Portland State University Athletics

POCATELLO, Idaho — The Idaho State Bengals played spoiler for Portland State head football coach Chris Fisk's first trip back to his hometown. The Bengals shut out the Vikings in the first half en route to a 38-8 victory over Fisk and his team Saturday at the ICCU Dome.
 
The Bengals (5-3), who snapped a three-game losing streak with the win over the Vikings (2-6), out-gained Portland State 341-to-57 in the first half while building a 24-0 halftime lead.
 
The Vikings found a spark in the third quarter. Junior quarterback Gabe Downing led the Vikings on a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the second half. The 75-yard drive more than doubled the Vikings' total yardage from the first half.
 
Downing opened the drive with a 20-yard pass to Terence Loville. That was already the longest play from scrimmage of the game to that point, and Downing added passes to Delon Thompson, Tanner Beaman and Zui Shelton later in the drive. Thompson eventually found the end zone with a four-yard rush, putting the Vikings on the board.
 
The Vikings went for two to make it a 16-point deficit, but the attempt failed. They got those two points back, though, with 3:09 remaining in the third quarter. Avery Ducsik sacked Idaho State quarterback Jordan Cooke in the end zone for the safety, after a 40-yard punt from Emiliano Rodriguez pinned the Bengals at their own one-yard line.
 
The Vikings converted a fourth down to extend their ensuing offensive drive and move into Idaho State territory. Downing then found Tanner Beaman for a 35-yard pass to the Idaho State eight-yard line. But Idaho State's Nathan Reynolds punched the ball out of Beaman's hands at the end of the play, giving the ball back to the Bengals just as the Vikings looked like they could get back within a score.
 
The fumble proved pivotal as the Bengals tacked on two more touchdowns from there to close out the victory.
 
Downing finished 16-for-26 for 173 yards despite only playing in the second half. Beaman finished with five catches for a career-high 70 yards. Loville had four catches for 62 yards.
 
The Bengals held the Vikings to just 56 net rushing yards. That hadn't been a strength of the Bengals this season, as they came into the game allowing 200.9 rushing yards per game. Additionally, the Vikings had rushed for 168 yards or more in each of their last three games.
 
The Vikings' 56 rushing yards against the Bengals were their second-lowest total of the season, trailing only the two yards they managed against Oregon on Sept. 18.
 
Thompson led the Vikings with 10 carries for 27 yards. He went over 2,000-career rushing yards in the game on the Vikings' lone touchdown drive. He passed Cory McCaffrey (2008-11) for 12th all-time with 2,020 career rushing yards now.
 
Jaxton Helmstetler led the PSU defense with 14 total tackles, including two for a loss and one sack. The 14 tackles represented a new career high for Helmstetler, and the most by a Viking in a game this season.
 
The Vikings return home next Saturday, when they'll host Idaho for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Halloween.
 
GAME NOTES:

• The Vikings and Bengals were meeting for the first time since 2024. The Bengals now lead the overall series, 28-20-1, while the Big Sky series is tied at 14-14.
• The safety marked the Vikings' first defensive safety in four years. Broderick Harrell had the last defensive safety for the Vikings on Sept. 24, 2022, against Montana.
• Ducsik's sack that resulted in the safety was his fifth of the season. He came into the game ranked fifth in the Big Sky for sacks per game.

Read Full Article