Portland State's defense, which played a strong first half but wore down late in last week's 35-27 win over Northern Arizona, will look to dominate Division II Lincoln on Oct. 8 at Hillsboro Stadium.
Portland State's defense, which played a strong first half but wore down late in last week's 35-27 win over Northern Arizona, will look to dominate Division II Lincoln on Oct. 8 at Hillsboro Stadium.
Coming off the first win of the season on Oct. 1 over Northern Arizona, Portland State should be able to build confidence against a second-year D-II Program that is 0-4.
HOW TO WATCH
When: 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8
Where: Hillsboro Stadium
TV: KRCW, ESPN+
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
The Vikings (1-3, 1-1 Big Sky), who were outmanned in their first three games, get to experience the other side of a nonconference matchup. Lincoln University of Oakland, California, is in its second year of varsity sports and competing as a Division II independent. The Oaklanders (0-4) have been outscored 203-30, including a 42-10 loss at Western Oregon. So this should be a fun afternoon for the Vikings before heading back into Big Sky play Oct. 15.
PSU coach Bruce Barnum, after the 0-3 start that included losses at San Jose State, Washington and Montana, reminded his team that it had played two "money games" to fund the Portland State athletic department followed by the best team in the Big Sky. His message was:
"The only thing that is gonna hurt you is if you don't have a short memory and you act 0-3. I said, 'I think you're a playoff team. But you know you're not playing the right people to make it an easy run."
This week Barnum added conditioning work to practices, noting that his defense got tired in the fourth quarter last week against Northern Arizona.
PSU QB Dante Chachere leads the Vikings in rushing (44 for 152 yards) and 656 yards and six touchdowns. He accounted for all five touchdowns in the win over Northern Arizona.
Portland State is 19-0 against lower division foes since moving to Division I in 1996.
After this week, three of the Vikings' six remaining Big Sky games will be against teams currently ranked in the FCS Top 25, starting with a visit from No. 7 Weber State on Oct. 15.
Lincoln University fun fact: Former Oregon State guard and NBA great Gary Payton coaches the Oaklanders' mens basketball team.
