Game 11

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (4-6, 3-4) at CAL POLY MUSTANGS (1-9, 0-7)

Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, 5 p.m., Alex G. Spanos Stadium (11,075), San Luis Obispo, CA
TELEVISION: None
LIVE STREAMING: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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With one game remaining in the 2022 season, the Portland State Vikings have a singular goal: get back to .500 in Big Sky Conference play. The Vikings travel to San Luis Obispo seeking that achievement. PSU takes on Cal Poly in a 5 p.m. game this Saturday. It will be televised on ESPN+.
     
Portland State goes into the week at 4-6 overall, 3-4 in the Big Sky. PSU is currently seventh in the 12-team Big Sky and can finish no worse than that, with a chance to move into a tie for sixth with a win and a Montana loss at Montana State.
     
The Vikings have played four nationally-ranked opponents this season, including last week's opponent, #2 Sacramento State, taking losses in each of those games. In three games against unranked Big Sky teams PSU has averaged 36.0 points and picked up three wins. This week's opponent, Cal Poly, is decidedly unranked at 1-9 overall, 0-7 in the Big Sky. Winners over the Mustangs last year in Portland, the Vikings hope to repeat the feat this year in SLO. If PSU can get to 5-6/4-4, it would match last year's record and mark the third full season in a row the Vikings have won five games (5-7 in 2019, 5-6 in 2021).
     
Perhaps the best way for PSU to get a season finale win will be to exploit a resurgent running game. The Vikings have averaged 291.0 yards on the ground over the last three games. Cal Poly has shown a weakness in that area, allowing 251.6 yards rushing per game this season.
     
Conversely, the Vikings will need to be ready for a Mustang passing game that averages better than 300 yards per contest. PSU gives up 276.2 passing yards per game. However, Cal Poly has thrown 16 interceptions among 24 turnovers for the season.
     
Despite Saturday's loss to Sacramento State, PSU has won four of its last seven with all three losses coming to nationally-ranked opponents.
     
Cal Poly comes into the game having lost eight in a row. The past three weeks have been particularly tough for the Mustangs as they have been outscored 188-45.
     
PSU won last season's matchup, 42-21, but the Mustangs have won four of six Big Sky meetings all-time, including two of three in San Luis Obispo.
 

TEAM LEADERS

• PORTLAND STATE: SO QB Dante Chachere has completed 142-234 passes for 1,859 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Chachere is also the rushing leader with 103 carries for 472 yards and six TDs... SO RB Jobi Malary has rushed for 307 yards in the past three weeks, while FR RB Quincy Craig had 15 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown against Sacramento State... All-Big Sky Conference SR WR Beau Kelly has 39 receptions for 577 yards and four touchdowns. SO WR Nate Bennett has a team-high 43 catches for 482 yards, while SR WR Mataio Talalemotu has 21 catches for 428 yards and eight touchdowns. His 10 TDs overall lead the Vikings... SR S Xavier Bell has 50 tackles and six tackles for loss... SR DT EJ Ane has a team-best nine tackles for loss and seven sacks... PSU averages 371.0 yards of total offense and 24.0 points per game... the Vikings have allowed 457.2 yards and 35.8 points.
• CAL POLY: Mustang quarterback Spencer Brasch has completed 180 of 308 passes for 2,182 yards, 15 touchdowns and 13 interceptions... Shakobe Harper leads the team in rushing with 88 carries for 309 yards and a touchdown... Chris Coleman has 57 receptions for 888 yards and four touchdowns. Josh Cuevas has 46 catches for 543 yards and six scores... David Meyer tops the team with 72 tackles and seven tackles for loss. Brian Dukes has 49 tackles and five pass breakups... Cal Poly ranks last in rushing  (92.4) and first in passing (302.7) in the Big Sky. The Mustangs average 395.0 yards and 19.2 points per game... defensively, Cal Poly allows 550.4 yards and 42.5 points per game... Cal Poly has turned the ball over 24 times while recovering 16 turnovers.

 

STORYLINES

• Both schools were members of the Division II Western Football Conference from 1982-1992 where PSU held a 7-4 advantage over Cal Poly.
• Cal Poly leads the all-time series, 13-12, and the Big Sky series, 4-2... PSU is 5-7 all-time in San Luis Obispo, 1-2 in Big Sky games... the Mustangs have won five of the last seven meetings.

