One last shot

It is no secret that Northern Colorado has had a tumultuous season.

Coming into Saturday’s matchup with Portland State, the Bears are a paltry 1-9 and boast a feeble offense that averages 20.4 points per game, which is good for second worst in the Big Sky.

Sounds like the Vikings should have no trouble closing out a season that has had its share of low points with a victory, right?

As one well-known TV sports personality would say, “Not so fast, my friend.”

“They are still a good team,” said senior linebacker Andy Schantz. “They are like us. They want to end the season with a win.”

Schantz, who is one of 12 seniors that will be playing their final game as a Viking Saturday, went on to add that Northern Colorado’s record may reflect a season of colossal disappointment when the Bears have actually fared much better.

Citing Northern Colorado’s first four games in particular, Schantz explained that the Bears could have opened the season 3-1 rather than stumbling to 0-4, because they lost on a series of close calls.

Even against Big Sky opponents, the Bears have come up on the short end of some tight ones, including a three-point loss to Northern Arizona and a seven-point defeat at the hands of conference-leader Weber State.

In comparison, Portland State lost to Northern Arizona and Weber State by a combined 30 points. “They’re a good club and they have good guys there,” Schantz said.

Head coach Jerry Glanville calls the Bears one of the two most improved teams in the Big Sky, with Sacramento State being the other.

And when Glanville began to address Northern Colorado’s offensive philosophy, he slowly warped his face into a spirited grin as he indentified the Bears’ favorite play.

“And they run the Utah option,” Glanville said with almost a hint of cynicism.

Glanville said that seven of Portland State’s 11 opponents this season have employed the option as their No. 1 play, which is a complete turnaround from a year ago when Weber State was the lone squad with the scheme in its repertoire.

However, based on how much the Vikings have practiced for the option and how well they have stymied it this season–with the exception of last week versus Montana State–Glanville is pretty confident.

“I doubt anyone is as prepared for it as us,” Glanville said, referring to the intense preparation in fall camp. “But, did we know we were going to see it this much? No.”

The one wrinkle Northern Colorado has in its version of the option that other teams, such as Weber State and Montana, do not is the Bears often throw to their wide receivers out of the option formation.

In its purest form, the quarterback sweeps to one side and either hangs onto the ball or pitches it to a flanking running back, depending on how the defense reacts. However, Glanville said the Bears also involve their wide receivers.

As to how Portland State might stop this added feature, Glanville is certain the Vikings have a plan but is not certain he wants to reveal it before kickoff.

Junior defensive back Jordan Brown said Northern Colorado is known to call a lot of screen passes as well, but both Brown and Schantz agree that the Vikings must ensure they stop the Bears’ rushing attack–averaging over 112 yards a game–first.

“If we shut that down, we’ll be good,” Schantz said of the running game.

On offense the Vikings will face a middle-of-the-road Northern Colorado defense that gives up an average of just over 30 points a game, which is seventh worst in the Big Sky and a few points less than Portland State allows.

Led by sophomore safety Max Hewitt, the team leader with 70 tackles, the Bears are slightly better against the pass than the run, a fact that is difficult for Portland State to swallow because the Vikings depend on their passing game more than any other team in the conference.

But that might not matter, because the Portland State passing game has done itself in the past two weeks, averaging a combined 213 passing yards versus Montana and Montana State, which is 162 yards off the Vikings’ Big Sky-leading 375-yard average.

Regardless of what the Bears bring to the table Saturday, Glanville remains convinced that their 1-9 record is not an indication of their talent level.

“We’re going to have to play as hard and good as we have played,” Glanville said.