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Game 4
MONTANA STATE BOBCATS (2-1, 0-0) at PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (1-2, 0-0)
Saturday, September 22, 2:05 p.m. • Hillsboro Stadium (7,200), Hillsboro, OR

TELEVISION: None, SWX in Montana
RADIO: Rip City Radio 620 AM, www.ripcityradio.com • Pregame Show: 1 p.m. • Play-by-play: Matt Richert • Analyst: Mike Lund
INTERNET: Live video stream: Pluto TV (Channel 232), www.pluto.tv • Live stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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THE SERIES RECORD: VIKINGS vs. MONTANA STATE
All-Time Series: Montana State leads 20-10 • The series is tied 7-7 in Portland • MSU leads in Bozeman 13-2 • PSU leads in Billings 1-0
Big Sky Conference Series: Montana State leads 13-7 • PSU leads in Portland 5-4 • MSU leads in Bozeman 9-2
 
Big Sky Conference games
Oct. 26, 1996: MSU 24-6 at Bozeman
Oct. 25, 1997: PSU 44-0 at Portland
Oct. 17, 1998: PSU 34-31 at Bozeman
Oct. 16, 1999: PSU 49-28 at Portland
Nov. 4, 2000: PSU 31-24 at Bozeman
Nov. 3, 2001: PSU 33-21 at Portland
Nov. 16, 2002: MSU 28-26 at Bozeman
Nov. 15, 2003: MSU 25-14 at Portland
Oct. 16, 2004: MSU 31-24 at Bozeman (ot)
Oct. 15, 2005: PSU 44-41 at Portland
Oct. 7, 2006: MSU 14-0 at Bozeman
Nov. 10, 2007: MSU 50-36 at Portland
Nov. 15, 2008: MSU 49-32 at Bozeman
Nov. 7, 2009: MSU 28-10 at Portland
Oct. 9, 2010: MSU 44-31 at Bozeman
Oct. 8, 2011: MSU 38-36 at Portland
Nov. 10, 2012: MSU 65-30 at Bozeman
Nov. 8, 2014: MSU 29-22 at Bozeman
Oct. 17, 2015: PSU 59-42 at Portland
Oct. 7, 2017: MSU 30-22 at Bozeman
 
GAME WEEK ACTIVITIES
VIKINGS ON THE RADIO: All Portland State football games can be heard on Rip City Radio 620 AM and www.ripcityradio.com. The Viking Pre-Game Show begins one hour prior to kickoff each week... Matt Richert (play-by-play) and Mike Lund (analyst) call the action.
 
VIKINGS ON THE INTERNET: Live streaming video of all Portland State home and Big Sky Conference games can be seen on Pluto TV (channel 232) and www.watchbigsky.com... Live stats for Portland State home games are at www.ViksLive.com.
 
BRUCE BARNUM ON THE RADIO AND TV: Viking football Coach Bruce Barnum can be heard every Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. on Rip City Radio 620 AM. There is a simulcast on NBC Sports Northwest on Comcast Cable Systems. Barnum joins Travis Demers and Chad Doing as he reviews and previews Viking football games.
 
VIKING FOOTBALL LUNCHEONS: Portland State Athletics football luncheons take place on Friday's before home games at the Old Spaghetti Factory, located at 0715 SW Bancroft. Coach Barnum and Viking players will speak and be available for questions. The luncheon starts at noon and is open to the public and costs $13.
 
TICKETS: Tickets to all Vikings Football Games can be purchased in a variety of options including: Seasons Tickets, Mini-Plans, and Single Games. For more information and to purchase visit GoViks.com/Tickets or call 1.888.VIK.TIKS (1.888.845.8457).
 
BIG SKY PLAY BEGINS WITH MONTANA STATE AT HOME
Portland State took the first step in its drive for a turnaround season last Saturday with a convincing 63-14 victory over College of Idaho. The next step is this week: the Big Sky Conference opener against a quality opponent in Montana State.
     
