PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (0-2) at
#20 NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS (0-1)

Saturday, Sept. 6, 6 p.m. CT/4 p.m. PT, Alerus Center (12,283), Grand Forks, ND
Television: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.livestats.us
 

HEAD COACHES

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS: Bruce Barnum (Eastern Washington, 1987)
PSU Record: 38-66/11th year • Big Sky Record: 28-44 • vs. UND: 0-3 • Career Record: 38-66/11th year
NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS: Eric Schmidt (North Dakota, 2002)
UND Record: 0-1/1st year • vs. Portland State: 0-0 • Career Record: 0-1/1st year
 

STORYLINES

• ANOTHER RANKED OPPONENT: Portland State plays its third straight ranked opponent this season... currently seven of the Vikings 12 opponents are nationally ranked at the FCS or FBS level.
• OLD FRIENDS: The five games between 2013 and 2018 were all Big Sky Conference games when North Dakota was still a member of the league.
• CLOSE CALLS: Six of the eight contests between the teams have been decided by one score, including all four in Grand Forks.
• BIG SKY NEMESIS: North Dakota was 5-7 in 2024, 2-6 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference... but the Fighting Hawks had non-conference wins over Montana (27-24) and Idaho State (52-28).
• NEW LEADERSHIP: North Dakota alum Eric Schmidt was named the new Head Coach in the off-season. He nearly pulled off a huge upset in his first game, losing 38-35 to FBS Kansas State last Saturday.
• QUARTERBACK CAROUSEL: The carousel continued to turn at quarterback for the Vikings. SR CJ Jordan got the start at BYU. He was 8-14 passing for 58 yards. RS FR Tyrese Smith also played. Of PSU's four quarterbacks to take snaps, Smith is the only one to play in both games.

 

VIKINGS MEET FIGHTING HAWKS FOR FIRST TIME IN SEVEN YEARS

Portland State will look for improvement when it goes on the road once again this week, playing at 20th-ranked North Dakota on Saturday in a 6 p.m. CT/4 p.m. PT game.  The game can be seen on ESPN+.
     
It will be the Vikings first meeting with the Fighting Hawks in seven seasons when UND was still a member of the Big Sky Conference. North Dakota has won six of eight games in the all-time series, including the last four in a row. But the length of time between games means past data has little bearing on future results.
     
That said, it will be another tall task for the Portland State Vikings this Saturday. At 0-2, they have been roughed up by top-10 Tarleton State and (FBS) nationally-ranked BYU. The Vikings are currently still trying to find "the man" at quarterback, while also trying to overcome a number of injuries on offense. That, and some talented opponents, have led to a pair of poor offensive showings.
     
PSU moved the ball in game one against Tarleton State, but were undone by four turnovers. It was a different story against BYU's stout defense as the Vikings managed only 51 yards on only 44 plays. Defensively, the Vikings were unable to stop a potent Cougar rushing attack that totaled 468 yards.
     
North Dakota (0-1) opened the season among those receiving votes in the national rankings. After almost upsetting Kansas State on the road the Fighting Hawks moved up to be ranked 20th in this week's poll. UND is playing under new Head Coach Eric Schmidt.
     
Portland State is in the middle of a stretch of three road games to round out non-conference play. In addition to BYU and North Dakota, the Vikings travel to Hawai'i next week. That will make a total of 8,906 air miles over three weeks. PSU then has a bye on Sept. 20 before returning home to start Big Sky Conference play and face 19th-ranked Northern Arizona on Sept. 27.
 

TEAM LEADERS

• PORTLAND STATE: After a poor offensive output at BYU, Portland State is averaging only 164.0 yards per game, 112.5 passing and 51.5 rushing, on offense... PSU is allowing 529.5 yards per game, including 384.5 yards rushing... the Vikings have five turnovers and have forced two turnovers... four quarterbacks have seen significant action through two games. SO QB Gabe Downing was 10-17 passing for 91 yards and two interceptions against Tarleton State. SR QB CJ Jordan was 8-14 for 58 yards against BYU... SO RB Delon Thompson had 17 carries for 55 yards against Tarleton State, but missed game two with injury. FR QB Tyrese Smith has 12 carries for 52 yards... SR WR Branden Alvarez has caught eight passes for 82 yards... SO S Isaiah Green made a career-high 15 tackles against BYU and leads the team with 22 overall. SO LB Lonnie Burt has 17 tackles, including one for loss... SR P Tony Johnson is averaging 41.4 yards per punt... the Vikings are 0-3 on field goals.
• NORTH DAKOTA: North Dakota totaled 354 yards and allowed 461 yards against Kansas State... the fighting Hawks passed for 252 yards, with quarterback Jerry Kaminski completing 23-38 passes and throwing one touchdown... his main receiver was Korey Tai, who had five catches for 37 yards and a score, and rushed three times for 39 yards... Sawyer Seidl was the top rusher with eight carries for 62 yards and two touchdowns... safety Jy Martin made a team-best nine tackles at Kansas State... the Fighting Hawks broke up five passes in the game.

