PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (0-5, 0-1) at
EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES (1-4, 0-1)

Saturday, Oct. 4, 4 p.m., Roos Field (8,600), Cheney, WA
Television: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.livestats.us
 

HEAD COACHES

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS: Bruce Barnum (Eastern Washington, 1987)
PSU Record: 38-69/11th year • Big Sky Record: 28-45 • vs. Eastern Washington: 3-5
Career Record: 38-69/11th year
EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES: Aaron Best (Eastern Washington, 2001)
EWU Record: 53-44/9th year • Big Sky Record: 38-25 • vs. Portland State: 4-2
Career Record: 53-44/9th year
 

DAM CUP COMPETITION RETURNS AS VIKINGS TRAVEL TO EWU

A pair of teams looking for a breakthrough in Big Sky Conference play will meet up this Saturday in Cheney, WA as the Portland State Vikings face the Eastern Washington Eagles. The game kicks off at 4 p.m. at Ross Field and can be seen on ESPN+.
     
The Vikings and Eagles are a combined 1-9 this season, including 0-2 in the Big Sky after losses on opening weekend last Saturday. The Vikings battled #15 Northern Arizona well, but dropped a 31-17 decision to the Lumberjacks in Portland. The Eagles were trounced by sixth-ranked Montana State on the road, 57-3.
     
Adding another element to the mix is the Dam Cup Trophy Rivalry Game. The (mostly) annual competition between the schools for the Dam Cup Trophy (see below) represents the drive between the schools that features four dams along the Columbia River separating Oregon and Washington. PSU holds the trophy after winning it in 2022 (in Cheney) and 2023 (in Portland) as the teams did not play last season due to Big Sky Conference scheduling in a 12-team league. Certainly, the Vikings want to maintain those bragging rights.
     
As evidenced by their records, both teams have struggled out of the blocks in the 2025 season. Eastern Washington ranks last in the Big Sky in total defense (506.6) while the Vikings rank last in total offense (222.2). The Eagles are also 10th in the Big Sky in offense, while the Vikings are 11th in defense. So, it's a matchup that screams break out for one of the programs.
     
Eastern Washington is only the second unranked opponent for the Vikings this season. Portland State will have a bye following the game, then play six straight weeks of Big Sky Conference opponents.
 

TEAM LEADERS

• PORTLAND STATE: Portland State is averaging 8.0 points and 222.2 yards of total offense per game... the Vikings had their best offensive output against Northern Arizona with 325 total yards and no turnovers... PSU is allowing 475.4 yards per game, including 280.8 yards rushing, and 43.0 points... the Vikings have nine turnovers and have forced three turnovers... SO QB John-Keawe Sagapolutele has started the last three games and is 58-102 for 594 yards, four interceptions and two touchdowns this season... SO RB Delon Thompson has 53 carries for 170 yards and a score, including a season-high 88 yards against NAU... JR WR Zachary Dodson-Greene has 15 receptions for 111 yards and JR WR Jaylen Lynch has 12 catches for 118 yards and a score... SO S Isaiah Green leads the team with 49 tackles. JR LB Jaxton Helmstetler has 34 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble return for touchdown... the Vikings have seven total sacks with 2.5 from JR DE Spencer Elliott... SR P Tony Johnson is averaging 40.5 yards per punt... SR K Mathias Uribe is 2-5 on field goals.
• EASTERN WASHINGTON: The Eagles are averaging 20.8 points and 332.6 yards per game... on defense, they allow 506.6 yards and 37.4 points... EWU has committed seven turnovers and has forced five turnovers... the Eagles have featured two run-pass quarterbacks this season. Nate Bell has passed for 523 yards and rushed for 310 yards, combining for eight touchdowns. Jared Taylor has passed for 344 yards and rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns... Marceese Yetts is the leading receiver with 22 catches for 155 yards while Noah Cronquist has 17 receptions for 212 yards... on defense, despite allowing a lot of yards, the Eagles also make a lot of big plays with 10 sacks, four blocked kicks and 22 pass breakups... linebacker Read Sunn leads the team with 31 tackles and has two sacks... linebacker Myles Mayovsky has 29 tackles, three tackles for loss and three pass breakups.

