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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (0-10, 0-7) vs.
^#18 EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES (6-4, 5-2)
Saturday, November 18, 3 p.m. • Roos Field (8,600), Cheney, WA
TV: Root Sports • Play-by-play: Brad Adam • Analyst: Taylor Barton
RADIO: 103.7 The Legend, www.1037thelegend.com • Pregame Show: 2 p.m. • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Analyst: Mike Lund
INTERNET: Live video stream: None • Live stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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THE SERIES RECORD: VIKINGS vs. EAGLES
All-Time Series: PSU leads 20-18-1 • Series tied 10-10 in Portland • PSU leads 10-7-1 in Cheney • EWU leads 1-0 in Seattle
Big Sky Series: EWU leads 12-9 • EWU leads 7-4 in Portland • PSU leads 5-4 in Cheney • EWU leads 1-0 in Seattle
 
Streak: 
• Eastern Washington has won four of the last five. 
• Eastern Washington has won four straight in Portland.
• Portland State has won three of the last four played in Cheney.
 
VIKINGS GET ONE MORE CHANCE TO ERASE THE 0
Portland State enters the final week of the 2017 football season with a monumental task at hand. The Vikings need to erase the 0 at the front of its won-loss record (0-10). It will be particularly challenging as the Vikings will have to do so on the road, against their rival, the 18th-ranked Eastern Washington Eagles (6-4). In addition, the Eagles have a lot to play for as they seek a seventh win, which would likely be the ticket to the FCS Playoffs.
           
The Vikings and Eagles square off in a 3 p.m. game on the Inferno Turf at Roos Field in Cheney, WA this Saturday. The game will be televised on Root Sports around the northwest. The game also airs on 103.7 The Legend FM in Portland and www.1037thelegend.com. Live stats are available at www.ViksLive.com.
           
Portland State will try to avoid just the second winless season in school history. The only other time that occured was an 0-9 mark in 1951.
           
The good news for the Vikings the past two weeks has been the emergence of quarterback Davis Alexander, a redshirt freshman. Alexander has completed 54-95 passes for 779 yards, two touchdowns and one interception against Cal Poly and Weber State. His 409 yards at Cal Poly were the most passing yards by a Viking QB in nine seasons. With a newly-found passing attack, the Vikings hope to have success against an Eastern Washington defense that allows 461.2 yards (261 passing) and 33.4 points per game. 
           
The biggest challenge for the Vikings will be stopping the Eagles' passing attack that goes for over 300 yards per game and is led by All-American quarterback Gage Gubrud. Eastern Washington has been susceptible to turnovers (22), committing more than the Vikings (21). The Eagles' rank last in the Big Sky in turnover margin (-10).
           
Saturday's game also marks the renewal of the Dam Cup. Eastern Washington took the trophy home last season after a 35-28 win at Providence Park (See ANOTHER DAM CUP BATTLE below).
           
Eastern Washington has won four of the last five games in the series, but Portland State has won three of the last four games played in Cheney.
 
STORYLINES
• Eastern Washington tied North Dakota for the Big Sky Conference Championship (8-0) in 2016 and went all the way to the FCS semifinals before being eliminated.
• All-American quarterback Gage Gubrud returns after throwing for 5,160 yards and 48 touchdowns in 14 games. Gubrud averaged 411.9 yards of total offense per game to lead the nation.
• Eastern Washington led the nation in passing in 2016, averaging 401.0 yards per game, ranked second in total offense at 529.6 per game and were third in scoring at 42.4 points per game.
• Eastern Washington is the closest - in proximity - Big Sky Conference opponent, and the Eagles also maintain the longest continuous series with the Vikings. This year the teams will meet for the 28th consecutive season.
• Eastern Washington won the national championship in 2010, reached the semifinals in 2012, 2013 and 2016 and got to the quarterfinals in 2014.
• Portland State's all-time best passing game (Drew Hubel, 623 yards, 2008, 47-36 win) and rushing game (Ryan Fuqua, 393 yards, 2001, 37-22 win) and longest pass play (Jimmy Blanchard to Terry Charles, 99 yards, 1998, 48-39 win) have come against Eastern Washington.
 
