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Game 6
SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS (1-4, 0-1) at PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (2-3, 0-1)
Saturday, Oct. 5, 2:05 p.m. • Hillsboro Stadium (7,200), Hillsboro, OR
TELEVISION: None
LIVE VIDEO AND AUDIO: Pluto TV Channel 532, www.pluto.tv, www.WatchBigSky.com • Pregame Show: 1:45 p.m. • Play-by-play: Matt Richert • Analyst: Mike Lund
LIVE STATS: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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GAME WEEK ACTIVITIES
BRUCE BARNUM ON THE RADIO AND TV: Viking football Coach Bruce Barnum can be heard and seen every Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. on Rip City Radio 620 AM and NBC Sports Northwest on Comcast Cable Systems. Barnum joins Chad Doing and Travis Demers on the Rip City Drive... on Thursdays Coach Barnum can be heard on John Canzano's Bald-Faced Truth Show, 750 The Game, at 1 p.m.
 
EVERY WEDNESDAY: Vikings Football With Bruce Barnum. Barny reviews and previews Viking football games with Mike Lund. The video is available at www.GoViks.com and on Vikings Social Media.
 
VIKING FOOTBALL LUNCHEONS: Portland State Athletics next football luncheon take places on Oct. 4 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. Cost is $15... on Oct. 11 the luncheon will be replaced by a TopGolf Tournament and luncheon at TopGolf in Hillsboro.

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VIKINGS HOST SOUTHERN UTAH LOOKING FOR FIRST BIG SKY WIN
Urgency comes early in the Big Sky Conference season for Portland State as the Vikings will host their Big Sky home opener this Saturday against Southern Utah.
     
The Vikings lost at Idaho State last Saturday, 51-24, in their first BSC game of the season. Now at 0-1 in league play, PSU needs to take advantage of the upcoming stretch of games. Southern Utah will be the first of two opponents at home (Idaho, Oct. 12). The Vikings play four of the next six at home overall. In addition, the back end of the Vikings schedule includes three nationally-ranked teams (Montana, Nov. 2; UC Davis, Nov. 9; at Eastern Washington, Nov. 23).
     
Portland State (2-3 overall) hopes to bounce back from an uncharacteristically poor defensive performance at Idaho State. The Bengals passed for five first-half touchdowns on their way to a 41-10 halftime lead, and never looked back. PSU is still leading the league in total defense (328.2) but gave up 509 yards and 51 points to Idaho State. A costly turnover, some untimely penalties and a few unfinished lengthy drives didn't help either as the Vikings lost to the Bengals.
     
Now, PSU faces a Southern Utah team in a similar spot. The Thunderbirds (1-4, 0-1) lost their Big Sky opener at home last week, 24-21, to Cal Poly. SUU has given up 39 points per game, but has passed the ball well this season, accumulating over 260 yards per game through the air.
     
Because of the 13-team Big Sky Conference, Portland State and Southern Utah have not met since 2016. The Thunderbirds last came to Portland in 2015.
     
Saturday's game will be live streamed on Pluto TV Channel 532, www.pluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com with a 2:05 p.m. kickoff. The pregame show begins at 1:45 p.m. Live stats are available www.ViksLive.com.
 
THE SERIES RECORD: VIKINGS vs. THUNDERBIRDS
All-Time Series: Portland State leads 9-4 • PSU leads 6-1 in Portland • The series is tied 3-3 in Cedar City
Big Sky Conference Series: Southern Utah leads 3-1 • The series is tied 1-1 in Portland • SUU leads 2-0 in Cedar City
 
STORYLINES
• Portland State and Southern Utah have not met since the 2016 season. They will meet again in Cedar City in 2020.
• Southern Utah comes to Portland for the first time since 2015. The 11th-ranked Vikings beat the 18th-ranked Thunderbirds, 24-23, on Nov. 24 of that year in a thriller. PSU stopped a two-point conversion attempt by Southern Utah in the closing moments.
• The teams were formerly co-members of the NCAA II Western Football Conference (1986-92).
• PSU is 12-11 all-time in Big Sky Conference home opening games.
 
