Game 9

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (4-4, 3-2)
VS. UC DAVIS AGGIES (4-4, 2-3)

Saturday, November 4, 4 p.m., UC Davis Health Stadium (10,849), Davis, CA
Television/Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com

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VIKINGS ENTER NOVEMBER WITH A LOT TO PLAY FOR

The Portland State Vikings will enter the month of November with a lot of food left on their plates. The Vikings come off a big 47-35 victory over Eastern Washington, and now at 3-2 in the Big Sky Conference are tied for fourth place, but only one game out of the three-way tie for first. PSU plays at UC Davis this week, hosts first-place Montana in two weeks, then travels to Northern Colorado for the final week of the season. If the Vikings can win out, they would be at or near the top of the Big Sky and certainly worth consideration for an NCAA post-season berth.
     
But, let's not get ahead of ourselves. As any coach or player would say, 'you play one game at a time.' So, directly in front of the Vikings is a road game at UC Davis. The Aggies have spent the entire season in the national rankings until this week. A loss last week at Northern Arizona dropped them out of the top 25. Make no mistake though, as one of the better defensive teams in the Big Sky - particularly against the run, which is PSU's forte - the Aggies will be a formidable challenge.
     
Adding to the challenge for both teams will be a lack of familiarity. Through scheduling quirks of the 12-team Big Sky Conference (and a COVID-impacted 2020 season), Portland State and UC Davis have not played since 2019. Few players on either team where on their respective rosters that season. In addition, it will be PSU's first appearance at UC Davis Health Stadium since 2016.
     
Certainly, the Vikings are hot as they come off a big rivalry win over Eastern Washington. PSU rushed for 403 of its 544 total yards in that game. JR RB Jobi Malary had a career game with 23 carries for 241 yards and a school-record-tying six rushing touchdowns. He was named Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week. PSU is fourth in the nation in scoring at 39.0 points per game and fifth in the nation in rushing at 247.5 yards per game. UC Davis has allowed only 26.4 points (sixth in the Big Sky) and 125.6 rushing yards per game (third in the Big Sky).
     
UC Davis is 4-4 on the season, 2-3 in the Big Sky Conference and 1-2 in home games. The Vikings are 4-4 overall, 3-2 in the Big Sky and 1-3 on the road. PSU has won four of its last six games.
     
This Saturday's game kicks off at 4 p.m. It can be seen on ESPN+.
 

STORYLINES

• Portland State plays UC Davis for the first time since 2019 and at UCD for the first time since 2016.
• Although the Aggies have been Big Sky members since 2012, the two schools have only met in four Big Sky games over 11 seasons. Two other meetings were designated as non-conference games.
• The schools met as Division II rivals in the 1992 playoffs, a 42-28 Viking victory.
• If the Vikings can get their fifth win of the season this week, they would pass last season's win total (4-7).

 

MALARY NAMED BIG SKY CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

In the least surprising Portland State Football news of the season, running back Jobi Malary was named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
     
Malary, a 5-11, 225-pound junior from Gresham's Sam Barlow High School, had a career day in leading the Vikings to a 47-35 Dam Cup victory over Eastern Washington on Saturday. Malary rushed 23 times for a career-high 241 yards and a school-record-tying six touchdowns.
     
Malary had rushing TDs of 8, 1, 1, 39, 75 and 44 yards in the game and simply got better as the game went on. He scored three touchdowns in each half, but rushed 11 times for 188 yards after halftime.
     
His 241 yards were the most by a Viking since David Jones rushed for 285 yards in a win over Montana State in 2015. His six TDs tied the school record of six set by Jeff Salta in an 87-6 win over Eastern Montana on Nov. 20, 1976 (Salta added a receiving touchdown for a total of seven in that game).
     
Malary now leads the team in rushing this season with 68 carries for 510 yards and 11 touchdowns with 7.5 yards per carry. He is fourth in the Big Sky in rushing and second in rushing touchdowns. In his career, Malary has 151 carries for 998 yards and 15 touchdowns but he particularly enjoys playing against Eastern Washington. In three career games against the Eagles, Malary has 54 carries for 482 yards and seven touchdowns.
     
