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San Luis Obispo, CA - Jonathan Gonzales kicked a deciding 27-yard field goal with 33 seconds left to lift Portland State to a 38-35 Big Sky Conference win over Cal Poly.
The Vikings had to battle through the rugged Mustang triple-option offense and some offensive struggles of their own to get the victory, but that made it all the sweeter.
Quarterback Alex Kuresa accounted for all four Viking touchdowns and a two-point conversion as he brought Portland State back from eight points behind in the second half. Kuresa rushed 18 times for 101 yards and two touchdowns, and completed 16 of 25 passes for 232 and two more scores.
Kuresa took control after the Viking running game had been stymied in the first half, and with David Jones on the sideline for the most of the second half with a bum ankle.
Kuresa rushed for both TDs in the third quarter, and completed a go-ahead touchdown pass in the fourth. But it was the final drive he engineered after Cal Poly tied the game at 35-35 with 2:34 to play that made the difference. Kuresa ran for one first down, then completed three first-down passes to move the Vikings down the field.
"He changed up some stuff, went to some audibles in that last drive that got us close enough for the chip-shot field goal," said Viking Coach Bruce Barnum. "Alex had a helluva game."
Gonzales' field goal, his third of the game, came after having a 26-yarder blocked earlier in the fourth. That was the junior kicker's first miss of the season.
Once Kuresa got the Vikings in field goal position, Barnum had his team run the ball into the middle of the field to set up the best possible attempt.
"I had all the confidence in the world in Jonathan," Barnum said, when asked about the previous blocked attempt. "He has been great all year, putting us in position, and getting us points. I had all the confidence, never a doubt."
Portland State finished with 386 yards, but only 154 on the ground and most coming from Kuresa. This after a school-record 465-yard rushing performance a week ago in a win over Montana State.
"Cal Poly did a great job taking away our run game. They did some things we had to adjust to at halftime," Barnum said. "But we weathered the storm. It is hard-to-impossible to win down here. You see why these guys have been so good on this field with the way they play."
The Mustangs had 536 offensive yards, with 420 coming in the run game. Kori Garcia had a game-high 131 yards on 18 carries. The Mustangs completed only 4-15 passes for 116 yards.
Portland State forced four Cal Poly fumbles in the game, though they were only able to convert those into 13 points. Still, it had a big impact on the outcome of a game in which the Mustangs controlled time of possession and the football.
Among Kuresa's big plays were a touchdown run of 40 yards on a fourth-and-five play, and touchdown passes of 20 yards to Darnell Adams and 13 yards to Trent Riley.
Jeremy Lutali had 10 tackles to lead the Vikings. Beau Duronslet made nine and recovered a fumble. Michael Doman recovered one fumble and forced another.
Portland State improved to 6-1 on the season, 3-1 in the Big Sky Conference. The Vikings have won three games in a row, and tied a school record with four straight road wins. With six wins, the Vikings are guaranteed a winning record this season.
Cal Poly dropped to 2-5 on the season, 1-3 in the Big Sky.
GAME NOTES: Gonzales is now 9-10 on field goals this season. He has made 66 straight extra points over two seasons… PSU ends a three-game losing streak to Cal Poly… Portland State returns home for another Top 20 showdown next Saturday. The Vikings host Montana at Providence Park in a 2:05 p.m. game.