LAST MEETING, Sept. 24, 2016: Southern Utah 45, Portland State 31
Portland State committed five turnovers, two of which led to Thunderbird touchdowns, providing the difference in the game at Cedar City. The Vikings were at the SUU three-yard line with 26 seconds left and trailing 38-31. But a PSU interception was returned 98 yards by Jermaine Doubs to seal the win for Southern Utah.
     
Southern Utah outgained PSU 423-80 in the first half and led 31-10. The Vikings rallied in the second half, gaining 429 yards and scoring three TDs after intermission to make it close.
     
Malik Brown (173) and Rayshawn Pringle (118) had big rushing games and huge TD runs for Southern Utah. Alex Kuresa passed for 264 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 133 yards and another TD, but also threw four interceptions.
 
SCOUTING THE THUNDERBIRDS
Southern Utah is 1-4 on the season, 0-1 in the Big Sky Conference. The Thunderbirds lost a heartbreaker at home last Saturday, 24-21, to Cal Poly, missing a 23-yard field goal attempt with 2:10 remaining in the game. The Thunderbirds lone win was 48-45 in overtime against Stephen F. Austin. They have played a difficult schedule, losing games at UNLV, Northern Iowa and South Dakota State.
     
Head Coach Demario Warren is in his fourth season at Southern Utah. He has a 17-22 record overall, including a 2016 win over Portland State.
     
Chris Helbig leads a solid passing attack, completing 110-177 passes for 1,096 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions this season. His main target is Lance Lawson who is tied for the Big Sky Conference lead with 44 receptions this season.
     
The Thunderbirds average 364.4 yards per game on offense. At just slightly over 100 yards rushing per game, they ranked 12th among 13 teams in the Big Sky.
     
Nela Otukolo has 44 tackles to lead the SUU defense. The Thunderbirds have forced 10 turnovers, including recovering seven fumbles, in five games.
     
Southern Utah allows 417.2 yards and 39.0 points per game on defense. The Thunderbirds rank last in rushing defense (212.2 yards allowed per game).
     
In addition, Southern Utah has made only 1-8 field goals this season.
 
ON THIS DATE: OCTOBER 5
• Portland State is 4-7 all-time on Oct. 5, including 2-3 at home.
• The Vikings are 0-2 in Big Sky Conference games on Oct. 5.
• In their only meeting on the this date in 1991, Portland State beat Southern Utah, 33-30, in Cedar City.
 
QUICK SNAPS
 
BENGALS EXPLOSIVE FIRST HALF TOO MUCH TO OVERCOME
A first half to forget doomed the Portland State Vikings at Holt Arena as the Idaho State Bengals rolled to a 51-24 win in the Big Sky Conference opener for both teams. Bengals quarterback Matt Struck threw five first-half touchdown passes, and the ISU defense picked up a score of its own on an interception return. That vaulted the Bengals to a 41-10 halftime lead and Portland State would never recover. PSU was down 20-0 in the first quarter and 34-3 in the second. The Vikings battled in the second half, but could not get closer than 24 points. Idaho State finished the day with 509 yards of total offense while Portland State was close with 505. But a costly turnover, some big plays by the Bengals, and some lengthy PSU drives that came up empty added up to a loss. Davis Alexander was 20-33 throwing the football for 296 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Sirgeo Hoffman rushed for a career-high 88 yards and a TD. Tight end Charlie Taumoepeau, finally back in the lineup after missing two games, caught seven passes for 104 yards. Romeo Gunt and Robert Holt each had eight tackles to lead the Vikings.
 
FLY SWATTER
SO S Anthony Adams is still looking for that elusive first interception of the season. But he has definitely made the airways a challenge for opposing quarterbacks. Adams has nine pass breakups this season and leads the Big Sky Conference. He ranks sixth in the nation... Adams has 16 career pass breakups in 16 games. He is already ninth all-time at PSU.
 