Impressive stuff for Malary. But as Viking Head Coach Bruce Barnum noted after the game, it takes a village to put on a show like that.
     
"That was big time," said Viking Coach Bruce Barnum. "And it was big time for the entire group - all 11. For him to get runs like that, receivers are blocking, the quarterback is carrying out a fake. There is so much that goes into it. Don't get me wrong, Jobi is breaking tackles and running like his ass is on fire, but that was a helluva production by everyone. I think the offensive line wanted to get back on track in the running game, so that was good to see."
 

TEAM LEADERS

• PORTLAND STATE: JR QB Dante Chachere has completed 104 of 167 passes for 1,017 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He has also run for 470 yards on 77 carries, scoring seven TDs... JR RB Jobi Malary leads the Vikings in rushing with 68 carries for 513 yards and 11 rushing TDs... SR WR Jermaine Braddock leads the Vikings with 35 receptions for 320 yards and five touchdowns... despite making just two starts, FR LB Michael Mongomery leads the Vikings with 47 tackles...SO LB Parker McKenna has 44 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and an interception. JR LB Jaymason Willingham has 34 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss.... SO DE Slade Shufelt leads the Vikings with 3.5 sacks... PSU is averaging 400.5 yards and 39.0 points per game... the Vikings have given up 384.9 yards and 33.1 points per game... PSU has a +2 turnover margin... SR P George Triplett has been solid with a 44.2 yard punting average... JR K Gianni Smith has been strong on kickoffs with 35 touchbacks on 48 kicks. He is 4-5 on field goals and 36-37 on extra points... JR RB Christian Grubb has 358 combined return yards and two return touchdowns.
• UC DAVIS: The Aggies average 24.3 points and 389.3 yards of offense per game. They have committed 16 turnovers and have a -3 turnover margin... the defense allows 26.4 points and only 329.3 yards per game... the Aggies have the fewest penalties in the Big Sky at 34 for 271 yards... quarterback Miles Hastings has completed 187 of 296 passes for 1,833 yards, 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions... his main target has been Trent Thompkins who has 41 receptions for 364 yards and two scores. Thompkins is also the team's second leading rusher with 56 carries for 262 yards and two touchdowns... Lan Larison leads the rushing attack with 94 rushes for 580 yards and four scores... five receivers have 21 or more catches for the Aggies... defensive back Rex Connors is the top tackles with 59 stops and has six pass breakups... linebacker Teddye Buchanan has made 46 tackles, 4.5 for losses and two sacks.

 

LEFTOVER DAM CUP DATA

Portland State retains the Dam Cup for the second year in a row. Eastern Washington has been Dam Cup Champion seven times and Portland State has held the Trophy six times during its history.... the game marked the 33rd season in a row that Portland State has faced Eastern Washington. The all-time series is dead even at 22-22-1... in the quirky Big Sky scheduling format PSU and EWU will NOT play next season for the first time since 1989.
 

