PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (1-0) vs. CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (0-1)
Game 2 • Saturday, September 7, 2013 • 2:07 p.m. • Memorial Stadium (63,000), Berkeley, CA

TELEVISION: Pac-12 Network • Play-by-play: Kevin Calabro • Analyst: Yogi Roth • Sidelines: Jill Savage
RADIO: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Pregame Show: 1 p.m. • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Analyst: Mike Lund
INTERNET: Live stats: http://calbears.com/gametracker/

THE SERIES RECORD
All-Time Series: Cal leads the all-time series 1-0

Sept. 16, 2006: CAL 42-16 @ Berkeley

LAST MEETING, Sept. 26, 2006: CALIFORNIA 42, PORTLAND STATE 16
A 35-point flurry by 21st-ranked California from the middle of the first period through the middle of the second period put the Vikings on their heels and led to a 42-16 Cal win. 

The Vikings took an early 3-0 lead before the Golden Bears took control. Cal totaled 502 yards of offense, but more significantly knocked out two PSU quarterbacks, Sawyer Smith and Tygue Howland, during the game. Future NFL stars Marshawn Lynch (112 yards) and DeSean Jackson (103 yards) each had 100-yard games and scored touchdowns. 

Tremayne Kirkland caught a touchdown pass and threw a touchdown pass for the Vikings.

STORYLINES
• Portland State is 2-28 all-time against NCAA I FBS programs. PSU is 0-11 all-time against members of the Pac-12, including 0-1 against Cal.
• Sonny Dykes has taken over as the new head coach at Cal for the 2013 season.
• PSU plays the second of three straight home games for the Golden Bears to open the season.
• The game at Cal will be the first of four televised games this season for the Vikings. It will air on the Pac-12 network.
• The Golden Bears' aptly-named defensive line coach, Barry Sacks, also coached defensive line at Portland State from 1986-92. He was also on the same coaching staff at Nevada as Nigel Burton (2007-09).

REAL TEST COMES SATURDAY AT CAL'S MEMORIAL STADIUM
The first big test of the 2013 season awaits the Portland State Vikings this Saturday in Berkeley, CA. The Vikings come off a relatively easy 57-17 season-opening win over Eastern Oregon last Thursday at JELD-WEN Field. Now, the level of competition takes a huge leap as PSU faces the University of California at Memorial Stadium. Cal lost its' season-opener last Saturday, 44-30, to 22nd-ranked Northwestern at Memorial Stadium.

Kickoff for this Saturday's game is scheduled for 2:07 p.m. It will be televised on the Pac-12 Network. The game is available on the radio at Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com, with a pre-game show at 1 p.m.

Portland State will attempt to do something it has never done - beat a Pac-12 school - when it faces Cal. The Vikings have met the Golden Bears once previously, a 42-16 loss in 2006. Overall, PSU is 0-11 against teams from the Pac-10/12. The Vikings are 2-28 all-time against NCAA I FBS programs. The last win over an FBS team was a 17-6 victory at New Mexico on Sept. 2, 2006.

The game with Cal is the second of four pre-season contests leading into the Big Sky Conference schedule. Portland State is playing its first-ever 12-game regular-season. After Cal, PSU hosts Humboldt State on Sept. 14, then travels to UC Davis on Sept. 21 (the UCD game is considered non-conference although the Aggies are a Big Sky program). League play opens on Thursday, Sept. 26, against Cal Poly at JELD-WEN Field.

PSU was 1-5 on the road last season. The Vikings are 5-13 on the road under fourth-year Head Coach Nigel Burton.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS
California is under the guidance of first-year Head Coach Sonny Dykes. The Golden Bears were 3-9 last season, including 2-5 at home. They lost their home opener last Saturday to 22nd-ranked Northwestern, 44-30. Cal tied the game 27-27 early in the fourth quarter, but was outscored 17-3 the rest of the way.

True freshman quarterback Jared Goff threw the ball 63 times against Northwestern, completing 38 for 445 yards. He had two touchdowns tosses to Chris Harper, but was also intercepted three times. Two of Goff's interceptions were returned for scores - one in the third quarter and one in the fourth.

Harper caught 11 balls for 151 yards, while Bryce Treggs had 13 catches for 145 yards. Brendan Bigelow led the ground game with 16 carries for 65 yards.

The Golden Bears have picked up the pace of their offense significantly under Dykes, and ran 99 plays against Northwestern, totaling 548 yards. Northwestern had 508 yards of offense, with 209 on the ground and 299 through the air. 

Safety Avery Sebastian made a team-high 11 tackles and also intercepted a pass for Cal. Linebacker Jalen Jefferson and safety Michael Lowe had nine tackles each. The Cal defense forced three turnovers and made one sack.