LAST MEETING, Nov. 18, 2016: ^#3 Eastern Washington 35, Portland State 28
Upset-minded Portland State took a lead into the fourth quarter against Eastern Washington, but the third-ranked Eagles scored two touchdowns to pull out a 35-28 win. 
           
Portland State out-gained the Eagles powerhouse offense, 471-442, but couldn't get a first down with just over two minutes left at the Eastern Washington 23-yard line.
           
Alex Kuresa passed for 252 yards and rushed for 93 to lead the Viking offense. Nate Tago had 73 yards and two touchdown runs. 
           
For Eastern, quarterback Gage Gubrud threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns.
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Eastern Washington has been a Big Sky Conference power for the past decade. Last year the Eagles tied for the Big Sky Championship and reached the FCS semifinals before being eliminated. 
           
The Eagles have won or shared the Big Sky title five times in the past seven seasons. They won't win it this year, but they still have a lot for which to play. If the Eagles can get a seventh win against the Vikings, they are likely candidates for another trip to the FCS Playoffs.
           
All-American quarterback Gage Gubrud is having another big season. He has completed 244-390 passes for 2,897 yards and 22 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. Gubrud served a one-game team suspension last week, but should return to face the Vikings. 
           
Gubrud's top targets have been receivers Nic Sblendorio (63-639-3) and Nsimba Webster (59-693-5). The running game is led by Antoine Custer Jr., who has 133 carries for 599 yards and seven touchdowns. Sam McPherson has rushed for 477 yards. Gubrud can also run, and has 487 positive rushing yards. He leads the Big Sky in total offense at 340.7 yards per game.
           
The Eagles' defense has given up significant points (33.4) and yards (461.2) this season. But it is also capable of the big play, having made 24 quarterback sacks and forcing 12 turnovers. Linebacker Mitch Fettig is the team's top tackler with 89 on the season. Albert Havili has a team-high six sacks. Josh Lewis has intercepted three passes and Jack Sendelbach has three fumble recoveries.
 
VIKINGS VS. NATIONALLY-RANKED PROGRAMS
Portland State plays its third nationally-ranked opponent of the season in Eastern Washington. The Vikings have lost to ranked opponents Northern Arizona and Weber State. Portland State is 19-43 all-time (13-19 home, 6-23 road) against nationally-ranked FCS programs since moving to Division I in 1996. 
 
ANOTHER DAM CUP BATTLE
Portland State will try to reclaim the Dam Cup Trophy this week at Eastern Washington. The Vikings lost the Dam Cup last season, but has held it in four of the seven years of its existence. Previously an all-sports trophy, the Dam Cup is now in its third year as a football-only competition. 
 
More About the Dam Cup . . .
The Eastern Washington Eagles and Portland State Vikings began a five-sport rivalry cup called The Dam Cup in 2010-11. The Dam Cup celebrates the friendly rivalry between the states of Oregon and Washington within the Big Sky Conference.
           
The so-named rivalry refers to the four dams linking Oregon and Washington that one passes on the 339-mile drive from the Portland State campus to the Eastern Washington campus. Located along the Columbia River, they are Bonneville Dam, The Dalles Dam, The John Day Dam and the McNary Dam.
           
The purpose of the Dam Cup is to enhance the rivalry between Portland State and Eastern Washington and provide a sense of pride between alumni in the Portland and Spokane areas. Other goals include increasing attendance at events between both schools and building school spirit among each institutions' student body.
           
The winner of the Dam Cup will possess The Dam Trophy acknowledging the achievement for the following year.
 