OFFENSIVE NOTES

• THE FACTS OF THE MATTER: Portland State is averaging 400.5 yards and 39.0 points per game (2nd in the Big Sky, fifth in the nation)... PSU's 247.5 yards per game on the ground ranks second in the Big Sky and fifth in the nation... the Vikings have committed nine turnovers this season... PSU is converting third downs at a rate of 51.4%, which leads the Big Sky and ranks fourth in the nation.
• HERE'S THE SCORE: Portland State is averaging 48.0 points per game in its last six contests, four of which are wins. The Vikings average 39.4 points per game in conference play and 55.2 points at home… the Vikings scored 150 points in consecutive games (Sept. 16-23) including a stunning 115 points in the two first halves of those wins. PSU had 63 at halftime against North American, and 52 points at halftime against Cal Poly... the Vikings' 91-0 score over North American ranks as the third-highest scoring game in PSU history... the 150 points were the most in back-to-back games since Nov. 8-15, 1980 when a Mouse Davis/Neil Lomax-led program scored 153 points (105-0 over Delaware State and 48-17 over South Dakota State). The Vikings then proceeded to beat Weber State 75-0 in the final game of the season on Nov. 23, 1980.
• DANTE'S DATA: JR QB Dante Chachere has completed 104-167 passes for 1,017 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He is tied for first in the Big Sky in TD passes... Chachere has also rushed 77 times for 470 yards and seven scores to rank second on the team in rushing and third in the league in rushing TDs... Chachere LOVES playing against Northern Arizona. On Oct. 14, he completed 14-19 passes for 159 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions, and rushed 12 times for 83 yards and a score. He was responsible for all six Viking touchdowns. That earned him Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors... last season, Chachere had 402 yards of total offense against the 'Jacks in a 35-27 win, passing for three touchdowns and rushing for two touchdowns. He was also Big Sky POTW after that game... that makes 644 total yards, 11 total touchdowns, two wins, two POTWs…. Chachere's five-TD passing game matched his career-high of five last year against Lincoln… Chachere has 2,985 career passing yards and 32 touchdowns passing in 19 starts... Chachere passed 1,000 career rushing yards at Montana State (9/30) and now has 1,219 career rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns.
• WHO HAS THE BALL?: Portland State has a dynamic running game that features a number of players. Thirteen different players have carried the ball and six different players have scored touchdowns... the Vikings now average 247.5 rushing yards per game which ranks fifth in the nation...  the Vikings average 291.4 rushing yards in five Big Sky games… JR RB Jobi Malary has taken over as the team's leading rusher this season after his career-best performance of 23-241-6 against Eastern Washington. He was named Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Malary has 68 carries for 513 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He is followed by JR QB Dante Chachere (77-470-7), FR RB Quincy Craig (66-410-3), SR RB Andrew Van Buren (46-220-3) and JR RB Christian Grubb (36-177-1)... PSU has rushing games of 404 yards (Cal Poly), 403 yards (Eastern Washington), 366 yards (Idaho State) and 285 yards (North American) this season... PSU had 340 first-half rushing yards against Cal Poly (9/23) on the way to a season-high 404 for the game (10th most in school history). Among the 404 rushing yards, PSU had five(!) runs of 50 yards or longer (Chachere, 51td and 50td;  Malary, 56td; Van Buren, 70; Craig, 53)... the 403-yard game against the Eagles is 11th-most all-time.
• NATE THE GREAT: JR WR Nate Bennett has 109 career receptions in 31 career games. He is approaching PSU's all-time top 20 for receptions.
• AND IN OTHER WIDE RECEIVER NEWS...: PSU has 14 total receiving TDs by seven different receivers this season... SR WR Jermaine Braddock leads the receiving group with 35 receptions for 320 yards and five touchdowns. He had a career-high nine receptions against Idaho State... Braddock passed 1,000 career receiving yards in the game at Montana State (9/30). He now has 1,189 total yards (869 at San Jose State, 320 at Portland State)... SR WR Marquis Spiker had career-highs of six receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown against Idaho State (10/28)... SR WR Maclaine Griffin also had career-highs of six receptions and 82 yards against ISU (10/28).
• I AM IRON MAN: SR OL Shiloh Ta'ase played in his 43rd career game at Montana State, while starting his 36th game. He leads the Viking roster in both categories. Unfortunately, Ta'ase went down with injury in the first half at Northern Arizona and his streak came to an end.
• Q RATING: Also done due to injury this season is RS FR RB Quincy Craig. He had become the key offensive component for the Vikings and will be missed... Craig has three 100-yard rushing games in 10 career games. He had 410 rushing yards through six games this season... Craig also had 19 receptions for 207 yards and three touchdowns... with 749 all-purpose yards (124.8) he leads the Big Sky Conference by average... Craig was named one of 22 freshmen across the nation to the Jerry Rice Award Watch List for the National Freshman of the Year.
• NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: JR OL Billy Lutui has started at right guard in five games for the Vikings. That came after starting the first two games at defensive tackle. Lutui, a transfer from Sacramento State, was deemed more valuable on the offensive side of the ball, and it took only three practices to get him into the starting lineup on offense... when the Vikings were short-handed on the line at Montana State, they went with true FR OL Isaac Perez as a starter at left guard. He came in to replace an injured Shiloh Ta'ase at Northern Arizona and has taken over at left guard now with three starts... RS FR OL Anthony Tena started against Eastern Washington in place of an injured Lutui.