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Portland State had a rough go at Idaho State, giving up season-highs of 51 points and 509 yards. Still, PSU has good defensive numbers, allowing 328.2 yards and 26.4 points per game. Some highlights:
• The Vikings have held nine of the last 14 opponents to 20 points or less.
• PSU has five takeaways this season and SO LB Robert Holt has been involved in three of them. Holt had his first career interception against Arkansas, then he forced a fumble on a sack against Simon Fraser that was recovered for a touchdown. He forced another fumble against Eastern Oregon.
• The Vikings have 40 tackles for loss among 17 different players, 13 sacks and 23 pass breakups in five games... the 13 sacks are the most in the Big Sky... the 328.2 yards allowed per game also ranks first.
• SR ROV Romeo Gunt had a career-high 15 tackles - fourth-most tackles in the nation for the weekend - in the game against Arkansas. Gunt was named Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week... he currently leads the Vikings with 30 tackles.
• Portland State set two new school records against Simon Fraser. The -65 rushing yards allowed broke the previous mark of -21 by Western Washington in 1981; the 20 tackles for loss broke a mark of 18 set against Humboldt State in 2013. Fifteen different players were involved in the TFLs. PSU made eight sacks, led by three from SR DT Kenton Bartlett, nine pass breakups and forced two fumbles. SO S Anthony Adams broke up four passes and blocked a field goal for good measure. The defense even scored a touchdown when FR LB David Joseph pounced on a fumble in the end zone. The ball had been knocked loose on a quarterback sack by SO LB Robert Holt.
• The Vikings held Simon Fraser to -23 total yards over the last three quarters of the game. The seven points allowed were the fewest since a 66-7 win over North Texas on Oct. 10, 2015 – 42 games prior.
• Eastern Oregon was allowed only 133 yards of total offense.
 
ALEXANDER STARTS TO ROLL UP THE NUMBERS
JR QB Davis Alexander has put up some pretty good numbers this season considering he didn't play more than three quarters in any of the first four games. Alexander went the distance at Idaho State with the exception of the final offensive series.
• For the season, Alexander is 84-136 passing for 1,168 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. He ranks second on the team with 50 rushes for 170 yards (258 positive yards) and one touchdown.
• He had 340 yards of total offense (296 pass, 44 rush) and accounted for two touchdowns against Idaho State.
• Alexander passed for 366 yards and five touchdowns in the win over Eastern Oregon. The 366 yards were the most since his freshman season. The five TDs were the most by a Viking QB since Drew Hubel had five in a win over Eastern Washington in 2008.
• In 18 career starts, Alexander is 292-518 for 4,119 yards, 26 TDs and 12 interceptions... for his career (21 games), he is 300-531-13-4,187-26TD.
• Alexander has 206 career rushes for 714 yards and 15 TDs. He has 1,013 positive rushing yards.
• In all, Alexander is responsible for 41 career TDs.
 
THESE RECEIVERS ARE GROWING UP
An extraordinarily young receiving corps last season has grown up a lot in one year.
• SO WR Davis Koetter has 18 career receptions (14 this season) for 368 yards and five touchdowns. He averages 20.4 yards per catch... this season, he has 14 catches for 247 yards and three scores... he grabbed a career-high seven passes against Eastern Oregon.
• JR WR Emmanuel Daigbe leads the team with 16 receptions for 206 yards and two TDs. He posted a career-high 109 yards against Eastern Oregon, totaling three catches, with touchdowns of 57 and 44 yards... in his 16-game career, Daigbe has 39 catches for 579 yards and six TDs.
• SO WR Beau Kelly has 12 catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Kelly caught a career-long 61-yard touchdown at Idaho State... he also has a 52-yard running play on a fly sweep and 41 return yards on four punts.
• SO WR Mataio Talalemotu has missed the last two games with a hamstring issue. In the first three games he had 13 receptions for 215 yards and two TDs... Talalemotu led the Vikings with five receptions for 78 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown reception, at Boise State... for his career, he has 35 receptions for 617 yards and four TDs and two 100-yard games.
 