 

OFFENSIVE NOTES

• THE NUMBERS: Portland State is averaging 164.0 yards per game, 51.5 on the ground, 112.5 through the air... the Vikings have five total turnovers... the Vikings crossed midfield seven times, including two trips into the redzone, in two games, but have been unable to score. They are 5-27 on third down, 0-1 on fourth down and have missed three field goals.
• QUARTERBACK CAROUSEL: PSU had a new opening day starter (SO QB Gabe Downing) at quarterback for the first time in four years and only the second time since the 2018 season. SR QB CJ Jordan started game two for the Vikings... four different Viking quarterbacks have played in two games, but only FR QB Tyrese Smith has played in both games. Downing is 10-17 passes for 91 yards and two interceptions. Jordan is 8-14 for 58 yards. Smith has 12 rushing plays for 52 yards.
• GET OFF DELON: As expected, SO RB Delon Thompson got the bulk of the rushing for the Vikings against Tarleton State. He had 17 carries for 55 yards. He also caught two passes for 20 yards. Thompson was missed in game two due to injury... in his 14-game career, Thompson has 165 rushing plays for 770 yards and eight touchdowns... last season, Thompson posted a career-high 117 yards on 22 carries with one score at Montana (11/16).
• SENIOR LEADER: SR WR Branden Alvarez led the Vikings in all three receiving categories last season. In two games this season, he has eight catches for 82 yards... in 12 career games, he has 44 receptions, 562 yards and five touchdowns.
• SWISS ARMY KNIFE: FR QB Cru Newman may yet play at quarterback this season. In the meantime, he will do other things. Newman has six kick returns for 103 yards and three receptions for six yards.

 

DEFENSIVE NOTES

• THE NUMBERS: Portland State has allowed 529.5 yards through two games, including 384.5 on the ground and 145.0 through the air... the Vikings have forced and recovered two fumbles.
• GREEN DAY: SO S Isaiah Green is PSU's top returning tackler with 50 as a redshirt freshman in 2024. He made a career-high 15 stops against BYU. Green leads the team with 22 tackles this season.
• BIG DAY: Also making career highs in tackles at BYU were JR LB Jaxton Helmstetler (9) and FR LB Jerome Roberts (10)... SO LB Lonnie Burt made a team-high and career-high 10 tackles against Tarleton State.
• DOUBLE-DOUBLE: JR DE Spencer Elliott recorded the second forced fumble of his career in Tarleton State's opening drive. SR DT J'Querian Ladson made his second career fumble recovery for the Vikings.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

• FOOTWORK: The normally reliable SR K Mathias Uribe (11-12 on field goals last season) is 0-3 on field goals this season - though two of them have been from 50+ yards. His 54-yarder attempt against Tarleton State hit the left upright and bounced away. His 37-yard attempt was wide left. A 57-yard try at BYU was blocked... Uribe's .917 field goal percentage last season was a PSU record.
• PLACEMENT POLICY: JR P Tony Johnson is averaging 41.4 yards per punt with 15 tries this season... five have been placed inside the 20 with a season-high 63-yarder at BYU.
• YARD BOYS: RS FRs Cru Newman and Andre Miller are both from Portland and have their own yard care business in the summer to make a little extra cash; C and D Landscaping. Now they are teaming up as kick return partners for the Vikings. Newman has 103 return yards, while Miller has 58 return yards. They also both play slot receiver for the Vikings.
• MILLER TIME: SR WR Chance Miller has two receptions for 22 yards this season. He also made a big special teams play against BYU, forcing and recovering a fumble on a Cougar punt return.

 

NEW VIKINGS

• GETTING STARTED: Portland State had nine first-time starters against Tarleton State. They were: SO QB Gabe Downing, JR OL James Minot, JR OL Semisi Latu, SO TE Kristian Ingman, JR CB Dionte Thornton, JR CB Carsten Mamaril, SO LB Lonnie Burt, SR LB Aedan Seiuli, JR DT Daniel Matagi... making their first-ever starts as Vikings at BYU were SR QB CJ Jordan, SR RB Jacques Badolato-Birdsell and FR LB Jerome Roberts.
• YOUNG, YES...: Portland State played just four seniors on offense and five seniors on defense against Tarleton State... in all, 12 seniors have played for the Vikings this season. Thirteen freshmen, 10 sophomores and 20 juniors have played.

 

FUN FACTS AND MEANINGLESS TRIVIA

• CAPPY(S): During the final week of fall camp, Portland State named its team captains. They are SO S Isaiah Green, JR DE Spencer Elliott, SR WR Branden Alvarez, JR TE Tanner Beaman, JR LB Jaxton Helmstetler, SR K Mathias Uribe.
• TOUGH SCHEDULE: Four of Portland State's last five home opponents were ranked in the top 10: UC Davis (9th), Montana State (3rd), Idaho (9th), Tarleton State (10th)… seven of PSU's 12 opponents overall are nationally-ranked.
• BYE-BYE: Due to the Week 0 game with Tarleton State, Portland State will have two byes this season: Sept. 20 and Oct. 11.
• SUMMER FOOTBALL: There were a number of milestones in the home opener against Tarleton State: 1) The temperature at kickoff was 96 and crossed 100 degrees by late in the third quarter, making it the hottest home game on record in Portland State history; 2) The August 23 date was the earliest start in school history; 3) It was Portland State's first opener at home since the 2016 season; 4) The Vikings were playing 10th-ranked Tarleton State for the first time in school history; 5) The last time a Portland State team was shut out by an FCS program was a 14-0 loss at Montana State on Oct. 7, 2006.
• FREQUENT FLYER MILES: On the Vikings' run of three straight road games, Aug. 30-Sept. 13, they cross one time zone and back, two time zones and back, then three time zones and back, playing at BYU, North Dakota and Hawai'i successively. It will be a total of 8,906 air miles (RTs of 1,332; 2,424; and 5,206).
• CROWDED: The announced attendance of 64,494 at BYU was the largest crowd for a Portland State game in history. The previous largest was 61,082 for a game at Cal in 2006... PSU's largest all-time home crowd is 26,102 in a game against Oregon State in 1983.