Game 10

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (4-5, 3-3)
vs. #3 MONTANA GRIZZLIES (8-1, 5-1)

Saturday, November 11, 6 p.m., Hillsboro Stadium (7,600), Hillsboro, OR
Television: The CW (Portland) • Live Stream: ESPN+ • Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com

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VIKINGS CAN PLAY THE ROLE OF SPOILER AGAINST GRIZZLIES
Portland State has reset its goals for the final two games of the season and it starts this Saturday in the home finale against the 3rd-ranked Montana Grizzlies.
      
The Vikings entered November with a chance to contend for the top of the Big Sky Conference and a possible post-season berth. However, a 37-23 road loss to UC Davis last Saturday has eliminated those possibilities. Still, Portland State can make waves in their remaining games if they can knock off the Griz, then go to Northern Colorado next week to compete for a winning overall and Big Sky Conference record.
      
PSU is 4-5 on the season, 3-3 in the Big Sky going into this week's game. The Vikings are in a six-way tie for fourth place in the Big Sky so a high finish in league play is still on the table. PSU is 3-1 at home and has averaged 55.2 points in home games.
      
Montana comes into the contest at 8-1 overall, 5-1 in the Big Sky. The Griz are tied for first place and seeking their first league title since 2011. If PSU can beat Montana it would do serious damage to that league championship dream as the Griz are currently tied with Idaho and Montana State.
      
The Griz bring the best scoring defense in the Big Sky to Hillsboro Stadium. They allow only 15.8 points per game. Run defense is a strength as well at just 83.9 yards per game allowed on the ground. Both numbers lead the Big Sky and will test the Vikings, whose team strength is the running game.
      
PSU saw its ground game limited against the Aggies last Saturday and that was a key to the Vikings' loss.
      
Montana has won the last three games in the series with Portland State. The Vikings most recent wins were 2015 and 2018.
      
Saturday will also be Senior Day for the Vikings as they honor 11 seniors playing in their final home game. The game is presented by OnPoint Community Credit Union. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at Hillsboro Stadium. The game will be televised on The CW in Portland and on ESPN+. Live statistics are available at www.ViksLive.com.
      

TEAM LEADERS

• PORTLAND STATE: JR QB Dante Chachere has completed 118 of 190 passes for 1,236 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He has also run for 493 yards on 86 carries, scoring seven TDs... JR RB Jobi Malary leads the Vikings in rushing with 89 carries for 599 yards and 12 rushing TDs... SR WR Jermaine Braddock leads the Vikings with 42 receptions for 422 yards and six touchdowns... SO LB Parker McKenna has 53 tackles, seven tackles for loss and an interception. FR LB Michael Mongomery has 50 tackles...SO DE Slade Shufelt leads the Vikings with 3.5 sacks... PSU is averaging 390.2 yards and 37.9 points per game... the Vikings have given up 393.8 yards and 33.6 points per game... PSU has a +3 turnover margin... SR P George Triplett has been solid with a 44.3 yard punting average... JR K Gianni Smith has been strong on kickoffs with 38 touchbacks on 54 kicks. He is 7-8 on field goals and 38-39 on extra points... JR RB Christian Grubb has 415 combined return yards and two return touchdowns.
• MONTANA: The Grizzlies average 29.4 points and 379.1 yards per game on offense. They allow only 15.8 points and 318.1 yards... Montana has forced 18 turnovers this season and has a +8 turnover margin... the Griz also have 22 quarterback sacks as a team... quarterback Clifton McDowell is a run-pass threat. He has completed 68-119 passes for 980 yards, eight touchdowns and only one interception. McDowell has rushed 98 times for 424 yards and three scores... Eli Gillman is the top rusher with 124 carries for 727 yards and nine TDs... Keelan White and Junior Bergen have virtually identical numbers as receivers. White has 32 catches for 457 yards and two touchdowns. Bergen has 32 catches for 383 yards and three scores... Braxton Hill is the top defensive disruptor with 76 tackles, four tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and three pass breakups.