Dam Cup Champions
2010-11         PSU               
2011-12         PSU   
2012-13         EWU  
2013-14         PSU
2014-15         EWU
2015-16         PSU
2016-17         EWU
 
ON THIS DATE: Nov. 18
The Vikings and Eagles also met on (Friday) Nov. 18 last season in Portland. The Eagles, ranked third in the nation, hung on for a 35-28 victory to earn a Big Sky Conference co-championship (8-0). Prior to that, PSU last played on Nov. 18 all the way back in 2000. PSU twice won NCAA II playoff games on Nov. 18 (56-50 in triple overtime against West Chester in 1989, and 56-35 over East Texas State in 1995). Both games were played at Civic Stadium. The Vikings are 5-3 on Nov. 18 dating back to 1957 (previous game dates not available).
 
QUICK SNAPS
 
SOME NUMBERS THAT NEED ERASING: Portland State went 9-2 in the regular season in 2015. Since that time it has been a rough road as the Vikings are 3-19. 
• Included in the last 22 games are an NCAA playoff loss, four losses to FBS opponents, an overtime loss, and six losses by a touchdown or less.
• The Vikings have lost 12 in a row dating to last season. They have lost eight straight home games and six straight road games.
• Portland State only has one other winless season (0-9 in 1951).
 
DAVIS ALEXANDER EMERGES: Based on his play late in the North Dakota game and a hunch by Head Coach Bruce Barnum, the Vikings have started RS FR QB Davis Alexander the past two games. It has proven to be a good decision. Though he had thrown only 10 passes in two previous appearances, Alexander was ready for his close up. The Vikings reconfigured some things they do on offense to take advantage of Alexander's powerful throwing arm. The results proved it out. 
• Alexander completed 30-51 passes for 409 yards and a touchdown at Cal Poly. He also had one interception. It was the most passing yards by a Viking quarterback since Drew Hubel had 474 in a game in 2008. Alexander was sacked three times, but had 35 positive rushing yards on five other carries.
• Against Weber State, Alexander completed 24-44 passes for 370 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He was sacked three times, but had 47 positive rushing yards and a touchdown.
• In two starts he is 54-95 for 779 yards, two TDs and one interception.
 
SOMEBODY HAD TO CATCH THOSE PASSES: SR WR Trent Riley has been the beneficiary of Alexander's passing more than any other. Riley set new career highs of 12 catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns at Cal Poly. He has 18 receptions for 228 yards and three touchdowns in the past two games... Riley leads the team with 51 receptions this season, which is also the most by a Viking in four years. Riley has 595 yard and five touchdowns. He ranks seventh in the Big Sky in receptions.
 
KRAGHT-Y PERFORMER: SR WR Josh Kraght continues to make his mark as an all-around player. He was involved in two trick plays at Cal Poly that both resulted in touchdowns. The first was a 24-yard pass to SR WR Trent Riley for touchdown after taking a lateral pass from FR QB Davis Alexander. Later, Kraght pulled off a fake field goal as the holder, pulling his hold and running to the left corner of the endzone for a score. For the game, he had five receptions for 43 yards, a pass completion for 24 yards and a six-yard run. 
• In his Portland State career, Kraght has been a quarterback, slot receiver and punt returner. Kraght has played slot receiver again this year as well as quarterback. On Sept. 2 against Oregon State Kraght nearly led the Vikings to a win in the fourth quarter, scoring a go-ahead touchdown with 2:43 remaining on a five-yard run. For the game, he had three receptions for 82 yards and touchdowns of 42 and 37 yards. He added eight carries for 50 yards and a TD. And, he completed 4-9 passes for 59 yards. That's a total of 191 yards and three TDs.
• Kraght started the next three games at QB but has since moved back to receiver. In his three starts he had 962 yards of total offense, 718 passing yards, career-highs in rushing and passing, and accounted for four TDs.
• His line for 2017 includes 19 receptions for 258 yards and two touchdowns, 48 rushing plays for 313 yards and three touchdowns, and 72-144 passing for 817 yards and four touchdowns. That is a total of 1,388 yards and nine touchdowns.
• In 2016, Kraght led the team with 36 receptions for 518 yards and a touchdown. He had eight rushing plays for 47 yards and a touchdown, 11 punt returns for 64 yards, and completed 3-5 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown.
For his career, Kraght has been a quadruple threat:
• He has completed 125-248 passes for 1,463 yards, seven touchdowns and eight interceptions.
• Kraght has rushed 101 times for 591 yards and six touchdowns. 
• Kraght has 71 career receptions for 1,003 yards and four touchdowns.
• He has 28 punt returns for 153 yards.
• In total, he has accounted for 3,210 yards and 17 touchdowns.
 
