in the end zone. Lilley scooped the free ball before it hit the turf for a spectacular score. Richard scampered 80 yards with a McDonagh screen pass for his touchdown in the fourth quarter.

TRUE FRESHMAN TAKES FIRST SNAPS: It can't be confirmed, but it is believed that 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.

DEFENSE STARTS SLOW, FINISHES STRONG: The Viking defense gave up a scoring drive to Carroll on the Fighting Saints first series of the game. By halftime, PSU had allowed 223 yards and 12 points. But, in the third period the Vikings buckled down giving up only 23 yards on 15 plays. Carroll had just 120 total yards in the second half... preseason All-Conference SR LB Ian Sluss lived up to his billing, making a game-high 11 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss. Sluss now has 16 career TFLs in 11 games played... JR LB Jaycob Shoemaker's return to play after missing almost a season-and-a-half with injury was inspiring. “Shoe” had seven tackles, two quarterback hurries and a big interception return for touchdown in the first quarter that gave the Vikings a 14-6 lead... SR FS Joel Sisler made his sixth career interception early in the fourth quarter and added five tackles... in all, the Vikings made 11 tackles for loss.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: Last year, Portland State tied for the most blocked kicks in the nation with nine, including seven blocked punts and two blocked kicks... the trend continued last Saturday 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... FR WR David Jones came within a fingernail of blocking a punt in the second half. The result was nearly as good as a flustered Carroll punter squibbed his attempt out of bounds for a one-yard net.

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... 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... other first-time players for the Vikings were JR S David Edgerson, JR QB Collin Ramirez, JR RB DJ Adams, FR WR David Jones, FR WR Thomas Carter, FR WR Brian Balsiger, FR CB Demetrius Jackson, FB LB Zach Walen, FR RB Julian Cruell, FR LB Brandon Brody-Heim, FR LB Dennis Taylor, FR DE Jacob Nall, FR OL John Archuleta, FR DT Junior Alexis, FR WR Darnell Adams, and FR OL Mike Davis.

KEEP THE KLEENEX IN YOUR POCKET: After averaging nearly 100 yards in penalties per game in 2011, the Viking had just five flags for 30 yards against Carroll.

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 34 games over the past four years. He has the most starts of all offensive players with 33… SR K Zach Brown has also played in all 34 games, earning the start in every game. SR P Thomas Duyndam has played in 33 career games, with his only miss due to the Vikings not punting in a win at UC Davis in 2010. Duyndam has 32 starts… on defense, Mike Williams has played in the most games with 33 appearances. SR LB Joel Sisler (32) and SR DT Dereck Jester (31) follow close behind. Sisler has the most starts on defense (28), followed by Williams (23).

QUARTERBACKS SPLIT WIDE: FR QB Kieran McDonagh won a four-man competition for the starting role out of fall camp. He played the majority of the opener with JR QB Collin Ramirez getting some late play. 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 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 37 Oregonians on the roster.

HE CAN DO IT ALL: SR WR Nevin Lewis has made his name as a do-it-all Viking and earned first team All-Big Sky Conference at the special teams position. He was brilliant on special teams, blocking three punts, snuffing out a fake punt with a tackle for loss and making three tackles in all. He also had 29 kick returns for an average of 23.7 per return... as a receiver, Lewis had 22 catches for 337 yards and two touchdowns. He had one rush for seven yards and, at Eastern Washington, completed a 14-yard touchdown pass on a reverse play... with 61 kick return yards against Carroll, Lewis now ranks fourth all-time in career kickoff return yards (1,178).

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.