Vincent D'Amato was 3-3 on field goals for California, his longest being 38 yards. Punter Cole Leininger averaged 43.5 yards on six boots, including a 70-yarder.

SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE: VIKING QUICK NOTES

AS EXPECTED: Portland State's offense was firing on all cylinders in the 57-17 opening win against Eastern Oregon... well, almost. The Vikings fumbled on their first play from scrimmage, then lost three other fumbles in the third period - including one at the Eastern Oregon one-yard line - or the score may have been much higher. Still...
• With 672 yards of total offense, PSU racked up the 10th-most yards in school history.
• With 405 rushing yards, the Vikings had the fourth-most rushing yards in school history.
• SR RB DJ Adams posted his fifth 100-yard game in 12 contests as a Vikings (17-107-3), while JR RB Shaquille Richard had his first career 100-yard game (11-107-0). It marked the first time two Vikings had rushed for 100 yards in a game since Cory McCaffrey (218) and Connor Kavanaugh (212) at Idaho State on Oct. 1, 2011.
• Kieran McDonagh was sharp, playing just two quarters, but producing 170 yards and two touchdowns on 7-11 passing.
• JR WR Roston Tatum had a career-high high three catches for 159 yards and a touchdown.
• SR RB Justin Lilley tied his career-best of 88 yards and scored a touchdown on 11 carries.

LEADERS: Portland State's 672 yards of total offense and 405 yards rushing were the most by any NCAA I FCS school in week one of the season... the Vikings are also second in the nation in first downs (31) and first in net punting (52.0)... with three rushing touchdowns, SR RB DJ Adams is tied for the Big Sky Conference lead and ranks second in the nation... JR LB Corey Crowder's two passes defended leads the Big Sky... JR WR Roston Tatum's 159 receiving yards ranks third in the Big Sky Conference and fifth in the nation.

1000-YARDERS: Both SR RB DJ Adams and JR RB Shaquille Richard passed 1,000 career rushing yards against Eastern Oregon. Adams totaled 967 yards last season for the Vikings. He now has 1,074 career yards on 182 carries, and 15 touchdowns. Richard had 908 career rushing yards entering the game, and now has 1,015 yards on 224 carries with six touchdowns.

THE TOUCHDOWN MAKER: With three more touchdowns last week, DJ Adams has 30 career rushing touchdowns - including his two seasons at Maryland - on 289 carries. That is one end zone trip for every 9.6 totes.

TAKEAWAY TALLY: Portland State forced five Eastern Oregon turnovers, helping keep the Mountaineers out of the end zone until the fourth quarter. EOU did roll up 438 yards of offense, including 284 through the air. A steady diet of screen passes was fairly effective for the Mounties.
• SO CB Aaron Sibley opened the scoring by returning an interception 64 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
• SO LB Jeremy Lutali, playing in his first game as a Viking, had a game-high 11 tackles, 1.5 for losses and was in on a sack. He also had a second half interception.
• JR LB Corey Crowder, making his first start, had six tackles, an interception return of 44 yards, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup.
• SO LB Brandon Brody-Heim and SR DE Jeremy Boone also recovered fumbles.

IT'S A TEAM GAME: A total of 64 Vikings got into the game against Eastern Oregon. Eleven players made their first career starts at Portland State: FR LT Kyle Smith, SO TE Cam Thompson, JR WR Kasey Closs, SO WR David Jones, JR DT Joe Lopez, SO LB Brandon Brody-Heim, SO LB Jeremy Lutali, JR LB Corey Crowder, SR S Dean Faddis, JR CB Mishawn Cummings, and JR P Kyle Loomis. 

CLEAN IT UP: The downside of Thursday's win - and the areas PSU will need to improve to have a chance at Cal - are twofold. The Vikings fumbled six times, losing the ball four times, in the game. PSU lost only eight fumbles all of last season... the Vikings had 16 penalties for a total of 139 yards... PSU was heavily penalized last year as well, averaging 8.6 penalties for 75.3 yards per game.

TASTY, YET INSIGNIFICANT, TIDBITS:
• The 57 points scored by the Vikings against Eastern Oregon is the most ever in a season-opening game in the 67-year history of the PSU program.
• The Vikings are now 14-4 in home openers and 12-0 against lower division team since moving to the Big Sky Conference in 1996.
• Portland State is now 4-0 all-time in Thursday games.
• Going into this week's televised game... Portland State has appeared on television locally in Portland 50 times since joining the Big Sky Conference. PSU is 19-31 in those games, 12-10 at home, 7-21 on the road... PSU was 2-7 in televised games in 2012.

VETERANS: Among Portland State's returning players, SR RB Justin Lilley has appeared in the most career games (33), followed by SR C Mitch Gaulke (28) and SR DE Bryant Long (28)… Gaulke has the most career starts (28), followed by SR OL Mitchell Van Dyk (22) and SR LB Jaycob Shoemaker (14).

