Up next: Sacramento State Hornets

Portland State football has a chance to end a four-game skid when it faces Sacramento State on the road tomorrow afternoon, which would prove to the Big Sky that although the Vikings have the same number of W’s on their belt as they had last year, the program has indeed made progress.

Records entering the game

Portland State (2-5, 1-4 Big Sky Conference) has yet to win a conference game on the road, and is coming off a demoralizing 50-17 loss to conference-leading Eastern Washington at home last week. Sacramento State (4-4, 3-3 Big Sky) comes into this game with momentum after a 40-10 win over conference competitor Northern Arizona. The Hornets also took a game against Eastern Washington down to the wire, losing by just four points in the final moments of the game. 

Last year’s meeting

It was a day for good defense and the Hornets walked away with the win, 31-14. It was also a terrible day for rushing, at least for the Viks. On 14 rushing attempts, they totaled minus-2 yards. The passing game wasn’t enough to save the Viks, even with quarterback Drew Hubel throwing for 370 yards. The defense struggled, like it did every game last season, and allowed the Hornets to run for 142 yards—of which 111 were courtesy of one running back—and pass for 256 yards. 

The Viks also shot themselves in the foot, like they did almost every game last season, by committing three turnovers. The offense was sluggish; they did not score a touchdown until the fourth quarter when the game was already out of reach. 

Birds of a feather

Sac State’s top rusher, Bryan Hilliard, has 862 yards on the season, the same exact number that Portland State’s leading rusher, junior Cory McCaffrey, has accumulated. Both Hilliard and McCaffrey are the top offensive scorers on their respective teams. 

Scouting the Hornets

Though the Hornets may have a better record than the Viks, the teams are in comparable positions. Sacramento State has taken the conference’s top teams down to waning seconds of the game, including a 28-25 loss to conference heavy weight Montana, and a 61-64 loss to second in-conference Montana State in overtime.

 The Hornets’ offense is balanced and can run and pass when needed. Quarterback Jeff Fleming received Player of the Week honors for his performance against Northern Arizona. In that game he threw three touchdown passes, all in the second quarter. Fleming is also the second-most efficient passer in the conference, completing 54.3 percent of his throws. The Hornets have the conference’s third-ranked offense.

The Hornets are ranked third in total defense. The real story with the defense will be whether their running defense, also ranked third in the conference, will be able to bottle up the Viks’ running game. Last week, the Eastern Washington Eagles were effective at that, and it derailed the Viking offense. 

The red-zone defense is definitely a weak point for the Hornets. They allow opponents to score on 87 percent of their possessions inside the 20-yard line. 

Scouting the Viks

Last week against Taiwan Jones, the conference’s leading rusher, the Viks were helpless. Jones had a jaw-dropping average of 14.2 yards per carry. With Hilliard, who is tied with the Viks’ McCaffrey for the conference’s second-leading rusher, Portland State has to find the answer. 

The Viks looked desperate in last week’s game against the Eagles, and after the game head coach Nigel Burton said the problem might have been that the defense was playing desperately and trying to make plays instead of keeping to their assignments. Against the balanced Hornet offense, that will be more important than ever. 

It appears that quarterback Connor Kavanaugh is out for the season, after injuring his throwing hand last week. Senior Tygue Howland will take over, and this is likely to largely alter the Vikings’ offensive game plan. Though Howland doesn’t have the mobility of Kavanaugh, he has a much stronger arm. 

The success of the passing game will be dependent on two things: First, the receivers will need to step up in a way they have not had the chance to do this season. Last week’s game saw too many dropped passes, but everyone should get a shot, as Howland likes to spread the ball around. Nine different receivers had catches last week. 

It will also be dependent on Howland developing timing with the receivers and the ability to settle in and seize the reigns. Injuries sidelined him last year, and last week’s game was his first full game in at least one year. 

Kickoff in Sacramento is set for 2:05 p.m., and the game can be viewed live at www.b2tv.com. It can also be heard on KXFD, AM 970, or at www.970.am. ?