OLD MAN RIVER KEEPS ON FLOWING: Head Coach Bruce Barnum likes to call SR WR Darnell Adams "Old Man River." Why? Well, Adams is in his sixth season at Portland State, and will turn 24 years old on Nov. 15. In the off-season Adams was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA due to losing two seasons to injury (2013 - knee; 2016 - foot). He missed the game with North Dakota due to injury and hopes to return this week. For the most part, Adams has been healthy this season. And he has produced:
• Adams has 41 receptions for a team-leading 666 yards and four touchdowns. He ranks ninth in catches and sixth in yards in the Big Sky.
• Adams has set a new career high for receiving yards three times this season. Over the past two weeks, he has 12 receptions for 294 yards. 
• Among current players, Adams is PSU's career leader in receiving with 96 catches for 1,529 yards and 11 touchdowns in 43 career games played.
 
THE COMMITTEE: Portland State's running game under Bruce Barnum has eclipsed 2,000 yards in all eight seasons and averaged over 200 yards per game in all eight seasons. It has usually been done without a "big" back, but rather "by committee." This year, the committee is in session again.
• The Vikings have gone away from the running game the past two weeks. That has affected their overall rushing stats, dropping them to 175.0 per game. The loss of SR RB Za'Quan Summers (knee) has also had an impact on the running game, but PSU has used a variety of backs (and quarterbacks) to get its yardage. 
• Eight different Vikings are averaging double figures in rushing yards per game. SR RB Za'Quan Summers was the leader, averaging 64.3 yards before going down with a knee injury. 
• Eight different Viking rushers have scored touchdowns.
• The Vikings had a season-high 305 rushing yards against Northern Arizona.
• JR RB Andre Petties-Wilson who has made the switch from wide receiver has the longest play from scrimmage for the Vikings this season with a 77-yard TD run at Idaho State.
 
AWESOME DAWSON: SR WR/KR Kahlil Dawson had a big day against Montana, returning a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown. He had 162 yards on kick returns and also caught two passes for 33 yards. 
• Dawson has three kick returns for touchdown in his career - one in each of the last three seasons. 
• Dawson totaled 248 return yards at Idaho State with nine kick returns for 217 yards and one punt return for 31 yards.
• With 2,032 kick return yards in his career, Dawson ranks second all-time at PSU. He has a career average of 22.8 yards.
• Dawson has the most combined return yards in the nation this year (1,080 - 992 kick, 88 punt).
 
JUST CALL HIM MR. FIRST DOWN: SO TE Charlie Taumoepeau is one of the Vikings' top receivers this season with 36 catches for a 528 yards and two touchdowns. 
• Taumoepeau had career-highs of six receptions for 73 yards at BYU. He then went for a career-high 92 yards and two touchdowns at Montana State.
• All 13 of his receptions in the first three games went for first downs. In all, 28 of his 36 catches have been first downs.
 
