2015 PORTLAND STATE FOOTBALL SEASON PREVIEW 
Complete Season Preview Release in pdf
2015 Portland State Football Media Guide (pdf)
PROMO VIDEOAugust 3: The Viking Offense
August 4: The Viking Defense
August 5: Viking Special Teams
August 6: The Schedule/Challenges For 2015
August 7: Final Preparation/Complete Practice Schedule

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See Bruce Barnum on KPTV Oregon Sports Final this Sunday at 11 p.m. 

THE 2015 SCHEDULE
Portland State Football is looking for transformation and improvement in 2015. Based on this season's schedule it will be no easy task. A formidable slate of opponents includes two FBS teams for the second year in a row (Washington State and North Texas) and three FCS playoff teams (Eastern Washington, Montana and Montana State).
 
Further demonstrating the difficulty of the schedule, in a 12-team Big Sky Conference in which PSU will only face eight teams each season, the Vikings meet last year's top five finishers (EWU, UM, MSU, Idaho State, Cal Poly) and eight teams with a combined conference mark of 38-26 (.593) last year. PSU will miss last year's bottom two teams (UC Davis, Weber State) and four teams with a combined conference mark of 12-20 (.375).
 
The fall of 2015 begins the 20^th season of competition for Portland State in the Big Sky Conference and at the Division I level. The Vikings have yet to win a Big Sky title in football, though they managed four second-place finishes under previous Head Coach Tim Walsh. However, the past eight seasons, have seen only one winning record and one .500 mark. The best result during that span was a 7-4/5-3 campaign and third-place finish under Nigel Burton in 2011.
 
So, the more immediate goal for the Vikings and new coach Bruce Barnum will be to get back to a winning record. A fast start will be vital as the month of October brings a sturdy group of opponents and the season always concludes with rival and perennial powerhouse Eastern Washington.
 
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2015 SCHEDULE
 • Portland State opens at Pac-12 Washington State on Sept. 5. "(Washington State) is a good test for us to start the season because it forces you to be mistake-free and play fundamental football… that's a challenge for us," said Head Coach Bruce Barnum. "But it is going to test where we are at in terms of turning the football over - the mistakes that kill you in a football game - we will have to eliminate those."
• The Vikings have their Big Sky Conference opener on the road a week later at Idaho State (8-4/6-2).
• PSU does not play a home game until Sept. 26. The Vikings play four games at Providence Park and one at Hillsboro Stadium (Oct. 3 vs. North Dakota) due to a conflict with the Portland Timbers.
• A four-week stretch in October will be especially challenging. PSU plays at Conference USA opponent North Texas on Oct. 10, hosts nationally-ranked Montana State (8-5/6-2) on Oct. 17, travels to Cal Poly (7-5/5-3) on Oct. 24, then hosts nationally-ranked Montana on Oct. 31 (9-5/6-2). "A great stretch," said Barnum, referring to the three-week stretch featuring Montana State, Cal Poly and Montana. "Obviously, we would like to be going into that up and rolling, hitting on all cylinders against three quality opponents, three of the top opponents in this conference. That will be a true test at midseason of where we are as a football program, how we have changed from last year, and where we are going."
• Portland State wraps up its 2015 regular season schedule at defending Big Sky Conference Champion Eastern Washington (11-3, 7-1) on Nov. 21. Eastern Washington will be without QB Vernon Adams, the Big Sky Conference Player of the Year, who transferred to Oregon. "Losing their quarterback, I am sure they took a step back for a minute," said Barnum, " But they have a great coaching staff that will put it all back on track, and by that time of the season they will have it rolling."
 
SCHEDULE NOTES
• The Vikings will have powerhouses Montana and Montana State both at home in the same season for the first time since 1999. Montana makes its first appearance in Portland since 2010 while Montana State comes to town for the first time since 2011.
• PSU plays a Conference USA opponent for the first time in its history (North Texas).
• Portland State plays at Northern Colorado on Nov. 7. The Vikings are 3-0 in Big Sky games in Greeley, CO. Oddly, the Vikings have lost their last two home games to the Bears.
• This is the sixth time that Portland State has played at least two FBS level programs in the same season (the Vikings played three in 2006).
• Due to the 13-team Big Sky Conference, Portland State plays three teams it did not see in 2014: Montana, Northern Colorado and Southern Utah. The Vikings see four other opponents cycle off its schedule in 2015: Northern Arizona, UC Davis, Sacramento State and Weber State.
• The 2015 NCAA I FCS playoffs, which includes 24 teams, begin on Nov. 28.

CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME FOR 2015
With just one winning record and one .500 season in the past eight years, Portland State football will try to turn some things around under new Head Coach Bruce Barnum. To do so, the Vikings will need to reverse some recent trends. Here are some targets for 2015:
 
TURNOVER MARGIN: Giveaways and takeaways were a point of contention for the Vikings in 2014 with too many of the former (26) and not enough of the latter (14). PSU ranked last in the league in turnover margin at -12 (-1.0 per game)... PSU allowed 141 points off turnovers, while getting just 65 off forced turnovers.
 
RED ZONE PRODUCTION: Portland State made 37 trips to the red zone (inside the opponent's 20-yard line) last season. The Vikings scored on 28 trips (76%), but only 17 were touchdowns (46%). Conversely, opponents made 51 red zone trips, scoring 44 times (86%), including 32 touchdowns (63%).
 
PASS DEFENSE: It is tough to stop any offense in the dynamic Big Sky Conference. And modern passing attacks get better and better every year. However, the Vikings still need to improve their pass defense after struggling to slow opponent passing games the past three seasons, allowing 275.3, 288.7 and 282.3 yards per game. The 288.7 yards allowed in 2013 is the most in school history with last year's 282.3 ranking as second most.
 
FINISHING STRONG: The Vikings have given away a lot of big leads in recent seasons. Here is a list:
 
Blown double-digit leads, 2012-14
(8, the first six were at home, last two on the road)
• (H) Sept. 22, 2012, PSU led Southern Utah, 28-13 with 2:00 to play in the second quarter, then lost 49-42.
• (H) Nov. 3, 2012, PSU led Northern Colorado 28-10 with 9:51 to play in the third quarter, then lost 32-28.
• (H) Nov. 17, 2012, PSU led Eastern Washington 26-14 with 6:23 to play in the third quarter, then lost 41-34.
• (H) Sept. 26, 2013, PSU led Cal Poly 21-7 at halftime, then lost 38-34.
• (H) Nov. 16, 2013, PSU led Sacramento State 21-10 at halftime, then lost 43-42.
• (H) Nov. 23, 2013, PSU led Eastern Washington 21-7 at halftime, then lost 42-41.
• (R) Oct. 11, 2014, PSU led North Dakota 13-3 at halftime, then lost 24-16.
• (R) Nov. 15, 2014, PSU led Sacramento State, 41-31 with 6:29 left in the third quarter, then lost 48-41.
 
KNOCKING OFF THE FAVORITE: Portland State has lost 21 straight games to nationally-ranked teams dating to the 2008 season. The Vikings figure to play at least three nationally-ranked teams in 2015.
 
THIS STATE IS NO TREASURE FOR THE VIKINGS: Portland State has had little success against Treasure State (Montana) teams during the past decade. Portland State has lost eight straight games to the University of Montana, and 12 of the last 13 meetings. PSU's last win over fourth-ranked Montana was a 35-32 decision in Portland in 2004. The Vikings have lost eight in a row and 11 of 12 to Montana State. PSU's last win over ninth-ranked Montana State was 44-41 in 2005… in 2015, the Vikings get a chance to end both of those losing streaks at Providence Park. The Bobcats visit on Oct. 17, while the Grizzlies come to town on Oct. 31.

VIKING FOOTBALL TICKETS ARE ON SALE: Season and single-game tickets are now on sale for Portland State Football. Season tickets range from $60 to $100 each. Single-game tickets range from $20 to $69. Students and B-Mart section tickets are $10 each. Kids 14 and under are $5. Special group pricing and "Montana-Pack" tickets are also available. Visit www.GoViks.com of call 1-888-VIK-TIKS for all details and pricing.

2015 FALL CAMP PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Aug. 10    4-7 p.m.; media availability beginning at 3 p.m.
Aug. 11    9-11 a.m.
Aug. 12    9-11 a.m.
Aug. 13    9-11 a.m.
Aug. 14    9-11 a.m.
Aug. 15    9-11 a.m.
Aug. 16    Off Day