With rain dripping from his soaked, disheveled hair, Vikings head coach Jerry Glanville stood in front of the Portland State locker room wearing a long solemn face that completely epitomized the 48-9 loss his team had just suffered to Washington State.
Glanville shook his head when he spoke about his team’s performance on the road.
He said the Vikings had not executed and were not even running the right plays. He blamed himself. And he talked about how playing Football Bowl Subdivision teams would become a regular occurrence for Portland State over the coming years.
The one thing Glanville did not do is smile. Not once. Not even for a split second.
This is because Glanville knew he had more to fix then merely a couple trivial mistakes. He knew it was much worse than that.
“We absolutely did not do anything we practiced for a half,” Glanville said. “The correction period will probably be a lot longer than it has ever been.”
Despite the blowout loss and his team’s lackluster performance, Glanville strongly believes the Vikings gained something Saturday: a lesson, which they will ponder on their seven-hour bus ride back to Portland.
“I think we learned a lesson that won’t help the seniors that are leaving but I think it will help all those young kids that played,” Glanville said. “You can’t let the theater be bigger than the play.”
While sophomore quarterback Drew Hubel disagrees, Glanville felt playing against a Pac-10 opponent in front of a rather boisterous student section at Martin Stadium-and everything else that added to the game’s heightened feel-was too much for his team.
“I think we were overcome by where we were,” Glanville said of his team, which finished with 396 less total offensive yards than the Cougars.
From the outset, the Vikings looked far from polished. Hubel tossed an interception directly into the arms of Cougars linebacker Hallston Higgins’ chest on the first play from scrimmage. The miscue set up Washington State’s first touchdown.
And from there on the Vikings would begin a game of catch up that pervaded the remainder of the night, as the Portland State offense was having trouble scoring points and the defense was having trouble stopping the Cougars from scoring points.
Even though the Vikings were mired in that predicament, Portland State kept the game within reach heading into the third quarter, trailing by only a 17-3 margin at halftime.
But the Cougars came out determined in the second half and reeled off 24 straight points before Portland State finally found with end zone to make the score 41-9 late in the third quarter.
The score come on a touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Lavonte Kirven from junior quarterback Tygue Howland, who replaced the self-proclaimed ineffective Hubel about midway through the third quarter.
Following the game, Hubel said offensive coordinator Mouse Davis had yet to decide which of the quarterbacks will start against Sacramento State next Saturday.
“It’s frustrating. I hate letting the guys down,” said Hubel, who added that he felt the Cougars defense was about as physical as others he has faced. “Defensive players pretty much have the same mentality-kill the quarterback.”
For much of the second half, Portland State played its reserve players, which Glanville said gave them an opportunity to experience the atmosphere of competing against a Pac-10 team on the road.
“I wanted everyone to experience that,” Glanville said. “When you’re covered up with stink you be sure nobody gets on the plane that doesn’t have a little bit on them.”