 

STORYLINES

• WHICH SON WANTS TO BEAT HIS FATHER MORE?: Cooper Barnum, son of Portland State Coach Bruce Barnum, plays defensive back on the Montana football team. Robby Hauck, son of Montana Coach Bobby Hauck, is an assistant coach on Barnum's Viking staff.
• HIGHEST-RANKED OPPONENTS: Portland State is 21-54 all-time against nationally-ranked FCS teams since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996. PSU is 13-26 at home, 8-28 on the road... the highest-ranked team PSU has ever beaten was Montana (ranked second) in 1999, 51-48 in overtime at then-Civic Stadium in Portland. The Vikings beat Montana when it was ranked fourth in 2004 (35-33), also in Portland... PSU has only played the number-one ranked team in the nation once in its history and that was... wait for it... Montana. The Griz were number one in 2002 when the teams met in Portland. Montana won that game, 24-21, over 13th-ranked Portland State.

 

GIANNI SMITH NAMED BIG SKY, NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Portland State kicker Gianni Smith had the game of his career last Saturday and has been honored by the Big Sky Conference as Special Teams Player of the Week, and nationally as the FCS FedEx Ground National Special Teams Player of the Week.
       
Smith, a junior from Oak Park, CA, made a career-high three field goals in the Vikings 37-23 loss at UC Davis. Smith kicked a career-long 51-yard field goal in the third quarter. That stood up for less than a half an hour as he came back to kick another career-long - this time from 55 yards – in the fourth quarter. Smith later added a 42-yard field goal to get the Vikings within a touchdown with six minutes to play.
       
The 55-yard kick ties for the second-longest in Portland State history. Smith now owns two of PSU's 18 all-time kicks of 50+ yards. Prior to Saturday, Smith's career long field goal was 49 yards.
       
Smith is having a strong season, having made 7-8 field goals. Thirty-eight of his 54 kickoffs have been touchbacks and he has made 38-39 extra points. In his career, Smith is 17-22 on field goals. The .772 conversion percentage ranks first in PSU history.
       
Smith is the third Viking to earn Big Sky Player of the Week honors this season. Quarterback Dante Chachere took offensive honors after an Oct. 14 win at Northern Arizona, and running back Jobi Malary earned offensive honors following an Oct. 28 win over Eastern Washington.
 

VIKINGS WILL HONOR 11 SENIORS THIS WEEK

Portland State will honor 11 seniors playing in their final home game this week. A ceremony prior to the game with Montana will recognize their contributions to the Viking Football Program. They are WR Marquis Spiker, WR Jermaine Braddock, CB Isaiah Avery, WR Maclaine Griffin, RB Andrew Van Buren, LB Isaiah Henry, P George Triplett, OL Shiloh Ta'ase      , OL Dallas Holliday, LB Ian Crocker, DT Dino Kahaulelio
 