 

STORYLINES

• DAM CUP DATA: Portland State captured the Dam Cup in each of the last two meetings between the schools (2022, 2023). The Vikings and Eagles did not play last year... the teams had played 33 consecutive seasons prior to that (discounting the canceled 2020 season due to COVID.
• HOME AWAY FROM HOME, PART ONE: Portland State actually holds an all-time series advantage of 11-10-1 with Eastern Washington as the home team. That said, Eastern Washington leads the all-time series in Portland at 12-11... that means the all-time series is dead even at 22-22-1.
• HOME AWAY FROM HOME, PART TWO: Viking Football Head Coach Bruce Barnum is an alum of Eastern Washington... Eastern Washington is the closest Big Sky Conference school - in proximity - to Portland State.
• NUMBER IN FRONT OF THE NAME: Eastern Washington is only the second unranked opponent among six for the Vikings this season, and the first unranked FCS opponent.

 

NUMBERS GAME

• SIX PACK: Portland State RB Jobi Malary had one of the best rushing games by a Viking ever in PSU's 2023 win over Eastern Washington, 47-35. Malary posted a career-high 241 rushing yards on 23 carries and scored a school-record-tying six touchdowns. It was the most rushing yards by a Viking since 2015, and tied Jeff Salta's 47-year-old rushing touchdown record of six, set against Eastern Montana... Portland State rushed for a total of 403 yards in the game.

 
 

ABOUT THAT DAM CUP

The Eastern Washington Eagles and Portland State Vikings began a five-sport rivalry cup called The Dam Cup in 2010-11. The Dam Cup celebrates the friendly rivalry between the states of Oregon and Washington within the Big Sky Conference. The Dam Cup became a football-only competition in 2015.
     
The so-named rivalry refers to the four dams linking Oregon and Washington that one passes on the 339-mile drive from the Portland State campus to the Eastern Washington campus. Located along the Columbia River, they are Bonneville Dam, The Dalles Dam, The John Day Dam and the McNary Dam.
     
The purpose of the Dam Cup is to enhance the rivalry between Portland State and Eastern Washington and provide a sense of pride between alumni in the Portland and Spokane areas. Other goals include increasing attendance at events between both schools and building school spirit among each institutions' student body.
     
The winner of the Dam Cup will possess The Dam Trophy acknowledging the achievement for the following year. Eastern Washington has been Dam Cup Champion seven times and Portland State has held the Trophy six times during its history.
 
Dam Cup Champions
2010-11           PSU (all sport)        
2011-12           PSU 
2012-13           EWU
2013-14           PSU
2014-15           EWU
2015  PSU (football only)
2016  EWU
2017  EWU
2018  EWU
2019  EWU
2020  no game, COVID season
2021  EWU
2022  PSU
2023  PSU
 
 