The Vikings (1-2) and Bobcats (2-1) will meet this Saturday at Hillsboro Stadium as both teams start Big Sky play. It's another important game for PSU as road contests loom at Idaho and Montana over the next two weeks. The Vikings will try to take advantage of the home field once again, as well as pick up its first Big Sky win since 2016. It is also an opportunity for back-to-back wins for the first time since 2015.
     
PSU has yet to play an FCS opponent, having lost to a pair of FBS teams (Nevada and Oregon) and beating an NAIA team (College of Idaho). That means who the Vikings really are remains a bit of a mystery. Meanwhile, the Bobcats have played three straight FCS opponents, beating Western Illinois and Wagner at home with a loss in between on the road at Top-10 South Dakota State. 
     
Portland State is playing the second of four home games at Hillsboro Stadium this season. PSU played the entire 2000 (4-2) and 2010 (1-3) seasons at Hillsboro due to construction at Providence Park. Including some one-off contests in other seasons, PSU is 7-7 all-time using Hillsboro Stadium as its home field. Montana State has never played in the suburban Portland stadium.
     
Saturday's game is not televised in the Portland area, but will be on SWX in Montana. A live video stream on Pluto TV (www.pluto.tv, channel 232) and WatchBigSky.com is available. The radio broadcast is available at Rip City Radio 620 AM in the Portland area, and www.ripcityradio.com, with the pregame show at 1 p.m. Live stats can be found at www.ViksLive.com.
 
STORYLINES
• Montana State has won nine of the last 10 meetings overall. PSU's last win was recent, however, a 59-22 victory over the Bobcats in Providence Park in 2015.
• Last season's Bobcat quarterback, Chris Murray, was ruled ineligible prior to the season. In last year's game against the Vikings, Murray rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns as the Bobcats totaled 403 yards on the ground.
• Although Portland State has played entire seasons (2000, 2010) and individual games (2014, 2015, 2017) at Hillsboro Stadium, the Vikings have never hosted Montana State there.
• Montana State leads the Big Sky series 13-7 and the all-time series 20-10.
 
SCOUTING MONTANA STATE
The Bobcats have gotten off to a good start in 2018 against a quality schedule. MSU is 2-1 and will be looking for its first road win of the season. Head Coach Jeff Choate (11-14) is now in his third season at Montana State.
     
After struggling offensively the first two weeks, Montana State opened things up in a win over Wagner. The Cats had managed just 432 total yards and 18 first downs in the team's first two games. That seemed a distant memory Saturday, when Montana State rolled up 556 yards, 24 first downs, and 47 points.
     
Redshirt freshman Tucker Rovig has started the last two games at quarterback. He passed for 310 yards and three touchdowns against Wagner.
     
Isaiah Ifanse rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown against the Seahawks and had 72 yards receiving and a second touchdown. The Bobcats are led in rushing by Troy Anderson, a quarterback/running back hybrid, who has 212 total rushing yards and three touchdowns.
     
Kevin Kassis is the main target in the passing game with 17 catches for 233 yards and a touchdown.
     
On defense, the Bobcats have allowed 402.0 yards and 30.7 points per game. They have eight sacks and two interceptions in three games. Linebacker Brayden Konkol leads the team with 17 tackles, a sack and an interception.
     
The Bobcats feature a talented kicker in Tristan Bailey. He is 6-6 on field goals this season with a long of 50. However he is only 7-9 on extra points.
     
MSU has only 116 penalty yards in three games compared to 212 for the Vikings.
 
LAST MEETING, Oct. 7, 2017: Montana State 30, Portland State 22
Montana State's ground game, led by quarterback Chris Murray, overwhelmed the Vikings. Murray rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns as the Bobcats totaled 403 yards on the ground.
   
MSU was only 2-9 passing for nine yards and an interception, but the Vikings could not take advantage.
   
Viking quarterback Josh Kraght kept the Vikings in the game, throwing for a career-high 317 yards and two touchdowns to Charlie Taumoepeau.
   
A pair of punting game snafus for Portland State resulted in a recovered fumble for touchdown by the Bobcats and a blocked punt by the Bobcats.
 