CAPTAINS: The Portland State team selected a lineman on each side of the football as the 2013 team captains. SR C Mitch Gaulke and SR DE Bryant Long were named as Viking captains prior to the first game.

2013 VIKING FOOTBALL SEASON NOTES

THE BREAKDOWN
• Portland State returns 43 letterwinners from 2012; 21 are on offense, 20 are on defense and two are on special teams. Thirty-two letterwinners have departed.
• PSU returns 12 starters, six on offense, five on defense and one on special teams. Ten other players return that have had starts in their PSU careers.
• The Vikings have added 25 freshmen, 11 FBS transfers and four junior college transfers.

OREGONIANS, AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE: Portland State features 40 Oregonians on its current roster with three others from the Vancouver, WA area. The Vikings signed 11 Oregonians in 2013, as well as one player from Southwest Washington. 

AN OFFENSE WORTH TALKING ABOUT: Portland State's offense, under the direction of coordinator Bruce Barnum, has been outstanding the past three seasons. PSU averaged 355.2 yards per game of offense in 2009, the year before Barnum took over. Since then, that number has grown over three seasons from 396.5 to 432.7 to 438.7. On the scoreboard, PSU averaged 21.1 prior to Barnum's arrival. Since then it has gone to 23.4, 32.9, then 34.8 in 2012.
• In 2010, PSU led the Big Sky in rushing (203.3 yards per game).
• In 2011, Barnum led PSU's offense to the most yards and most points by a Viking team in a decade. His unit bettered those numbers in 2012.
• In 2011, the Viking running game smashed the school record for rushing yards (by nearly 500 yards) and led the Big Sky Conference for the second year in a row. Portland State averaged 247.8 rushing yards, 184.9 passing yards, 432.7 total yards and 32.9 points per game. The Vikings were eighth in the nation in rushing, 15th in total offense and 18th in scoring. PSU's numbers were up nearly 40 yards and more than nine points per game over the previous season. Even more impressive, Barnum's offense accomplished all that after losing the nation's top rusher, Cory McCaffrey, to injury after playing in only five games. His quarterback, Connor Kavanaugh, set new Portland State and Big Sky Conference records for rushing in a season (1,060) and a career (1,965).
• In 2012, the offense was as balanced as you could hope for at 216.5 yards on the ground, 222.2 yards through the air, 438.7 total yards and 34.8 points per game overall. Nationally, PSU was 16th in rushing, 16th in total offense and 11th in scoring. PSU had its most yards of total offense in 11 years, best rushing average in 11 years (5.3 yards per carry), most points per game in 13 years, and remarkably, allowed only seven sacks all season as the Vikings attempted 343 passes.

PACE OF PLAY: Portland State's offense averaged 72 plays per game last season on its way to more than 438 yards and nearly 35 points per game. Offensive coordinator Bruce Barnum is trying to increase the pace of his offense - a hybrid of the Pistol and his own passing attack - and average 80-90 plays per game in 2013. 

SMARTS: SR C Mitch Gaulke has set the standard for offensive line play at Portland State over the last three seasons. With 27 career starts he leads all returning Vikings and he has twice earned honorable mention All-Big Sky Conference honors. Gaulke also sets the standard academically. In 2012, Gaulke was named to the NCAA I FCS Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star Team, a CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 selection for the second time, Academic All-Big Sky Conference for the third time, and the PSU Mike Schrunk Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second time. Gaulke, from West Linn, OR, is a Business Administration: Accounting major… also earning Academic All-District 8 hours was JR WR Alex Toureen (Business)… returning players who earned Academic All-Big Sky Conference honors include Gaulke, Toureen, SO LB Brandon Brody-Heim, Electrical Engineering and Physics; SO LS Kameron Canaday, Business; and SO DE Jacob Nall, Business: Accounting.

OLD MAN PUNTER: JR P Kyle Loomis is a transfer from Oregon State... sort of. He is actually more of a transfer from the US Army, where he spent his most recent four-year stint. Loomis was the starting punter at OSU as a true freshman in 2006. But, he decided to leave school and eventually went into the Army for a near-four-year tour. He was honorably discharged in 2011. After returning to his hometown of Roseburg, Loomis started helping out the local high school team's punter. Loomis realized he could still punt as well. So, while he was already considering enrolling at Portland State to get a degree, he called Coach Nigel Burton last winter and offered his punting services. Burton agreed and Loomis joined for spring football, easily earning a starting role. With his 26th birthday coming on Sept. 30, Loomis is the oldest Viking on the team. For the complete story, see http://www.goviks.com/news/2013/4/12/FB_0412130813.aspx.

THE LONGEST WEEK: From brain surgery on Sunday to football practice on Friday, it was quite a week for Portland State freshman running back Steven Long last spring. And Long probably could not have hoped for a better conclusion to the story.