DEFENSIVE NOTES: 
• JR LB Kasun Jackett has taken over the team lead with 85 total tackles this season, ranking 10th in the Big Sky. He had a career-high 16 tackles and a fumble recovery at Cal Poly. 
• SR LB Beau Duronslet has 58 tackles this season. Duronslet is the Vikings' active career leader in tackles with 243. With an interception and a fumble recovery (both leading to Viking scores) against OSU, Duronslet now has five takeaways in his career. He was named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week for Sept. 2. Unfortunately, a knee injury against Weber State has ended his season.
• SR CB Chris Seisay intercepted two passes against Montana. He had a third pick taken away after the Vikings were flagged for a penalty. He has four interceptions in the 14 games he has played cornerback for the Vikings but has missed the last three games with injury.
• JR S Artuz Manning has 56 tackles this season, an interception, four tackles for loss and a team-high six pass breakups. His 5.4 solo tackles per game ranks 27th in the nation... Manning has 115 career tackles in 29 games. He has missed the last three games with injury.
• SR DE Davond Dade made four tackles, with two for losses, including a sack, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry against BYU, earning Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors.
• FR LB Nicolas Ah Sam became the second true freshman (QB Jalani Eason) to earn a start, when he lined up against Northern Arizona. Ah Sam made four tackles, two for losses and a sack. He has now started five games in a row and made 25 tackles in those starts.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES: 
• Portland State started three freshmen on special teams with P Hayden Cowden, PK Noah Brosio and KO Thomas Ciobanasiu in the first game. FR K Graycen Kennedy played at Oregon State, attempting a 46-yard game-tying field goal with three seconds left. It was wide right by only a few feet. 
• Kennedy has become the starting kicker since game three. He has converted 3-8 field goals, including a long of 41 against Weber State.
• Cowden has averaged 38.2 yards on punts. He had a 70-yarder against BYU and was named Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. Cowden boomed a 76-yarder at Montana State.
• SR RB Mitch Thompson was a second team All-Big Sky Conference selection on special teams last season making 12 tackles. Despite missing three games, he has four special teams tackles this year and 25 over the past three years. 
• SR WR Justin Calo has a team-leading eight special teams tackles this year.
 
TRUE FRESHMEN FEATURED ON 2017 VIKINGS: A total of nine true freshmen have played this season. Included are QB Jalani Eason, RB Antwone Williams, LB Dylan Hanley, TE AJ Ruffin, RB Jason Talley, K Noah Brosio, P Hayden Cowden, DT Semise Kofe and LB Nicolas Ah Sam.
• In all, PSU has played 31 underclassmen (true freshmen, redshirt freshmen, sophomores).
• The offensive backfield currently features three true freshmen (Eason, Talley, Williams), a redshirt freshman (QB Davis Alexander), and three sophomores (RBs Carlos Martin and Chase Morrison and QB Cade Smith).
• Last season, Portland State played six true freshman on defense, in part due to numerous injuries, and a total of eight overall.
 
INJURED AND OUT: Injuries have begun to play a major role in the Portland State team's struggles. 
• Four key starters are injured and out for the year: SR LT Randin Crecelius, JR C Garret Stauffer and SR RB Za'Quan Summers, SR LB Beau Duronslet.
• Also missing the past three weeks have been starters SR CB Chris Seisay and JR S Artuz Manning. They may return this week. 
• Last year, Portland State lost 131 games to injury among 29 players. A testament to the number of injuries last season and accummulating injuries this season is that the longest stretch of consecutive starts by an offensive or defensive player is 11, by SR OL Justin Outslay.
 
VETERANS: Among Portland State's returning players, here are the most experienced:
• Most games played: SR WR/QB Josh Kraght, 45; SR FS Beau Duronslet, 45; SR WR Darnell Adams, 43; SR DE Davond Dade, 40; SR WR Kahlil Dawson, 38; SR DT William Dawson, 37.
• Most career starts: SR FS Beau Duronslet, 32; SR LT Randin Crecelius, 26; SR OL Chad Bach, 23; SR WR Darnell Adams, 22; SR WR Trent Riley, 22; SR DE Davond Dade, 22; SR WR/QB Josh Kraght, 21.
• Consecutive starts: SO LS Riley Shackelford, 21; Justin Outslay, 12; Davond Dade, 11.
 
ROSTER BREAKDOWN: On Portland State's current 94-player roster, there are 23 seniors, 15 juniors, 13 sophomores and 43 freshmen (30 true, 13 redshirt)... Portland State has 41 players on the roster from the state of Oregon.