CHARTING CHARLIE
After missing two games with hamstring tightness, All-American tight end Charlie Taumoepeau put up his first 100-yard game of the season at Idaho State. Taumoepeau had seven receptions for 104 yards.
• In three games played Taumoepeau has 14 receptions for 198 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown at Arkansas.
• For his career, Taumoepeau now has 95 receptions for 1,600 yards (17.0) and 10 touchdowns.
• In his last 24 games played, Taumoepeau has 89 catches for 1,522 yards and nine scores.
• A consensus second team All-American last year, Taumoepeau was named preseason All-American by no less than four news outlets and is on the Walter Payton Award Watch list for the top offensive player in all of NCAA I FCS football.
 
A LOOK AT THE OFFENSE
Portland State's offense has averaged 456.4 yards and 35.2 points this season.
• Portland State has run a "by committee" backfield with five players over 100 rushing yards... SR RB Sirgeo Hoffman leads the way with 35 carries for 205 yards (5.9) and three touchdowns. He had a career-high 88 rushing yards and a score at Idaho State. Hoffman would have had more but a 76-yard touchdown run was wiped off the board due to an illegal formation penalty.
• Twelve different Vikings have rushed for positive yards and PSU averages 186.5 yards rushing per game.
• Portland State is 6-10 on fourth down conversions (75%). The Vikings are 17-21 in the redzone (14 TDs, 3 FG).
• After having six turnovers in the first two games, the Vikings had none in the next two. An interception at Idaho State was costly as the Bengals returned it for a touchdown.
• PSU has given up the most sacks in the Big Sky Conference this season (16).
• The Vikings' 70 points against Simon Fraser were the most since a 77-10 win over Idaho State in 2012. The Vikings amassed 646 yards of total offense (300 rushing/346 passing). Seven different players contributed 10 total touchdowns.
• Six different players had positive rushing yards and 10 made receptions in the win over Eastern Oregon. The Vikings totaled a season-high 657 yards.
 
YELLOW HANKIES HURTING
      Portland State had eight penalties at Idaho State, with seven coming in the decisive first half. One wiped a Viking touchdown off the board. For the season, PSU has 47 penalties for 441 yards. With 88.1 penalty yards per game, the Vikings have the most penalty yards in the Big Sky Conference.
 
KICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF
SO K Cody Williams is picking up where he left off last season. At Arkansas the second-year kicker was 2-2 on field goals, hitting from 50 and 47 yards... he is now 5-8 on the season.
• For his career, Williams is 17-22 on field goals, 56-56 on extra points.
• Williams' 50-yarder at Arkansas was his second from 50+ in his career in two attempts. His long was a 52-yard game-winner at Montana in 2018 with four seconds left in the game (22-20).
• Williams has two of the 15 50+ yard field goals in school history. Only five players have two or more in their careers.
 
VERY SPECIAL TEAMS
Portland State special teams are off to a good start in the 2019 season. Some notes:
• JR P Seth Vernon, in his first season as a Viking, is averaging 43.0 yards with five in excess of 50 yards. Vernon's average is the best by a Viking since 2014 when All-American Kyle Loomis averaged 46.0... Vernon ranks sixth in the Big Sky Conference and 19th in the nation.
• The Vikings are 5-8 on field goals and 23-23 on extra points this season.
• SO WR Beau Kelly is averaging 10.3 yards per punt return.
• BLOCK PARTY: SR CB Montre Brown blocked a field goal at Idaho State. It was PSU's second blocked kick of the season. SO S Anthony Adams blocked a field goal against Simon Fraser... PSU had five blocked kicks/punts last season.