OFFENSIVE NOTES

• THE NUMBERS: Portland State is averaging 222.2 yards per game, 69.8 on the ground, 152.4 through the air... the Vikings have nine total turnovers... the Vikings put up a season-best 20 points at North Dakota (9/6). They had a season-high 325 yards and no turnovers against Northern Arizona (9/27).
• QUARTERBACK SAGA(POLUTELE): PSU had three different starters at quarterback in the first three games of the season. Now Coach Bruce Barnum has determined that SO QB John-Keawe Sagapolutele is his man. JKS has started three games in a row and is trending upward. He had a season-high 202 yards and a touchdown without a turnover against Northern Arizona (9/27)... for the season, he is completing 57% of his passes for 594 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. Sagapolutele faced his former team, Hawai'i, on Sept. 13, completing 23-35 passes for a season-high 189 yards... FR QB Tyrese Smith has played in all five games with one start. He has 24 rushing plays for 87 yards.
• GET OFF DELON: As expected, SO RB Delon Thompson is the key back for the Vikings this season. Unfortunately, he has been slowed by a broken right thumb that occured in the first game of the season. He has missed one game and seen limited action in two others. The good news is, he is trending the right way just like his quarterback. Thompson had a season-high 17 carries for 88 yards against Northern Arizona (9/27)... Thompson leads the team with 53 carries for 170 yards. He has caught five passes (despite the cast) for 32 yards... in his 17-game career, Thompson has 201 rushing plays for 885 yards and nine touchdowns... last season, Thompson posted a career-high 117 yards on 22 carries with one score at Montana (11/16).
• PERSONNEL IS AN ISSUE: PSU has been hindered with four of its top five receivers missing games already this season (Tanner Beaman (out for season), Branden Alvarez (out for season), Terence Loville, Chance Miller) and top back Delon Thompson also missing a game.
• LOCAL BOY DOES GOOD: JR WR Zachary Dodson-Greene has stepped into the void of injuries in the Vikings receiving corps. ZDG, a transfer from Montana State who hails from nearby Salem, caught nine passes for 78 yards at Hawai'i (9/13). It was the most receptions by a Viking in 20 games... he now leads the team with 15 catches for 111 yards.
• WRECKING CRU: FR QB Cru Newman may yet play at quarterback this season. In the meantime, he will do other things. Newman has 17 kick returns for 308 yards, three punt returns for 18 yards, six receptions for 48 yards and one rush for 11 yards. That makes a team-leading 385 all-purpose yards.

 

DEFENSIVE NOTES

• THE NUMBERS: Portland State has allowed 475.4 yards per game, including 280.8 on the ground and 194.6 through the air... the Vikings played their best game against FBS Hawai'i (9/13), holding the Rainbow Warriors to 357 yards, including 107 on the ground, and 23 points - fewest in all categories this season... the Vikings have forced and recovered three fumbles, have seven sacks and 16 pass breakups.
• GREEN DAY: SO S Isaiah Green made a career-high 15 stops against BYU (8/30) and leads the team with 49 tackles this season. He ranks third in the Big Sky Conference with 9.8 tackles per game... Green is PSU's top returning tackler with 50 as a redshirt freshman in 2024.
• ACTION JAXTON: JR LB Jaxton Helmstetler made a career-high nine tackles in consecutive weeks against BYU (8/30) and North Dakota (9/6). He has 34 for the season. At North Dakota, he posted nine stops, two tackles for loss, a sack, a quarterback hurry, and returned a fumble 70 yards for a touchdown. It was PSU's first FR TD in four years.
• SACK HAPPY: Helmstetler's TD would not have been possible without the strip sack by SR DE Jayden Brannan. It was one of four sacks made by the Vikings against North Dakota. That was the most sacks since the Vikings had seven at San Jose State in the 2022 season-opener - a span of 35 games... JR DE Spencer Elliott was in on two sacks as he recorded a career-high 10 tackles at North Dakota (9/6). He added another sack at Hawai'i. With 2.5 sacks on the season he ranks seventh in the Big Sky.
• NO FLY ZONE: Portland State allowed 250 passing yards to Hawai'i's Run-and-Shoot attack (9/13). That wasn't a bad total and it took the Rainbow Warriors 45 attempts to get it. Noticeably, the Vikings broke up eight passes, including three by FR NICK Pierce Walker and two from SO CB Dionte Thornton... the Vikings have 16 pass breakups this season with four each from Walker, Thornton and SO CB Bryson Ross.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

• FOOTWORK: SR K Mathias Uribe is 2-5 on field goals this season. Two of his three misses have been from 50+ yards this season... Uribe was 11-12 on field goals last season and his .917 field goal percentage was a PSU record.
• PLACEMENT POLICY: JR P Tony Johnson is averaging 40.5 yards per punt with 22 tries this season... nine 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 308 return yards, while Miller has 58 return yards. They also both play slot receiver for the Vikings and have combined for nine receptions.
• JORDAN RULES: RS FR Jordan Herron was inserted as a punt returner and running back against Northern Arizona (9/27). That was a good move as Herron delivered an electric 57-yard punt return for touchdown - the first by a Viking in two seasons. He had 72 all-purpose yards on the day... Herron has six career punt returns for 102 yards.