PORTLAND STATE AND THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE
Portland State begins its 23rd season as a member of the Big Sky Conference. PSU has never won a Big Sky title, but the Vikings have finished second five times - most recently in 2015. Portland State has had nine winning seasons in the previous 22 years and reached the FCS playoffs twice (2000 and 2015).
 
GAME TIME CHANGE FOR NOV. 3
Portland State's home game with Idaho State on November 3 at Hillsboro Stadium will now kick off at 7:05 p.m. The game time has been changed to accommodate an Eleven Sports Television broadcast.
 
QUICK SNAPS
 
ENDING AN UGLY STREAK: Portland State stopped a 15-game losing streak with its 63-14 win over College of Idaho. The Vikings also ended an eight-game home losing streak. PSU will now try to end a 10-game Big Sky losing streak. Next week at Idaho will be a chance to stop a nine-game road losing streak.
 
A SALVE FOR THE WOUND: A chance to come home meant a chance for the Portland State Vikings to do some special things. Heavy favorites in their game against College of Idaho on Saturday at Hillsboro Stadium, the Vikings did not disappoint. They had 28 points at the end of the first quarter, led 49-14 at halftime and rolled to a 63-14 win. That victory wiped away a losing streak that dated back to 2016.
     
Good things were happening all over the field for PSU as the Vikings totaled 657 yards on offense and forced four turnovers on defense.
     
Also on defense, PSU allowed its fewest points since holding Weber State to 14 on Oct. 8, 2016 and the 231 yards allowed were the fewest since a 66-7 win over North Texas on Oct. 10, 2015 (198). That was also the last time PSU scored more than 60 points in a game until Saturday.
Portland State scored nine touchdowns against the Coyotes, and all nine were scored by a different player with six scoring their first career TDs.
 
YOUTH SHALL SERVE:  
• Portland State's first game two-deep included six freshmen, seven sophomores, five juniors and four seniors on offense; three freshmen, five sophomores, seven juniors and seven seniors on defense. Special teams (K, P, LS, PR, KOR) included three freshmen, six sophomores and one junior.
• The Vikings had 12 players start their first game for Portland State at Nevada: FR OL Brady Brick, JR OL Carlos Barraza, FR WR Mataio Talalemotu, SO WR Emmanuel Daigbe, SO WR Easton Trakel, SO DT Semise Kofe, SR LB Houston Barnes, FR S Jared Reed, SO S Sam Inos, FR CB Anthony Adams, JR CB Montre Brown and FR K Cody Williams. Four more players started for the first time at Oregon: SR OL Peter Fisherkeller, FR WR Beau Kelly, JR RB Sirgeo Hoffman and JR S Romeo Gunt.
• 29 of the 55 players that saw field time at Nevada were true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophomores. 26 of 52 that played at Oregon were TR FR, RS FR and SO. In all, PSU has played 63 players this season and 32 are either freshmen (14) or sophomores (18).
• Portland State features 56 true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophomores on the 92-man roster. There are 24 juniors and 12 seniors.
• At wide receiver, the Vikings played only freshmen and sophomores (eight of them) through the first two games. Against College of Idaho, JR WRs Isaiah Woods and Jacob Bystry became the first upperclassmen to play at the position, with each playing his first game at Portland State.
• All three Viking quarterbacks on the active roster are sophomores.
 