OFFENSIVE NOTES

• THE FACTS OF THE MATTER: Portland State is averaging 390.2 yards and 37.2 points per game (2nd in the Big Sky, seventh in the nation)... PSU's 229.9 yards per game on the ground ranks second in the Big Sky and seventh in the nation... the Vikings have committed nine turnovers this season... PSU is converting third downs at a rate of 49.2%, which ranks second in the Big Sky and sixth in the nation.
• HERE'S THE SCORE: Portland State is averaging 44.4 points per game in its last seven contests, four of which are wins. The Vikings average 36.7 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 118-190 passes for 1,236 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He is first in the Big Sky in TD passes... Chachere has also rushed 83 times for 493 yards and seven scores to rank second on the team in rushing and fifth 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 3,204 career passing yards and 33 touchdowns passing in 20 starts... Chachere passed 1,000 career rushing yards at Montana State (9/30) and now has 1,242 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 229.9 rushing yards per game which ranks seventh in the nation...  after being held to a Big Sky-low 89 rushing yards against UC Davis, the Vikings now average 257.7 rushing yards in six 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 (10/28). He was named Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week. This season, Malary has 89 carries for 599 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. He has 16 rushing touchdowns in his career... Malary is followed by JR QB Dante Chachere (86-493-7), FR RB Quincy Craig (66-410-3, but out for the season), SR RB Andrew Van Buren (49-221-3) and JR RB Christian Grubb (38-183-1)... in Van Buren's career, he has 1,361 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns (280-1,028-21 at Boise State, 85-333-3 at Portland State).... 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 for 1,249 yards in 32 career games. He is approaching PSU's all-time top 20 for receptions.
• AND IN OTHER WIDE RECEIVER NEWS...: PSU has 15 total receiving TDs by seven different receivers this season... SR WR Jermaine Braddock leads the receiving group with 42 receptions for 422 yards and six touchdowns. He had a career-high nine receptions against Idaho State (10/21) and a career-high 102 receiving yards against UC Davis (11/4)... Braddock passed 1,000 career receiving yards in the game at Montana State (9/30). He now has 112 receptions for 1,291 total yards (70-869 at San Jose State, 42-422 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 ranked second in 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 four starts... RS FR OL Anthony Tena started the last two games in place of an injured Lutui.

 

DEFENSIVE NOTES

• DEFENDING THE SHIP: The Viking defense has allowed 393.8 yards (8th in the Big Sky) and 33.6 points per game (9th in the Big Sky) this season... PSU has forced 12 turnovers in nine 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.
• BACK WHERE HE BELONGS: SO LB Parker McKenna is on top of the Vikings' tackle chart once again. He leads the team with 53 tackles and seven tackles for loss. He also has an interception and three pass breakups... McKenna is Portland State's career tackles leader among active players with 175. He led the team in tackles in 2021, then a knee injury limited him to four games and a redshirt season last year... McKenna tied his career-best with 11 tackles in the win over Eastern Washington (10/28)... last week, he had nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup at UC Davis (11/4).
• 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 ranks second on the Vikings with 50 tackles this season.
• 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 came back to set another career high with 11 tackles against UC Davis (11/4)... Shakir has eight career takeaways (5 INT, 3 FR) and nine career pass breakups... he has 42 tackles on the season and now has 111 in his career.
• NO FLY ZONE: Eight different Vikings have a total of nine interceptions this season... SR CB Isaiah Avery leads the team with two interceptions to go with team-high five pass breaksups... JR CB Michael Jackson got his first of the season at Northern Arizona (10/14) and the third of his career.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

• FOOTNOTES: SR P George Triplett is averaging 44.3 yards per punt, a four-yard improvement over his average last season (40.6), and currently fourth-best for a season in PSU history.... that would rank fourth in the nation, but Triplett does not have enough punts to qualify... 10 of his 31 punts have traveled over 50 yards, and he had a career-long of 61 yards... Triplett's 41.9 career average currently ranks third in PSU history.
• POINT OF NO RETURN: Of JR K Gianni Smith's 54 kickoffs this season, 38 have been touchbacks... Smith is 38-39 on extra points and 7-8 on field goals with his only miss from 57 yards... Smith is 104-106 on extra points and 17-22 on field goals in his career. His .772 make percentage ranks first in PSU history.
• CALLING LONG DISTANCE: Smith made field goals of 51, 55 and 42 yards at UC Davis (11/4), earning Big Sky Conference and National Special Teams Player of the Week honors... the 55-yarder ties for second-longest in school history.
• 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 fourth in the Big Sky in kick return average at 23.7.
• RIGHT BACK ATCHA': PSU is averaging 17.3 yards punt returns and 24.3 yards on kickoff returns. The Vikings rank second in Big Sky Conference in kick returns and first in punt returns... they rank 11th in the nation in kick returns and sixth in punt returns.
• I AM IRON MAN, PART TWO: JR LS Ryan Alvidrez made his 32nd consecutive start at UC Davis.