Records entering the game: Portland State is 2-8 overall and 1-6 in Big Sky play. Idaho State has a worse record, going 0-10 this season. The Bengals are on a long losing streak, dropping 25 of their last 26 games.
Last year’s meeting: Portland State, 36-13. The Vikings may have only run for 21 yards but quarterback Drew Hubel, then a sophomore, threw for 474 yards. The defense performed as well as the offense. They held the Bengals to the least amount of points that Jerry Glanville has allowed a conference opponent in his three years as head coach.
History at home: Glanville and Idaho State’s head coach John Zamberlin are both in the third year of their tenures as heads of their programs. They have split the two matchups 1-1, with the home team winning each time.
Big name, small place: Current defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings Jared Allen is an Idaho State alumnus. In his last year there, he set a junior class record of 10.5 sacks on the season, the exact number of sacks he currently has at the halfway point of the NFL season.
Scouting the Bengals: The Bengals are in last place in the Big Sky Conference. They are also ranked last in 14 out of the 33 statistical categories in the conference, including total offense and total defense.
Last week against undefeated conference leader Montana, Idaho State almost pulled an enormous upset. With just seconds on the clock, Montana kicked a field goal to win the game 12-10.
The Bengals are a defensive enigma. They have four of the conference’s top 11 tacklers. By comparison, Weber State and Eastern Washington are second with two each. However, the Bengals don’t have any of the top 20 players with sacks or tackles for loss.
Scouting the Vikings: With Hubel doubtful to play this week after suffering a shoulder injury last week, the duty will once again fall to sophomore Connor Kavanaugh. He is the team’s leading rusher, but is only throwing for an average of 44.4 yards per game.
The Viking run defense is ranked fourth in the conference, but their pass defense is ranked next to last. In last week’s game against Montana, the pass defense came around and allowed only 62 yards through the air and no scores in the second half. They need that kind of play to continue to get another conference win this week.