TOUCHDOWN CHARLIE: Preseason All-American and All-Big Sky Conference selection Charlie Taumoepeau has lived up to the hype after three games. He posted a pair of 100-yard games against Oregon and Nevada, scoring four touchdowns, two of which were 70+ yards. He saw limited time against College of Idaho, but still racked up a 71-yard TD catch. It marked the third straight game he has caught a 70+yard TD.
• Through three games, Touchdown Charlie has five scores, which ranks third in the nation. He has caught nine passes for 326 yards. The 36.2 yard per catch average ranks third in the nation. Taumoepeau has five catches of more than 40 yards, and remarkably, one of minus-3 yards.
• Taumoepeau scored on a 48-yard touchdown reception in the Vikings' first series at Nevada, then had a 75-yard TD scamper in the second quarter (3-130-2 total). Each time he broke at least two tackles then outraced the Wolfpack to the endzone.
• Charlie had a 71-yard TD, and 47-yard reception and a four-yard TD among five catches at Oregon (5-125-2).
• He ranks in the top 10 in the nation in two categories: TD receptions (5, 3rd), and yards per catch (36.22, 3rd). He is 20th in yards per game (108.7).
• In his 25-game career, Taumoepeau has 62 receptions for 1,148 yards and nine touchdowns.
• He has three career 100-yard games: Career highs of nine receptions for 145 yards and a TD in last year's season finale at Eastern Washington; 3-130-2 to open the season at Nevada, then 5-125-2 against the Ducks. That means 18 receptions, 471 yards and six TDs in his last four games with a 26.2 average per catch.
• Named second team All-Big Sky Conference last season with 45 receptions for 673 yards and 3 TDs. It was the most receptions by a Viking tight end since PSU Hall of Famer Barry Naone had 48 in 1988.
• Named to the STATS Preseason 1st team All-America list, as well as preseason All-Big Sky Conference. Taumoepeau was a second-team All-Big Sky Conference performer last season. Phil Steele and College Sports Madness each named Taumoepeau second team All-American and second team All-Big Sky behind Wes Preece of UC Davis on both teams.
 
QUARTERBACK CAROUSEL: SO QBs Davis Alexander and Jalani Eason have been very effective this season, combining for eight touchdowns and only one interception in three games. In all, PSU has passed for 706 yards (235.3 per game) and ranks third in the nation in yards per completion (21.4). In fact, the Vikings are leading the Big Sky Conference in the "mysterious" formula of pass efficiency with a 174.2 rating. Individually, Eason leads the Big Sky in efficiency with a 202.3 rating. The tandem has also rushed for 205 yards.
• Against College of Idaho, Alexander played only the first half, completing 6-11 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed four times for 77 yards and a fourth score. That was 250 yards of total offense on 10 plays... Eason played the second half, completing 5-6 passes (with the sixth being a drop) for 134 yards and a score. He also rushed eight times for a game-high 83 yards. That was 217 yards of total offense on 13 plays.
 
WINGIN' IT: SO QB Davis Alexander earned the starting nod out of preseason camp. He made his fourth career start at Nevada, completing 13-32 passes for 224 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. In one half of  his start against College of Idaho, he was 6-11 for 173 yards and three touchdowns.
• In five career starts, he is 101-189 (.534) for 1,562 (312.4 per game), 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.
• Alexander started the last three games of 2017 and showed a big arm. In his three starts, he completed 82-146 passes (56.1%) for 1,165 yards (388.3 per game), five touchdowns and two interceptions.
• He passed for 409 yards at Cal Poly last season in his starting debut.
 
YOUNG PUPS CHASING THAT FRISBEE: Portland State's has a youthful wide receiving corps. Through three games, they have started to emerge. FR Mataio Talalemotu (6-70-1), SO Emmanuel Daigbe (4-60-1) and FR Beau Kelly (5-95-0) have all been starters. SO Easton Trakel, the only returning wide receiver with a reception coming into the season, started the first game, had one catch for eight yards but has since been out with injury... against College of Idaho, FR Davis Koetter (2-105-1) had a 100-yard game while JR Isaiah Woods (1-14) made his first catch.
 
THE COMMITTEE: In addition to 41 running plays by Viking quarterbacks, PSU has had four running backs handle the load. SO QB Jalani Eason (24-108-0) and SO QB Davis Alexander (14-97-1) lead the team in rushing. They are followed closely by SO RB Antwone Williams (14-97-1), SR RB Darian Green (23-80-1), JR RB Sirgeo Hoffman (27-76-0) and JR RB Carlos Martin (18-55-1).
• Williams (83), Alexander (77), Green (44) and Martin (39) all had career-high rushing yards against College of Idaho. Eason also rushed for 83 yards.
 
