Mistakes still to blame

Through two games this season, Portland State has experienced both sides of the spectrum, tasting the sweet glory of victory after beating Western Oregon and the unpleasant bitterness of defeat with their loss to UC Davis Saturday night.

But despite these polar opposite results, one constant has remained for the Vikings: mistakes.

In the Vikings’ 31-14 win over Western Oregon to open the season, Portland State committed 17 penalties for 145 yards but four rushing touchdowns for sophomore fullback Bobby McClintock and 499 total offensive yards bailed the Vikings out.

Then this past Saturday against UC Davis, the Vikings were much improved in the penalty department, committing only five for 60 yards, but failed to take advantage of golden opportunities and were the victims of a few unfortunate plays.

Youth and inexperience have been two motifs that have pervaded much of the talk during training camp and the first two games, as the Vikings began training camp with more than 40 new players, including 32 true freshmen.

But head coach Jerry Glanville is not willing attribute the mistakes to having an abundance of inexperienced youngsters on his roster.

“Really, you can’t chalk it up as anything,” Glanville said of the miscues and missed opportunities. “You just don’t want it to happen.”

Even with the mistakes creating a few bumps in the road for the Vikings, the offense performed quite well versus the Aggies.

Sophomore quarterback Drew Hubel completed 29 of 51 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns. Hubel also found a plethora of receivers, hitting six different targets on the night.

Junior wide receiver Lavonte Kirven was Hubel’s favorite target, as he caught seven balls for 89 yards. Hubel’s touchdown passes went to veteran receivers Ty Coleman, Mario D’Ambrosio and Aaron Woods.

“You’ve got to find the pluses,” Glanville said. “The offensive line is getting better and the receivers are too. And Bobby is always good close in, but he made a few plays in space.”

Unlike the Aggies, who struck an exactly equal pass-run balance, Portland State opted to go through the air 86 percent of the time, leaving only a handful of opportunities for McClintock.

But McClintock made the most of his chances, gaining 44 yards on eight attempts for an 8.8 yards per carry average.

The Aggies’ balanced attack worked wonders, as they gouged a Portland State defense that consistently missed tackles for nearly 600 yards and 29 first downs.

“We knew we could have played better,” Glanville said. “And the defense knew it could have tackled better. We turned two-yard losses into touchdown runs.” UC Davis, which had control and led the entire game sans a 21-21 second-quarter tie, out-rushed the Vikings 227 yards to 19 yards. Sophomore running back Joe Trombetta barreled his way to 160 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown scamper.

While Trombetta took care of the ground game, sophomore quarterback Greg Denham completed 63 percent of his passes for 361 yards.

The loss to the Aggies comes on the brink of a hugely significant matchup with Washington State in Pullman, Wash., this Saturday, Sept. 20.

The Cougars are a Pacific-10 team that has been outscored 150-33 in three losses this season. With Washington State’s early-season woes, the Vikings have a legitimate chance at defeating a Pac-10 team for the first time in school history.

However, Portland State has fallen short in each of its six tilts versus Pac-10 teams, losing three games to Oregon, two games to Oregon State and one to California.

And just as Portland State had held a decisive advantage in scholarships when they faced off with Division II Western Oregon in the season opener–holding a 63-36 edge on the Wolves–the Cougars will have 22 more scholarship athletes than the Vikings Saturday.

“The bottom line is they have the same formations and run the same defenses as other people,” Glanville said of Washington State. “There are just different people in the uniforms. So you prepare the same way.”

The scholarship advantage combined with the fact that Football Bowl Subdivision players are typically thought to be larger and more talented could make for a monumental upset if the Vikings are victorious. But that is lost on Glanville, at least for now.

“We’ve got to go do it. There is no sense discussing how it would feel,” Glanville said of beating the Cougars. “I’m the kind of guy that would rather tell you how it feels after we do it.”