 

OFFENSIVE NOTES

• The Vikings had their biggest offensive day of the season against Eastern Washington (10/29) with 628 yards, 427 on the ground and 201 through the air. The 427 rushing yards were the sixth-most in school history. The 628 yards are the most by a Viking team against a Division I opponent since gaining 682 yards against Montana State in 2015... PSU's second-highest output came against Northern Colorado (11/5), compiling 493 yards of total offense, 269 through the air and 224 on the ground... Portland State had its poorest offensive output in two seasons with only seven points in the loss to Weber State (10/15)... PSU averages 371.0 total yards per game and 24.0 points for the season.
• RUNNING GAME RE-BIRTH: Portland State's running game has had its challenges this season as every Viking running back has missed time and none have played in every game. However, over the last three weeks, as the backfield has gotten healthier, the results have been there. PSU has rushed 147 times for 873 yards and seven touchdowns in those three games (291.0 per game, 5.9 per rush)... SO RB Jobi Malary has 39 carries for 307 yards (7.9) and two TDs over those three games... FR RB Quincy Craig rushed 15 times for 107 yards and a touchdown against Sacramento State... SR WR Emmanuel Daigbe has been converted to a part-time running back and has 24 carries for 158 yards and three receptions for 81 yards over the past three games... Malary had a career-high 148 yards at Eastern Washington while SO QB Dante Chachere added a career-high 141 yards on the ground. It was also the first time two Viking rushers had 100 yards in the same game since Nov. 11, 2016 against Sacramento State.
• DANTE'S DATA: SO QB Dante Chachere (SASH-er-ay) totaled 724 yards of offense and accounted for 11 touchdowns in a pair of Vikings' wins (10/1 and 10/8), including 554 yards passing (36-57) and 170 yards rushing (16 carries). He completed eight TD passes (five to SR WR Mataio Talalemotu) and rushed for three scores... Chachere had 610 yards of total offense and was responsible for seven touchdowns (five passing, two rushing) in the wins over Eastern Washington (10/29) and Northern Colorado (11/5)... Chachere has completed 61% of his passes this season for 1,859 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also leads the team in rushing with 472 yards (635 positive yards) and six TDs... Chachere needs 141 passing yards for 2,000. PSU has had 31 2,000-yard seasons in its previous 76 years of football.. his career highs for passing are 280 yards (Lincoln) and five touchdowns (Lincoln), and for rushing are 141 yards (Eastern Washington) and two touchdowns (Northern Arizona and Eastern Washington)... Chachere was named Big Sky Conference co-Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against NAU (272 yards passing, 3 TDs, 128 yards rushing, 2 TDs)... Chachere has two 100-yard rushing games and has 2,242 yards total offense (249.1 per game).
• KELLY IS A HERO: SR WR Beau Kelly added a second 100-yard game (and seventh career to his resume) with six catches for 119 yards and a touchdown at Idaho (10/22). His 63-yard TD reception was his career long among 154 total receptions... he now has 39 catches for a team-high 577 yards and four scores. He ranks 10th in receiving yards in the Big Sky Conference... Kelly had a season-high nine receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown at San Jose State (9/1)… last season Kelly led the Big Sky Conference during the regular season in receptions (69), total yards (981) and touchdowns (10)... Kelly's career numbers are 154 receptions (4th all-time at PSU) for 2,211 yards (7th all-time) and 17 TDs (t10th)... Kelly also has the most career starts (41) and consecutive starts (34) of any active Viking.
• NATE THE GREAT: SO WR Nate Bennett leads the team with 43 catches for 472 yards this season. His nine receptions against Weber State (10/15) matched his career high set last season against Weber State... Bennett already has 93 career receptions in 21 games. He has passed 1,000 career receiving yards (1,088).
• MT's TDs: SR WR Mataio Talalemotu is PSU's touchdown leader with 10 overall (eight receiving, two rushing). He went on a pretty good run over three weeks (10/1-8-15), catching nine passes for 215 yards and six touchdowns. Talalemotu made three catches for 106 yards against NAU, then three for 83 yards and two scores against Lincoln, followed by three for 26 yards and a TD against Weber State... his three-TD day marked the first time since Sept. 26, 2013 that a Viking had caught three touchdowns in a game... Talalemotu caught three passes for 60 yards and had three rushes for 26 yards and a score at Eastern Washington (10/29), then caught three more passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns against Northern Colorado (11/5)... he ranks 21st in receiving TDs (8) in the nation and sixth in yards per catch (20.4)... Talalemotu now has 121 receptions, 1,954 yards and 18 TDs in his career (t7th all-time).