BRIGHT SPOTS ON SPECIAL TEAMS: The Vikings struggled mightily with their special teams play in 2017. They made only 3-9 field goals, missed four extra points, had a punting average of 36.3 and allowed three kick/punt returns for touchdowns. Early returns on the Vikings STs show the specialists are trending in the right direction.
• FR K Cody Williams is 13-13 on extra points and made his only field goal attempt (31 yards) against Nevada. He is one of only four Big Sky kickers who are perfect on PATs this season.
• Opponents average only 16.8 yards per kick return (after averaging 20.8 last season).
• SO P Ben Niesner has averaged 40.2 yards on 22 punts with a career-long of 56 and has twice backed his opponents up to the one-yard line.
• The Vikings have already blocked three kicks this season, which ranks third in the nation and is one more than they had all of last season. JR DT Anthony Del Toro blocked an extra point and JR DT Kenton Bartlett blocked a field goal attempt at Nevada, while FR DE Jake Porter got a blocked extra point at Oregon.
 
DEFENSIVE NOTES: Against College of Idaho, Portland State had its best defensive performance by score (14 points allowed) in two seasons (19 games). The 231 yards allowed were the fewest by a Viking team in three years (32 games). Portland State had a hefty total of 12 tackles for loss against C of I. SR DE Larry Ross and SR DT Dallas House had two each.
• FR S Anthony Adams recovered a fumble for a touchdown against College of Idaho. It was the first fumble recovery for a TD by a Viking since 2013... JR DE Shawn Richard also recovered a fumble after stripping the Coyotes' QB of the ball... JR ROV Romeo Gunt and SO S Sam Inos had interceptions.
• New starters on defense SR LB Houston Barnes (25) and SO S Sam Inos (16) are the Vikings' top tacklers this season.
• SO DT Semise Kofe tackled Nevada's Kelton Moore in the endzone for a safety in game one. It was the first safety by the Viking defense since 2014.
• SR S Artuz Manning is PSU's active career leader in tackles with 124. Both SR LB Kasun Jackett (102) and SR LB Sam Bodine (111) have also passed the century mark in their careers.
 
TAKEAWAY TOTE:  Portland State had a big deficiency in turnover margin last season, committing 21 turnovers while making only 12 takeaways. With four forced turnovers against College of Idaho, the Vikings now have a +3 turnover margin this season (5/2)... PSU has 21 points off turnovers while opponent have scored six.
 
THIRD-DOWN THEORY: Nobody expected it to be easy - and it wasn't - but PSU's two-game run through the FBS proved two things: You have to be able to convert third downs to score points, and you have to stop third downs to prevent points. PSU converted only 7-33 third-down tries (21%) and allowed 11-20 conversions (55%) to their opponents in those games. Those numbers took a dramatic turn against College of Idaho as PSU was 7-11 on third (64%) and held C of I to 5-14 (36%).
 
2018 SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL
 
LIVING UP TO THE HYPE: Junior tight end Charlie Taumoepeau was named a preseason All-American by several media outlets prior to the 2018 season. In two games against FBS level programs to open the year, Charlie lived up to the hype. Taumoepeau caught three passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the opener at Nevada (8/31). Included were touchdowns of 48 and 75 yards. In the game at 23rd-ranked Oregon (9/8), Taumoepeau made five catches for 125 yards and two more scores - 71 yards and four yards. He also had a 47 yard reception. After two weeks of play, he was tied for the national lead in receiving touchdowns (4), third in yards per catch (31.88) and ninth in yards per game (127.5).
 
A SPECTACULAR HOMECOMING: Portland State played its first home game since week 10 of 2017 and the result was just what it needed with a 63-14 win over College of Idaho (9/15). The victory ended a 15-game losing streak and eight-game home losing streak. PSU totaled 657 yards of offense and nine different players scored touchdowns. SO QB Davis Alexander had 250 yards of total offense and was responsible for four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) in just one half of play. The Vikings held the Coyotes to 231 yards of offense and forced four turnovers. It was the most points scored by the Vikings in 32 games, the fewest points allowed in 19 games, and fewest yards allowed in 32 games.