 

DEFENSIVE NOTES

• DEFENDING THE SHIP: The Viking defense has allowed 384.9 yards (7th in the Big Sky) and 33.1 points per game (8th in the Big Sky) this season... PSU has forced 11 turnovers in eight games... against Cal Poly (9/23), PSU allowed only 263 yards of offense - the fewest by a Big Sky opponent in 11 games. The Vikings also had 10 tackles for loss, two sacks, forced two turnovers and five three-and-outs... the Vikings gave up just 318 yards to Northern Arizona (10/14), including four three-and-outs, two turnovers on downs, two interceptions and five pass breakups... in the 91-0 win over North American (9/16), the Vikings pitched their first shutout since a 24-0 win over Idaho on Oct. 12, 2019. PSU had 15 tackles for loss and two interceptions. The Viking D held North American to -23 yards of total offense. That is a new PSU record. The previous mark was 24 total yards by Western Washington in 1981.
• HIT MAN: FR LB Michael Montgomery got significant playing time in the second half against Oregon (9/2) and he made the most of it. The true freshman from Seattle had 14 tackles - the most by a Viking since Romeo Gunt had 15 in the 2019 season-opener at Arkansas... Montgomery's 14 tackles were the most by any player in the Big Sky Conference on the opening weekend of games... Montgomery made his first start of the season against Idaho State (10/21) and responded with another 10-tackle game. Montgomery leads the Vikings with 47 tackles this season.
• BACK WHERE HE BELONGS: SO LB Parker McKenna is Portland State's career tackles leader among active players with 166. He led the team in tackles in 2021, then a knee injury limited him to four games and a redshirt season last year. This season he has 44 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, an interception and a pass breakup... McKenna tied his career-best with 11 tackles in the win over Eastern Washington (10/28).
• TAKEAWAY TYREESE: JR S Tyreese Shakir made his first interception of the season, but the fifth of his career against Eastern Washington (10/28). He added a career-high 10 tackles and forced a fumble... Shakir has eight career takeaways (5 INT, 3 FR)... he has 31 tackles on the season and now has 100 in his career.
• SHARE THE WEALTH: Eight different Vikings have interceptions this season... JR CB Michael Jackson got his first of the season at Northern Arizona (10/14) and the third of his career... JR LB Jaymason Willingham and SO LB Parker McKenna leads the Vikings with 5.5 tackles for loss each... SO DE Slade Shufelt leads the team with 3.5 sacks on the season... FR S Michael Hurst and SR CB Isaiah Avery lead the team with four pass breakups each.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

• FOOTNOTES: SR P George Triplett is averaging 44.2 yards per punt, a four-yard improvement over his average last season (40.6).... while playing mostly near sea-level, Triplett ranks sixth in the nation... nine of his 29 punts have traveled over 50 yards, and he had a career-long of 61 yards.
• NO RETURN FOR YOU: Of JR K Gianni Smith's 48 kickoffs this season, 35 have been touchbacks... Smith is 36-37 on extra points and 4-5 on field goals and his only miss from 57 yards... Smith is 102-104 on extra points and 14-19 on field goals in his career.
• GRUBB HUB: JR RB Christian Grubb returned the opening kickoff against Cal Poly (9/23) 99 yards for a touchdown. It was the first KOR for a TD by a Viking in six seasons… against North American (9/16), Grubb had a 60-yard punt return. That was the first PR for a TD by a Viking in 18 seasons... Grubb ranks fifth in the Big Sky in kick return average at 24.8.
• RIGHT BACK ATCHA': PSU is averaging 17.3 yards punt returns and 25.2 yards on kickoff returns. The Vikings rank second in Big Sky Conference in kick returns and first in punt returns... they rank seventh in the nation in kick returns and sixth in punt returns.
• I AM IRON MAN, PART TWO: JR LS Ryan Alvidrez made his 31st consecutive start and has not missed a snap in his career.