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Portland, OR - All the promise of two tough performances against FBS programs disappeared in a flurry of mistakes as Portland State fell 37-14 in its home opener against UC Davis at Providence Park Saturday.
The Vikings played both Brigham Young and Oregon State tough in their first two games, but against the Aggies Saturday they committed all the mistakes coaches hate to see: Two blocked punts, a fumble, missed blocking assignments and a critical personal foul that kept a UCD drive alive just when PSU didn't need it to happen.
"We got outplayed. We got whupped," said Viking Coach Bruce Barnum. "I don't think that is my football team (today) after what we saw in the prior two games… there was no rhythm, no energy, but UC Davis outplayed us."
UC Davis rose to 2-1 for the season. The Vikings dropped to 0-3 pending their Sept. 30 Big Sky Conference game against Montana at Hillsboro Stadium.
The problems started at the beginning. The Vikings ground their offensive gears all during the first half while the Aggies built a 17-0 lead and took control of the game.
Only a couple of red-zone stands stood between the Vikings and oblivion as the Aggies moved the ball up and down the field almost at will. The visitors rolled for 295 total yards, most conspicuously through the air as quarterback Jake Maier hit 13 of 19 passes for 195 yards.
The Vikings, in the meantime, used three different tailbacks and managed 116 rushing yards in the first two quarters — 36 on second-quarter cruise by quarterback Jalani Eason.
But PSU struggled when it was time to throw, hitting only 4 of 14 passes for a paltry 41 yards. The Vikings moved senior Josh Kraight in from wide receiver to quarterback for the last drive of the second quarter to try to get something going.
The Aggies drove all the way to the PSU 5 yard line on the opening possession of the game, but the Vikings stiffened and UC-Davis had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Max O'Rourke. The Vikings turned the ball over on downs on their first possession and the Aggies pounded on the door once again, but PSU doused the drive on a fourth-down run that came up short at the Portland State 5.
The Vikings barely had time to exhale after the stand, though. They ran three plays out to their own 14 and set up to punt, but Ryan Parenteau broke through for a clean block of Hayden Cowden's kick. Darryl Graham picked it up with nobody around him at the PSU 9 and walked in for a touchdown that gave his team a 10-0 lead with a 1:44 left in the first period.
The two teams traded blows into the latter part of the second quarter before the Aggies struck for a third time. UCD pinned the Vikings back inside their own 10 yard line and got the ball at the PSU 49; from there, it took the Aggies just three plays.
The last of those was a sideline pass from Maier to Aaron Moore, who caught the ball at the 8 yard line, deked out two Vikings defenders and walked into the end zone with 3:36 left in the half.
Portland State's only scoring chance died in the middle of the second quarter when Graycen Kennedy's 42-yard field goal attempt drifted a bit too far left.
The halftime break did the PSU offense some good. The Vikings took the opening kickoff of the third quarter 65 yards on a more-or-less straight line in 12 plays for a touchdown that closed the Aggie lead to 10.
Darnell Adams got the touchdown from the 8 yard line when he sliced across the middle and Eason hit him for the score.
The score got the Vikings on the board, but it didn't turn anything around. They held serve twice, but Parenteau struck for a second time late in the third period when he slithered in and blocked Cowden's punt again.
That set the Aggies up at the PSU 15, but the PSU defense rose up to stop them — almost. The Vikings stopped Namane Modise on a third-down run, but a Vikings defensive personal extended the drive. Three plays later the Aggies were in the end zone again on Maier's short pass to Ethan Hicks.
The Aggies scored twice more in the forth quarter to establish a 37-7 lead and run away with the game.
Eason salvaged some dignity for PSU with a late 72-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard pass from Eason to Darnell Adams.
Davis ran up 490 total yards against the Vikings' defense. Maier wound up hitting 24 of 32 pass for 316 yards. The Vikings ran for 246 yards, but hit only 12 passes in 31 attempts for just 115 yards.
Freshman Jason Talley had a big day for the Vikings with 77 yards on 14 carries.
GAME NOTES: Portland State hosts Montana on Sept. 30 at Hillsboro Stadium. That game kicks off at 2 p.m.
