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Hillsboro, OR - With a win a long time in coming, the Portland State Vikings left no doubt.

Portland State scored four touchdowns in the first quarter and got a fifth early in the second quarter, racing to a 35-7 lead, and an eventual 63-14 victory over College of Idaho at Hillsboro Stadium.

The victory ended a long losing streak for the Vikings, who came off an 0-11 season, then lost their first two games of 2018 against FBS level opponents. Now 1-2, PSU looks ahead to Big Sky Conference play next week against Montana State.

PSU was strong all around, gaining 657 yards on offense and forcing four turnovers on defense that led to three touchdowns. 

PSU was up 49-14 by halftime. Starting quarterback Davis Alexander threw for three touchdowns, hitting Charlie Taumoepeau, Mataio Talalemotu and Emmanuel Daigbe on scores. Taumoepeau's TD catch went for 71 yards, making it three straight weeks with a 70+ yard scoring catch.

Alexander also had a 16-yard rushing TD as he gained 77 yards on four carries. With 250 yards of total offense and four touchdowns by halftime, he didn't play in the second half. 

Defensively, the Vikings came up with numerous big plays. The first and most obvious was a fumble recovery for touchdown by redshirt freshman safety Anthony Adams late in the first quarter. After a bungled handoff by the Coyotes inside their own 10-yard line. Adams was able to pounce on the bounding ball in the end zone. 

Viking safety Romeo Gunt intercepted a pass late in the first half, returning it 31 yards to the C of I 16. Two plays later, and just before halftime, Alexander scrambled in from 16 yards out.

The second half included an interception by another safety, Sam Inos, and a strip and fumble recovery by defensive end Shawn Richard. In all, the Vikings had 12 tackles for loss and held College of Idaho to 231 total yards, with only 82 after halftime

"The defense was fun to watch. We had some guys in the quarterbacks' face and in the right spots," said Viking Coach Bruce Barnum.

PSU scored twice in the second half behind quarterback Jalani Eason. They might have had a third when Eason broke off a 47-yard run late in the game, but the Vikings elected to kneel on the ball for the final two plays and run out the clock.

Eason led the team to 331 yards after halftime. He tossed a 41-yard TD pass to redshirt freshman Davis Koetter, completing 5-6 passes overall for 134 yards. Eason also had 83 rushing yards and co-led the team with sophomore Antwone Williams (83 yards and a 14-yard TD run).

The Vikings had great balance on offense, rushing for 350 yards and passing for 307. Seven different players carried the ball, eight different players caught passes and nine different players had TDs -  five of which were the first in their careers.

"I needed to see our depth today. We found some guys that can contribute and play. "A lot of people played today. I was proud of everybody," Barnum said.

GAME NOTES: Portland State is now 16-0 against lower division opponents since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996… the victory also ended a stretch of eight straight home losses… the Vikings have their Big Sky Conference opener next Saturday at Hillsboro Stadium when they host Montana State. Kickoff is 2:05 p.m. The game is available on Pluto TV Channel 232, www.WatchBigSky.com and Rip City Radio 620 AM.