Just like a great story, every football season has a beginning, middle and end. A below-average beginning and middle littered with defeats is already in print for the Vikings. All that’s remaining for Portland State is an ending, which will be composed against Northern Colorado Saturday.
It’s been well chronicled that Portland State (2-8, 2-5) has struggled this season. The Vikings have lost five consecutive games, allowing 36 fourth-quarter points to Montana State last weekend, and could finish as low as eighth in the Big Sky, even though the team was picked as the No. 2 squad in the conference’s preseason media and coaches’ polls.
Despite the dark cloud hanging over the South Park Blocks’ gridiron club, the good news is the Bears (1-10, 1-6) provide Portland State with the best opportunity to get its first victory in nearly two months.
Northern Colorado, in its second season in Division I, pulls up the Big Sky’s rear in scoring at only 10.5 points per game. This meager scoring output should bode well for a Viking defense ranked last in the conference with 39.5 points allowed per contest, and still licking its wounds following the Bobcats’ late-game surge last Saturday.
An inability to put points on the scoreboard is not the full extent of Northern Colorado’s offensive woes. The Bears also average a Big Sky-worst 284.7 total yards of offense per game, which is almost 45 yards less than their nearest competitor.
Quarterback Dominic Breazeale is one player the Vikings should key in on, as the senior ranks eighth in the Big Sky in total offense, and is a moderate threat, both through the air and on the ground. Another player to watch out for is junior running back David Woods, who leads the team with 660 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
Portland State’s offense has consistently racked up yardage all season long, and it should be no different against Northern Colorado. The Bears pull up the conference rear in total defense, giving up a substantial 496.5 yards per contest.
If freshman quarterback Drew Hubel bounces back from his less-than-stellar performance versus Montana State, and is able to find senior wide outs Tremayne Kirkland and Kenneth Mackins roaming open in a Northern Colorado secondary giving up an average of 12.7 yards per reception, the Vikings’ winning formula will become that much easier.
Unlike the Vikings’ passing game, the running attack has been stalled all season long. Decimated with injuries to its top two running backs on the depth chart, sophomore Bobby McClintock and senior Olaniyi Sobomehin, converted linebacker Ronnie Fa’avae will start for his second consecutive week.
Fa’avae turned out an above-average outing a week ago, and could torch the Bears for over 100 yards at the least, as opposing backs have run all over Northern Colorado this season for a 220 yard-per-game average.
If the Vikings put a significant number of points on the scoreboard early and contain Northern Colorado’s offense, Glanville and company could place a good note at the end of a season chock full of disappointments and underachievement.
Portland State at Northern Colorado 11 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 17Radio: AM 910 KTRO