 

DEFENSIVE NOTES

• DEFENSIVE DIAMONDS: Portland State's defense held Lincoln (10/8) scoreless for 59:57 before allowing a late touchdown. It was the fewest points (6) the Vikings have allowed since a 24-0 win over Idaho on Oct. 12, 2019... the 234 yards allowed were the fewest by a Viking opponent this season... PSU currently ranks 25th in the nation with 6.9 tackles for loss per game this season... the Vikings are third in the Big Sky Conference with 22 sacks... 12 different Vikings have sacks (22 total) and 23 have tackles for loss (69 total) through 10 games... PSU's defense had a stretch of 22 straight third down stops at one point this season (Northern Arizona 0-11, then Lincoln 0-11 before the Oaks finally converted one)... PSU forced a season-high three turnovers in the win against Northern Colorado. The Vikings also held the Bears without points for eight straight possessions... Portland State's defense had one of its best performances ever against an FBS-level program at San Jose State (9/1). The Vikings allowed only 288 yards in the game, making seven sacks. The most sacks PSU had in a game last season was five, and the seven sacks were the second-most in the nation by an FCS team in week one... the Viking D held SJSU to 66 yards in the second half helping the offense turn a 14-7 deficit into a 17-14 lead... SO CB Michael Jackson, making his first career start against Northern Colorado (11/5), had a big game with two interceptions in the fourth quarter as the Bears were trying to mount a comeback. Jackson added four tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup and was named Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
• "INITIAL" DEFENDER: SR DT EJ Ane has 39 total tackles this season and leads the team with nine tackles for loss and seven quarterback sacks. He has one sack in each of the last four games. Ane also has two fumble recoveries to lead the team.
• D-LINE DOMINANCE: SR DEs Jake Porter and VJ Malo and SR DTs EJ Ane and Moses Finau have combined for 105 tackles, 31 tackles for loss and 12 sacks this season. 
• TURNOVER TABLE: SO ROV Tyreese Shakir and SO CB Michael Jackson each have two interceptions this season. SR S Xavier Bell, JR LB Isaiah Henry, JR ROV David Joseph and SR LB Robert Holt also have interceptions. Bell, Joseph and Holt all have two in their careers... SR DT EJ Ane has two fumble recoveries while SO S Day Day Bright, SO S Tyreese Shakir, and SR DT Moses Finau each have one... Shakir now has seven career takeaways (4 INT, 3 FR) in 20 career games.
• SR DE Jake Porter has now played in the most games of any current Viking (45), making, 31 starts.
• MISSING THESE GUYS: SR CB Anthony Adams suffered an ankle injury at Washington and is out indefinitely. Prior to that, Adams had started 37 consecutive games in his career. He missed his first game ever at Montana. In the first two games, Adams had 15 tackles. At SJSU he had a team-high 10 tackles, one tackle for loss and two pass breakups. It was the third double-digit tackle game of his career... Adams now has 33 career pass breakups, tying former Viking Rashad Floyd (1997-2000) for the PSU career record... the Vikings have also missed top returning tackler SO LB Parker McKenna for all but two games this season... SR DE VJ Malo has missed the last two games and has been slowed in others due to a neck injury. In eight games he still has 7.5 TFLs (and 27.5 in his 20-game career to rank 11th all-time at PSU)... SO LB Parker McKenna had missed six straight games before returning against Sacramento State. McKenna was the team's leading tackler last season with 88 stops. Against Sac State, despite not starting, McKenna made seven tackles and forced a fumble.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

• FOOTNOTES: JR P George Triplett, a transfer from Princeton, has punted for an average of 40.4 yards with a long of 57... of his 50 punts, nine have gone over 50 yards.
• FOOTNOTES PART II: SO K Gianni Smith is 5-6 on field goals this season with a long of 40 yards. Smith is now 10-14 on field goals in his career. He has made 59-60 extra points in his career, including a stretch of 43 straight.
• BLOCK PARTY: SO TE Elias Spence has been a key special teams player this season. Against Lincoln, he had three big plays on the punt block team, tackling the punter on one series, then blocking a punt on the next series. Spence's blocked punt was the first since 2018 (Jacob Bystry) for the Vikings. Later in the game, Spence blocked another punt... Spence recovered the onside kick at Eastern Washington that eventually led to the Vikings running out the clock for the win. He has five tackles on special teams this season.
• FAKE OUT: The Vikings faked a field goal for the first time in recent memory against Eastern Washington (10/29). It worked perfectly as holder SR WR Mataio Talalemotu picked up the snap and dashed through the left side of the offensive line, avoiding two tackles and scoring a touchdown on an 11-yard run.
• SR LB Robert Holt blocked a field goal against Northern Colorado, the first by a Viking since 2019.
• SO LS Ryan Alvidrez started the 22nd consecutive game of his career. He has a perfect long snapping record as a Viking.