Sporting a fresh scar on his skull hidden by a bandana, Long made an appearance at Viking football practice on May 3 and was warmly greeted by his teammates prior to drills. The return came only five days after a small growth was removed from his brain by doctors at Oregon Health Sciences University.

Early on the morning of April 25, Long suffered seizures in his dorm room at Portland State. The alert action of roommate and teammate Adam Futter with an assist from Long's girlfriend, Brogan Taylor, soon had Steven on the way to the hospital. 

By the weekend it was discovered that Long had a small growth on his brain and surgery was scheduled. By midday April 28, an infectious lesion had been removed. Long was released from the hospital two days later and returned to his home in Lake Oswego. 

Long was able to start full practice activities on Aug. 1 and is now competing for playing time at running back.

VIKINGS IN THE SKY: Portland State Head Coach Nigel Burton was a one-time assistant at PSU under Tim Walsh in 2001-02. Walsh, the former Viking Head Coach is now the Head Coach at Cal Poly - entering his fifth season there. Meanwhile, new UC Davis Head Coach Ron Gould was an assistant under Pokey Allen at Portland State in 1992. Northern Arizona Head Coach Jerome Souers - who has the longest tenure of any head coach in the league - was a one-time assistant under Don Read at Portland State in the early 1980s... among assistant coaches in the Big Sky, a number of former Viking coaches and players will square off with the current Viking team this year. They include Saga Tuitele, Juston Wood, Jim Craft and Neil Fendall at Cal Poly, Legi Suiaunoa at Montana, Robin Pflugrad at Weber State, Don Bailey at Idaho State and Josh Fetter at Eastern Washington. In addition, Cal defensive line coach Barry Sacks was an assistant at PSU from 1986-92 under Pokey Allen.

CAMP LIFE 2013 - TURN UP (THE PSU SONG): FR RB Rey Vega has a lot of talented running backs in front of him as he begins his first fall camp at Portland State. But Vega is likely first string when it comes to mixing his own beats. He can be heard on the latest GoViks.com video with his original "Turn Up (The PSU Song)." Check it out. Turn Up is just the latest of several songs and videos that Vega has written, mixed and filmed. Most can be found on YouTube by searching Rey Vega. (Turn Up video produced by Kenny Katz in PSU athletics marketing).

11 FBS TRANSFERS IN 2013: Portland State has 11 new Division I FBS transfers on the roster. While there are always a few transfers from FBS schools, the 11 this year may be the most ever for the PSU program. As the Vikings look to improve defensively, the group of 11 is defense-heavy with seven players. Expected to be impact players are WR Victor Dean, CB Davon Dunn, TE Hayden Plinke, P Kyle Loomis, CB Mishawn Cummings, and DT Joe Lopez.

This year's 11 FBS transfers in 2013:

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Exp. Hometown (High School/College)

1 Victor Dean WR 6-6 210 JR TR San Diego, CA (Lincoln/Fresno State)

8 Darien Washington S 5-10 170 FR TR Norwalk, CA (Orange Lutheran/Washington)

13 Davon Dunn CB 6-0 185 JR TR San Diego, CA (Lincoln/Fresno State)

16 Marcus Kinsella P 5-11 185 FR TR Melbourne, Australia (Ringwood/Indiana)

19 Hayden Plinke TE 6-4 255 SO TR Hillsboro, OR (Glencoe/Boise State)

29 Kyle Loomis P 6-3 220 JR TR Roseburg, OR (Roseburg/Oregon State)

34 Mishawn Cummings CB 5-10 195 JR TR San Jose, CA (Valley Christian/Foothill JC/OSU)

52 Kyle Gardner LB 5-11 230 SO TR Corvallis, OR (Crescent Valley/Oregon St.)

69 Joe Lopez DT 6-0 275 JR TR Portland, OR (Central Catholic/Oregon St.)

79 Cutter Baldock DE 6-4 245 SO TR Tigard, OR (Tigard/Arizona State)

98 Dame Ndiaye DE 6-4 235 SO TR San Diego, CA (Hoover/Arizona)

The Vikings already had five FBS transfers from previous seasons. They include:

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Exp. Hometown (High School/College)

10 DJ Adams RB 5-10 210 SR 1V Atlanta, GA (Norcross/Maryland)

21 Dean Faddis S 6-0 205 SR 1V/RS Ramona, CA (Ramona/Palomar JC/Nevada)

49 Michael Plummer S 6-2 210 SR 3V Gresham, OR (Sam Barlow/Idaho)

63 Junior Alexis DT 6-2 280 SO 1V Los Angeles, CA (Crenshaw/Miami)

90 Nick Alexander DE 6-4 250 SR 1V Inglewood, CA (Crenshaw/Boise State)