Through nearly three quarters of play on Saturday, Portland State did everything right in their Big Sky showdown against the University of Northern Colorado. DJ Adams scored his second rushing touchdown of the game to extend the Viking lead to 28-10. Kieran McDonagh shook off nagging injuries and an early interception to lead four scoring drives. The oft-maligned Viking defense stuffed UNC’s run game and forced quarterback Seth Lobato to try and win with his arm.
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Breakdown: After starting strong against Northern Colorado, the Vikings fell apart in the second half, losing 32-28.
Then Thomas Duyndam stepped onto the field to launch his fourth punt of the game, and Bears punt returner Dominic Gunn seized the momentum for the visitors. Eluding six tacklers and streaking free for an 83-yard touchdown return, Gunn became the first player in Northern Colorado history to gain more than 2,000 return yards in his career.
More importantly for the Bears, the special-teams score provided the catalyst for a run of 22 unanswered points. Gunn would go on to score the decisive touchdown, hauling in a 29-yard pass from Lobato to complete UNC’s 32-28 comeback victory.
Before Gunn’s return, Portland State had committed only two penalties in the game. The first was a controversial illegal forward pass call that negated a 35-yard touchdown pass from McDonagh to Nevin Lewis. The crowd of 5,077 voiced their displeasure as the video replay showed Thomas Carter’s pitch to McDonagh traveling backward. Portland State was forced to punt after the penalty, failing to convert an interception by Michael Williams into points.
The second was a 15-yard illegal block penality that turned a three-yard run by Shaquille Richard into a second-and-25 hole. The Vikings failed to move the chains on the series, and three plays later Duyndam sent his momentum-shifting punt toward Gunn.
“It’s a shame, because they were playing well and doing what they needed to do to win,” Vikings head coach Nigel Burton said after the game. “When the discipline and focus disappeared, so did the scoreboard.”
PSU finished the game with nine penalties after losing their composure on both sides of the ball. The offense sputtered in the second half, managing just four first downs through the final two quarters. The defense ceded scoring drives of 64 and 57 yards over the last 20 minutes as Lobato finished with 316 passing yards and three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing).
The defeat dropped the Vikings to 3-6 on the season, guaranteeing a losing record in Burton’s third season as head coach. They travel to Bozeman to face Montana State University on Nov. 10 before returning to Jeld-Wen Field to play Eastern Washington University for the Dam Cup in the season finale.