 

VIKINGS ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS

• RUSHING: Dante Chachere, 126-612-6; Jalynnee McGee, 102-479-2; Jobi Malary 73-452-4
• PASSING: Dante Chachere, 143-236-7-1,871-18; Nate West, 9-20-0-86-1
• RECEPTIONS: Beau Kelly, 154; Mataio Talalemotu, 121; Nate Bennett, 93; Emmanuel Daigbe, 76
• RECEIVING YARDS: Beau Kelly, 2,211; Mataio Talalemotu, 1,954; Emmanuel Daigbe, 1,171; Nate Bennett, 1,088
• TOUCHDOWNS: Mataio Talalemotu, 18; Beau Kelly, 17; Emmanuel Daigbe, 11
• ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Beau Kelly, 2,621; Emmanuel Daigbe, 1,597
• TACKLES: Anthony Adams, 180; Parker McKenna, 122; David Joseph, 109; Xavier Bell,100; Jake Porter, 92; Robert Holt, 74; VJ Malo, 68.
• SACKS: VJ Malo, 12; Jake Porter, 10
• TACKLES FOR LOSS: VJ Malo, 27.5; Jake Porter, 22.5; Anthony Adams, 15.5
• INTERCEPTIONS: Anthony Adams, 9; Tyreese Shakir, 4
• PASS BREAKUPS: Anthony Adams, 33; Xavier Bell, 9; Broderick Harrell, 8
• FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Anthony Adams, 4; Tyreese Shakir, 3; EJ Ane 2;Jake Porter, 2

 

SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL

 
FLY SWATTER
SR CB Anthony Adams broke up two passes in the season-opener at San Jose State (9/1). That gave him 33 career pass breakups, tying the Portland State record for PBUs with Rashad Floyd (1997-2000).
 
DANTE'S DAY, WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MATAIO
SO QB Dante Chachere had a big day in his first home start, a 35-27 win over Northern Arizona (10/1). Chachere totaled 402 yards of offense and was responsible for all five Viking touchdowns. Chachere completed 22-28 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed 12 times for 128 yards and two scores. His 72-yard TD run in the second quarter was the longest run by a Viking since 2018. All of his numbers were career highs in his fourth career start. Chachere was named Big Sky Conference co-Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. Benefiting from Chachere's play the most was SR WR Mataio Talalemotu. He caught three passes – all of which went for touchdowns – from 23, 17 and 66 yards. It marked the first three-TD game of Talalemotu's career and the first by a Viking in nine years. 

AN ALL-AROUND WIN
Portland State made it two wins in a row with a 48-6 victory over Lincoln (10/8). The Vikings scored the most points and gave up the fewest points since 2019. SO QB Dante Chachere had another big day with 322 yards of total offense, five passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. The Viking defense held Lincoln to an opponent low 234 yards, made 11 tackles for loss, two sacks and two interceptions. And special teams played a big role behind SO TE Elias Spence, who blocked two punts and tackled the punter on a third punt attempt. All-around, a good win.
 
A BARNYBALL KIND OF GAME
Portland State rolled up 427 yards on the ground against Eastern Washington (10/29) - the sixth-most in school history - and 628 yards total - the most against a Division I opponent in seven years on the way to a 38-35 victory. SO QB Dante Chachere (14-141-2) and SO RB Jobi Malary (19-148-0) became the first Viking teammates to rush for 100 yards in the same game in six years. Both had career highs and Chachere totaled 342 yards of offense and also threw a TD pass. The Vikings took back the Dam Cup, ending a five-game losing streak to the Eagles.
 
SECOND QUARTER BURST LEADS TO EASY WIN
Portland State found itself behind 14-0 at the end of the first quarter against Northern Colorado (11/5). However, the second quarter was a different story. SO QB Dante Chachere threw four straight touchdown passes - two to SR WR Mataio Talalemotu - for a 28-14 halftime lead and the Vikings cruised to the win from there. PSU's defense made eight straight series' stops (a fumble, an interception, four punts, a blocked field goal and another missed field goal) and the Vikings reeled off 35 straight points for a 35-21 win. Talalemotu had three catches for 103 yards. SO CB Michael Jackson made two fourth-quarter interceptions, made four tackles, a pass breakup and a forced fumble, earning Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week.